Yeesh, I guess I've been neglecting this site for awhile.  However, I'm not going to dwell on it: onward and upward, as they say.  A lot of you are knitting stuffed toys, so you may want to take a gander at this article on how to properly stuff them.  You should read the whole thing because it has some good tips, but the major takeaways are to (1) not overstuff your toy; and (2) stuff it so it's even.  (via craftstylish).


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I am not a fan of the DPN's.  They're awkward, your stitches tend to fall off more readily than they would from a straight or a circular needle, and you get those ladders if you don't knit the first stitch tightly enough.  In spite of this, I also knew that the DPN's and I had to find a way to co-exist peacefully, or there would be no legwarmers or sweater sleeves in my life (I haven't done socks yet--someday!).  Not anymore: meet the Magic Loop!  I haven't actually tried this yet, but instea...
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Knitting cables is one of those skills that looks harder to do than it actually is.  Basically, you move a number of stitches off of your needle onto a cable needle, knit the next stitches as you normally would, and then go back and knit the stitches on the cable needle so they cross over and form a cable.  Watch cabling in action right here with this video [via Craft]


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Okay, okay, you may already know how to knit.  These videoes, however, are for the brand-new knitter.  Lion Brand's short videoes clearly illustrate what the heck you're supposed to be doing when you cast-on, do a knit stitch, do a purl stitch, and cast-off.   I'm going to put this page, along with Lion Brand's more extensive Learn to Knit page in Links. 


[via Craftzine]
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I love the blog Dollar Store Crafts.  It features creative and funky projects that you can make easily using supplies found at your local-you guessed it-dollar store.  Here's an idea for adding some knitting to a pair of flip-flops using the i-cord. Cute!




 

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I haven't tried this yet, but it looks like a very handy skill to know, especially if you forget to pack your needles into your backpack before coming to the library.  Click here for the tutorial found at Folksy.
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Here's a great video on how to make a pompom using only your fingers and a pair of scissors.  And the music is pretty snappy, too.
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