The Hook and Needle Nook

  Sherry78's Tiny Cabled Christmas Sweater. See the full project page here . Picture Courtesy Sherry78 on Ravelry. Cables are so cozy, and in between tasks on this busy December I can't help dreaming of sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace with some hot cocoa, a bulky knitted project and a cozy cabled blanket on my legs. How relaxing!  Even if you add one cable to your project, you add a whole new layer of interest and sophistication to your piece. Cables might feel a little bit daunting--what with adding a whole extra needle to the mix--but fret not, we have you covered with some of our tricks and tips.  Tip #1: Not all Cable needles are created equally There are several kinds of cable needles, and not every person likes to work with every kind. Some of the basic ones are J Cable needles, straight cable needles, and bumped cable needles. You can even use an extra DPN.  These all seem to be personal choice, and I would suggest trying ou...

  It's that time of year where Stockings are popular to craft. Made in a wealth of colors, you can get a personalized stocking with some color-work techniques and a little bit of patience. Since there is a little bit of a learning curve to stranded color-work, we thought we might try and give you some tips and tricks to help your project go a bit smoother. Whether you are a newcomer to color work or are more seasoned, we hope these 5 tips will help you out! Tip #1: Use bobbins! Bobbins come in all shapes and sizes, from small plastic squares with openings (traditionally used for embroidery), to plastic bobbins made specifically with knitting and crocheting in mind. You can even make your own bobbins with a bit of cardboard on your own! The concept is the same for any type of bobbins you use; you wind your bobbin full of yarn (one bobbin for each color) and knit, keeping the yarn coming from the bobbin to the project as short as you are able to. This way you aren't twistin...