The Hook and Needle Nook

  by Tiffany Landres Here at The Nook, we love knitting everything from basic knit-purl scarves, to cozy sweaters, to intricate shawls, and everything in between. One of the constants in almost any pattern (unless you are knitting a straightforward piece like a scarf) is knitting increases or decreases. Most times, patterns come with specific instructions on what type of increase is called for. This is because each type of increase creates a different look on a piece. Some of the differences are subtle and some are obvious. Sometimes patterns opt to let you choose your own increase. These patterns usually just say something like "increase 1 stitch", "make one", or "increase evenly across row". Which increase is most appropriate in these situations? To help our fiber buddies, we are going to detail some of the most used increases, and let you know when you might use each increase. Every garment pattern form lace shawls to sweaters has incre...

  By Tiffany Landres Personal Experience When talking about the difference between knit and crochet, my personal experience comes to mind. This is because, mine is a story I hear echoed often with other crafters. The first needle craft I ever encountered was crochet. My mom is an amazing crocheter and can do anything with a ball of yarn and a crochet hook. She made my dolls' clothes, made the prettiest doilies I have ever seen, made baby blankets galore and the cutest baby layettes. She taught me to crochet when I was about 8 years old. Years and years later, after having my first child, I taught myself to knit. I fell in love with it as well. I noticed the difference between crochet and knitting right away. However, knowing how to crochet lent itself greatly to being able to teach myself to knit. Knowing how to figure out how stitches relate to each other always helps you to learn new fiber arts. Both crafts make amazing and different products. I personal...

 A couple of weeks ago we had a shipment of new fiber come in from The Yarn Fairy and Pixies . Amongst it was a beautiful colorway of Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) and nylon. I couldn't help it, I just HAD to have it. With one glance I just knew this must be matching socks. So once I blinked the stars out of my eyes, I thought to myself, 'How do I preserve these color changes? The beautiful hand dyed braid of BFL/nylon from Yarn Fairy and Pixies that I could not resist! I now had an idea for what I wanted the fiber to become. However, I wasn't sure how to make it happen. Opting more often for a mixed yarn, I had never before made self striping yarn, . I definitely haven't made two balls of yarn match. I have spun fly on the ply before. But, I really didn't want a three ply yarn with slightly more obvious joining areas this time around. So, it was time to go about this a totally different way than I ever had before. It was time to try and make my 2 ply, se...