I happened across this Knifty Knitter page from Anke in the Netherlands once before--and then I lost the link. It took a few searches before I found it again. Much of it is in Dutch, but she does include some translations. I think her patterns are really lovely. In particular, I like the blue sweater (scroll down) and the white purse (on the top).
Here's a new item for my wish list, the EvenKnit Sock Loom from DecorAccents Looms. Isela and her husband developed this item to please loom sock knitters--you can make socks for your entire family on this loom instead of purchasing different sizes for little feet or big feet. Also, instead of the e-wrap, this loom uses a zig-zag method. Instead of wrapping each peg, you simply weave the yarn in front of the pegs and behind the pins, then knit off! Super knifty! (Here's her .PDF instructions. Knowing Isela, a video tutorial isn't far off.)
I think at over $90, this may be a future Christmas gift and not just a little splurge. However, I must say that the DA Looms are lovely, well-made, and something a future loom knitter will be ecstatic to find in a treasure box 100 years from now, so the price is worth it, but with my budget, it does rank as a "super special" gift.
Besides, my one try at using a sock loom was pretty disastrous. I started out with my lovely EFG DA Oval Sock Loom, but didn't get past the toe. It seems that my eyes and very close, tiny knitting don't get along, and as a result the loom has been gathering dust for over a year. I've often considered swapping it with someone who owns a FG sock loom to see if a larger gauge would keep me interested. It's possible I'm simply not a sock knitter; but with an entire skein of bamboo sock yarn waiting for a purpose in life, I feel compelled to try again.
I bought this hand-dyed wool blend this weekend, and at first I wasn't certain I was wise to spend that $25. (Yes, $25!). The colors, although lovely, seemed to cry out "baby blanket." However, now that I see it on the Weave-it, I sorta like it. It could even turn it into something other than a baby blanket, especially since I don't know anyone with a baby, and I don't have a long enough attention span to make a blanket. The nice thing about Weave-it squares is that you can keep on weaving them and then decide what you're going to make after you have a nice pile.
These are my first two squares made with my pre-patented Weave-it with the goofy numbering. After I read Jana's instructions, I was able to correctly wind the yarn and weave the 4th row. Thanks, Jana!
EDITED (4/29): Thank you to Jana who identified this as the earliest of Weave-it looms. The numbers are "wrong," and it had yet to be patented. Thanks, too, to those at Ravelry who gave me instructions on how to use this loom to make a perfect Weave-It square.
ORIGINAL POST: I'm trying to identify one of my 4" looms that I found at a thrift store. I assume it's a Weave-it loom, but the markings on the corners don't match other Weave-its I've seen. It's wooden with dove-tailed corners, and it has a #1 and #2 marked on it, kitty-corner to each other. There is also a red "W" with an arrow and another faint red arrow. On the back it says "Patent Applied For. Made in USA." Any ideas?
In the amazing, super 4" loom find from last weekend, I not only had two 4" looms, but nine of these sample cards. I think they were probably done back when the looms were still new. If you look closely, you can see the notes on each sample:
As part of my super, amazing 4" loom discovery, here are the instructions to the Simplex Hand Loom, which was made in Illinois back in the 1930s.
I don't know what else to call this post... I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! It's super! Amazing!
Last fall, when I found the Wonder Weave in a nearby thrift store, I decided that's it--I probably found my quota of good bargains and I'd never get an actual Weave-it loom. So I bought a Hazel Rose loom, and it's really nice, but you know how it goes, each time I enter an antique store or thrift store, I scan the aisles for those little square frames. Matter of fact, when I'm back in the store where I spotted the Wonder Weave, I hesitate in that very aisle, looking around, just hoping maybe...
And then it happened! Yesterday, in the same store (different aisle), I found this box marked $16.95. "Weaver Set," it said. "1933 - 1945. Books, and etc.":
So, what's in this special Weaver box? I'll detail it all in later posts, but for now here's a peek:
- 4" Weave-it Loom
- 4" Simplex Loom
- Two needles
- 11 Pattern booklets (for Weave-it, Simplex, and Loomette)
- 15 finished squares
- 9 Sample cards with 2 squares apiece, each square featuring a different pattern
Coming soon: a closer look at the looms, the booklets, and the samples.
I saw this Knit-Wit kit on sale but didn't buy it even though it was the last one, figuring I had enough flower looms; however, I decided if it was still there the next time I shopped, I'd get it... and it was, sitting slightly askew just the way I left it even though more than a week had passed. For $5.00, I can call it fate, a bargain, or maybe both.
The Knit-Wit is a new-again loom, once very popular in the 1970s and now repackaged. Mine came with both a square and circular loom, plus a DVD with helpful instructions. I started making flowers, following the instructions to create a border around each one. Then, I took it a step further and started connecting them together as I loomed, creating this ... scarf? I think it's a scarf, anyway. I have about two feet done, 21 flowers in all, but I'd like to more than double the length. I'm using Marry by Rozetti, a yarn I'dbeen saving to practice cables or use the triloom to make another shawl. But for some reason, this retro, slightly-groovy scarf is growing on me. Or, is it growing on its own? Without me knitting anything? Hmmm...
Knit-Witting is sort of soothing, once you get the hang of it. What next? A pantsuit, perhaps? Thankfully, the biggest project I've ever completed consisted of 1.5 skeins of yarn, so I don't think a flowered pantsuit will ever be loomed by me.
Thank you, Brenda of Loom Lore! Brenda, an creative expert in all-things looming (just check out these loomy-licious cupcakes!), nominated me for this award, which I've seen being passed around the looming and knitting blogs. I've visited Brenda's blog numerous times, and she's always willing to answer questions. Plus, she offers a ton of innovative patterns. So, thanks again, Brenda.
As I understand it, the rule to this crazy Kreativ Blogger Award is that I have to "nominate" seven blogs I really enjoy, even non-crafty ones. Some of these are very popular blogs, but if you haven't visited them, please do. Here are a few of my favorite, never-miss bloggers:
- Crazy Aunt Purl: Laurie is super funny and yes, she knits. Plus, she has a bunch of cats.
- Chickens in the Road: Author Suzanne McMinn posts about life on her rural West Virigina farm. She loves to write about her chickens.
- Chez Larsson: I like this daily glimpse into Benita Larsson's cool Swedish home; she cleans, organizes, and crafts like a Swedish Martha Stewart!
- Polka Dot Cottage: Lisa Clarke's neat ideas with looming, and she does a wealth of other crafts--check out the polymer clay jewelry and buttons.
- Avalanche Looms: Susan Johnson's lovely weaving.
- Dangling Threads: Cady May's blog--she spins, she knits!
- Knitting-and.com: Sarah Bradberry's loaded site. I found this during my frenzied search for anything flower-loom related--and she has the best site out there for those little looms.
I've been busy making flowers, both with my Crazy Daisy Winder and my trusty Knifty Knitter flower loom. It's funny that I needed to find another flower loom--the Crazy Daisy--to realize I already owned one. So far, I'm doing fine with the wrapping, using yarn or embroidery floss (more on that later) but the stitching of the middle is a bit tough. I'm getting there, however, and have big plans for my flowers. You can see I'm using different wraps. On the Knifty Knitter loom, I wrap the pegs between two to four times, but the little Daisy loom only takes once or twice to make a full flower.
This week, I decided to buy some embroidery thread for the Daisy loom. The yarn I was using just wasn't fine enough, plus I thought the bright colors and smooth texture of floss would make for some pretty flowers. One night I stopped at the only store that's on the drive home--Walmart--and found they no longer carry floss! I was just a little shocked. The next night, we stopped to browse in a local thrift/discount store in town and I was thrilled to find a big tin of embroidery floss for about $9.00. Once I got home, I started looking through the stash and realized it was even more special than I first thought.
The floss is old, but the colors are still vivid. Many of them are marked two cents ($.02) but most are priced at eight cents ($.08). When was the last time embroidery floss sold for two cents?? I realized that this was a very old collection, put together by someone who really loved to embroider. Most of the collection was carefully stored in plastic bags, but there was a bunch tangled together. Somewhere from within that colorful nest I found a few needles, a strand of pefectly teeny tiny red beads (can you imagine the care it would take to embroider beads that size?!), and a big clue to the time/place of the collector: an ad from a Wisconsin newspaper with the date of 1932 on the bottom.
Many of the embroidery threads are marked from J.C. Penney, but most say France. I've been carefully selecting some accent colors from this tin to highlight my flowers. I have a feeling it will last a long time, and I'm so pleased to have found it.
