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I wish you all a Happy New Year 2015 and am looking forward to making some pretty things now for Valentine's Day. I last posted on Thanksgiving, and since then there's been nothing but celebrating in our home with family get-togethers and also the arrival of twin boys in the family! My needles and hooks have been Very Active! Now, with Valentine's Day only about a month away, I'm working on some "heart-felt" projects. If there's any small project you'd like me to design, contact me here and maybe there'll be time to complete it. In the meantime, here are some suggestions for things to knit and crochet for Valentine's Day. Project 1 -- Valentine Knitted Scarf I'm very fond of this Here's My Heart Scarf and Headband. It's quick to knit and is a great stash-buster since it uses only an ounce or so of worsted weight yarn.  Part of the heart shaping involves knitting several stitches together. This is clearly explained and illustrated in

Wishing you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving! As we prepare our family feast, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for following KnittingGuruDesigns and to give you all a Black Friday / Cyber Monday treat. Just write Code #BlackFriday10 in your coupon code box when you check out of my Etsy shop and you'll receive a 10% discount on your purchase(s). Here's just a sampling of what you'll find in my Etsy shop. I've put together some things in an Autumnal colorway to celebrate the holiday. Of course, there's much more to see and many other colors in my shop. Enjoy your Holiday and please stop by at http://www.KnittingGuru.etsy.com

Do you like to use the patterns you purchase many times? It sure helps to get your money's worth when you can use a pattern over and over again! Many patterns are written so specifically using one particular yarn in one colorway that knitters and crocheters are often at a loss for how to reuse the pattern effectively. Also, yarns are often discontinued, which means older patterns may be impossible to follow exactly. What to do? Here are suggestions for how to use skills you already have to get more from patterns. I'm going to use my latest pattern - Tender Tendrils Scarf - as an illustration. 1 - Change the color(s) This is an obvious change that anyone can make and it has a big impact. If you see a pattern you like that's shown in a summery pink, that doesn't mean you can't make it in a gorgeous green for spring.  In addition, why not imagine a single color garment or accessory made in more than one color? What if you added a contrasting border or made it in stripe

Christmas is only 6 days away but I still have a few things I need for gifts. Last week, thinking about this need, I set out to design a chunky cowl that could be made in an hour. When I finished the cowl, I check the clock and it had only taken me 1/2 hour! Amazing! Here's the story of how to do this. It's so easy even a beginner could make this in 30 minutes. An experienced crocheter will find, after the first cowl, that they'll be making these much faster. In addition to speed, this cowl only takes 1 100 gram skein of bulky yarn, so you can indulge in some of the wildly gorgeous yarns available without spending too much. The other thing you'll need is a Jumbo Size S (19mm) crochet hook. This is a really big hook that measures 2 1/2 inches in diameter on the handle. This picture shows the hook with a penny next to it so that you can get an idea of just how big it is: Generally speaking, using these gigantic hooks and knitting needles results in rather stiffly thick a

Christmas will be here soon and if you're like me, you're knitting and crocheting lots of gifts. It's always good to find some quick knits at this time of year, so I did want to let you know about a book I came across recently called Cozy Knits edited by Tanis Gray.   This book includes 50 projects to knit divided among 5 Chapters: Heartfelt Hats Warm & Wonderful Mittens Cuddly Cowls & Scarves Snuggly Sweaters, Shawls & Shrugs Quick & Clever Gifts There are excellent illustrations and clear directions. All the stitches used are charted, so if you like working from charts you'll be happy with this. While there are some larger projects for sweaters, shawls and blankets, there are enough quick projects to make this a good book to use for holiday gifts. You can find the book here from Interweave/F+W Media. I hope you find some nice things to make! I'll be posting some other patterns soon for very quick knits and crocheted projects that you mi

It's two days before Thanksgiving and my mind is on the big feast - the menu planning, shopping, cooking, and so on. However, I'm a knitter, so I'm also thinking about holiday presents for everyone - what I have on hand and what I need to knit and/or crochet. This leads me to think about the yarns I have on hand, and believe me, at KnittingGuru there's always a huge stash of yarns. Still, I may have to order some new yarns for the season. That's why I jumped at the chance to add My Favorite Yarns on Craftsy to my blog. It updates the yarns for sale at Craftsy, including their many excellent deals. You can get a head start on these sales by checking the Craftsy Yarns in the right hand column of this page. While you're looking there, please also check out my Craftsy Pattern Store which has so many patterns for things to give for Christmas. I always think of the babies first at this time of year. For the littlest babies, why not whip up this Baby Santa Cocoon and H