Are you tired of choosing between functionality and fashion? Do you wish your iPad and MacBook matched your crochet TOMS? Never fear, Knits for Life is here. An eco-friendly, hand-crocheted iPad or MacBook sleeve is a smart investment that will cuddle your device ’til it’s obsolete. (more…)
I don’t go to local yarn shops because they bore me. Gasp! *Shields head from crockery sailing out of the interwebs towards me* Phewf! That was a close one. If you’re still listening because you kind of agree, raise your hand! See, I knew we were buddies. You guys are the ones I’m looking at as I announce my new crochet pattern. DOO-do-do-DOO! (more…)
These are chunky stirrup leg warmers for adults. A friend wanted to gift a custom pair to her athletic employee, and the result is stylish but still perfect for yoga class. It made me sad to think this custom pattern wouldn’t see the light of day again, so here it is for you to enjoy! You can make them a long or short as you like, and with or without the stirrup. I’d love to see your work, so tag your Instagram pics with #knitsforlife or tweet them to me @knitsforlife
Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stirrup-leg-warmers
Back in the fall I declared this winter the season for wearing cuter headbands. Banish the big flowers made by grandma! Be gone, sorority-esque cliches! Now, with much trumpeting and fanfare, I pull back the red curtain and unveil to you two new lines of cute chunky knit headbands. Plus, get your scroll on: 20% off all new headbands and enter to win one for Christmas!
Winter cannot force us to ditch the summer braid! Braids are toute la rage all year round, now that you can wear them on a squishy, chunky ear warmer. Plus, they’re made with a blend of warm wool and easy-care acrylic so you can even throw them in your laundry! $35 at knitsforlife.etsy.com
Step off the curb like a silver screen starlet with an über-chic turban look. Already flying off the shelves, I’m gifting this perfectly cozy, stretchy accessory all Christmas and Hanukkah long. $35 at knitsforlife.etsy.com
Some one-of-a-kind pieces came out of the design process too. Here are a few of my favorites. Find more in the shop under the Eco Accessories tab.
OK, smarty pants, so you know how to knit, huh? Great, you can make these for all your friends!
The knitting pattern for the braided cable knit ear warmer is free at transientexpression.com. Note that if you use super bulky yarn like I did, you only need 8 repeats of the pattern.
The knitting pattern for the convertible turban headband and cowl is $3 on Ravelry or at knitsforlife.etsy.com.
From now until Christmas, save 20% on my new ear warmer headbands in the Etsy shop with code XMAS2012. I ship items the same or next day in cute, hand-stamped gift wrap with no price on it so you can gift it directly in the mailing package. I also include a free vetiver-scented buckwheat sachet your recipient can pop in the microwave and use as a pocket hand warmer. They’ll be warm cuddly from head to toe!
The coupon goes “poof!” on Christmas eve and on Christmas morning I’ll announce the winner of a free ear warmer! You get one headband from the cable knit line or the turban line in your favorite color shipped to your door for free. To enter:
1. Tweet “Save 20% on these über-chic hand knit ear warmers from now until Xmas: http://wp.me/p1sxl3-gN”
2. Share Knits for Life’s Facebook announcement on your feed. You must go to Knits for Life’s page and click “share” on the story already posted there. Sharing a link to this blog post on your page doesn’t count. My page: https://www.facebook.com/knitsforlife
3. Leave a comment below letting me know you’re in!
Don’t forget to order by December 17 in time to ship for Christmas.
Happy happy winter!
xxxo,
Lorna
Here’s a tip for you: don’t mix variegated yarns and textured patterns. Like Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, neither shines when the other’s around.
Crochet stitches are even more textured than knit stitches, which means you should save your variegated colors for knitting projects with simple textures (i.e., stockinette). Textured crochet projects in particular don’t do well with textured yarns, because the clash is even more exaggerated. Got it? Ok, I want to see beautiful Ravelry project pages from now on!
Now, enough of the technical talk! In the course of learning this lesson, there’s one gorj yarn in particular I hooked up and unraveled several times, always choosing it for the wrong project. (Yes, I’m a perfectionist!). Vanquished, I used it in a simple (stockinette!) hat & glove set and it began to belt out riffs of I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
(Somebody! Ooo! Somebody! Ooo! Somebody who loves me!)
(Somebody! Ooo! Somebody! Ooo! To hold me in his arms, Oh!)
I was seeing things.
My aunt walked in to my grandma’s house carrying her laptop in a home made crochet bag and I did a double take. We crocheters always do double takes at crochet and knitting, but this was because I thought I saw her carrying a sleeve with a handle.
Duh! Everyone makes laptop sleeves, but then you have to carry it like a book. When what you really want to do is carry it like a bag. Turns out it was all a vision. My aunt was carrying a laptop sleeve by its flap as if it were a handle. I was in good company getting an idea this way. Isaac Mizrahi stops cabs to follow people on the street. Or rather, to follow their clothing.
Introducing my latest design, a laptop sleeve with a handle and in a fashionable crochet lace pattern. Buy it in fun colors or buy the pattern to make your own at knitsforlife.etsy.com.
xoxo,
Lorna at Knits for Life
KNITS FOR LIFE 
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