Dissecting the granny square
I have finally finished production of my Granny triangles video and it is loaded up to YouTube.
It is a new take on the traditional granny which I hope will inspire many new projects.
Pat
Granny Triangles launch this week
I have been working on this idea for a few months now and had done a few samples in New Zealand. Splitting up a granny square into two triangles is easier than you think.
I am now experimenting with the same technique splitting into into one quarter and also 4 quarters. It is super fun.
Pattern and video launching this week.
New Yarn section
I have just added a new Yarn section the website where you can buy some of the Marta’s Yarns collection of knitting yarns.
There are some truly glorious colours to choose from.
There is a flat rate shipping fee for Australia of $7.50 on the total order and $29 for international orders. Please note that I will refund any difference between the actual cost and the flat fee for international orders.
Keep checking back as I add more colors and yarns in the next week.
Happy making
Pat
Marta’s Arm Knitting Video Tutorial
I have been promising to make this video for some years now. It has almost been 8 years since mum passed away and I was thinking recently that it was time to make this video.
The arm knitting technique mum developed gave so much joy to so many people. People who had never knitted before came out of her little shop in East Malvern with a finished scarf and a smile on their faces. It is a great example of her passion, creativity and generosity.
The first minute of this video tells the story of Marta’s arm knitting. The rest of the video steps you through the technique.
Pat xo
Bare Hands Crochet – Cave Mitts launch
It has been a few years now since the talented designer Rachelle King taught a series of finger crochet workshops at The Thread Room. I still have one of the lovely scarves that emerged from the workshops in a heavenly hand spun angora.
I was experimenting with the technique again recently and came up with a spiraling tube form. I was impressed with the stretch of the final fabric and thought it would work well on wrist warmers. The Cave Mitts were born. They turned out a little longer than expected but I love them!
The new Cave Mitts pattern is super fast and makes a lovely statement accessory about which you can proudly say “I made these”. Once you get the hang of using your bare hands to crochet you will be making these in under an hour.
The pattern is now available for purchase and contains a link to a 5 minute tutorial showing you the 7 simple steps to make your very own Cave Mitts.
Yarn kits in the Marta’s Yarns Retro knitting yarn will also be available from the Kits page shortly.
Cable knitting – video tutorials
Many people find cable knitting daunting at first. The idea of having three needles on the go at the same time and dropped stitches probably explains this initial apprehension.
Yet the cable knitting technique produces such beautiful and bold textures that it is hard to avoid as you progress with your knitting skills.
I have just finished production of two tutorials demonstrating the cable 4 back and cable 4 front techniques to help you get started with your cabling. Enjoy!
The mighty treble crochet stitch – video tutorial
The treble crochet stitch is perhaps the most used stitch in crochet – thanks to the granny square no doubt. Known as the double crochet (DC) in North America, this stitch is the main stitch used in the granny square and often features in motif and circular crochet designs.
Last week, I finished production of the treble (double crochet – US) video tutorials. I have demonstrated the technique into a four chain ring – as it would be used in a granny square.
I have also started to load up closed captions for all my video tutorials – knitting and crochet. This helps for those who struggle with my broad Aussie accent and also allows for the translation of the captions into a number of different languages. If you want to read the subtitles in another language, simply click on the “Subtitles/CC” icon – second from left in bottom right hand corner of video. Click on drop down box and choose top option – “Translate captions”. A pop up box will appear in the center of the screen. You need to click on the drop down box down arrow, scroll to and select the language you want and click “OK”.