Category Archives: Knitting Without Needles

General posts by Denise above life, children, Knitting Without Needles, looms, yarn, patterns, home schooling, k12, OHVA (Ohio Virtual Academy), and just about anything else!

Mail Call! A New Loom Knitting Book!

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I got a nice surprise in the mail today! A copy of the latest book by my loomie friend Kathy Norris! This is a great  little volume of 35 different stitch patterns you can use to make a sampler afghan.. or hey you could use them for any of your projects!! There are great instructions and in the back of the book the best thing ever!! There are blank templates where you can plan out your stitch pattern for your sampler afghan if you want to get adventurous and change it up from Kathy’s chosen look!

Afghans are big projects but when they are broken up into sample sections like in Loom Knit Samplers  they can be a great carry along project! Like they say.. you CAN eat a whole elephant.. one bite at a time!

If you are looking to branch out from the bland stockinette and garter stitch projects this book is a great place to start! I give it two loomie tools up!

 

Tomorrow my hubs heads in for surgery on his elbow.. and we will be there about 5 hours total.. so you can guess what I got ready to take with me.. some knitting.. of course! I’ll be starting another prayer shawl a nice easy pattern to ease the stress!

 

Zippy Looms Turn a Corner!

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As you know I have been busy!! So busy I haven’t had much time to play with the new Zippy looms even though when I first saw them I thought I have found a perfect match for my monster ball of yarn.

IMG_4614But I digress! This week Knitting Board came out with a nice little addition to the Zippy loom line; corners!!

!cid_ii_150b9d0304bd48e4This is great! So now not only can we make flat pieces with the Zippy loom but items knit in the round.

One tip on putting it together, go ahead and put three sides and all four corners like this:

put togetherThen the last side should be slid in from the front like shown. The KB Looms logo will be on the outside edges of the loom, and there are some small arrows at each end of the side pieces will be on the inside of the loom.

So of course I had a little fun with this new toy!

I made a little tablet cozy, easy peasy. It took me about 45 minutes.

IMG_4616This is just a little garter stitch with some slipped stitch action! I love slipped stitches, they give a little fun texture to a piece and are super easy.. you just take the working yarn behind the peg and skip that peg.

I used my one shawl pin to close up  my cozy, but you can add buttons if you like and with these big stitches you don’t need to make button holes.

IMG_4618So here is how you make it:

Materials

4 Zippy looms

1 set of Zippy loom corners

100 yards of  bulky yarn

Loom tool

Optional:buttons or other closure hardware

 

With yarn held doubled, cast on 20 stitches.

Round 1: Knit all stitches

Round 2: *Purl 2, skip 1 repeat  from * to last two stitches purl 2

(Note: I recommend marking the pegs that you will slip as this will help when making the flap)

Repeat these two rows until the piece is the desired length to keep your tablet cozy ending on row 1.

Next row, knit 15 stitches, bind off 10 stitches,10 stitches remain.

Next row: Purl 1, skip 1, work in pattern slipping the marked pegs until the last stitch, Knit and turn to start next row.

Next row: Slip the first stitch and knit to the end of the row.

Continue in pattern, as for the body of the bag, until the flap is about 4 inches long ending with row 2.

Bind off all stitches.

Weave in the ends

Sew the bottom of the bag together

Add buttons if desired!

I hope you enjoy this little pattern and the Zippy loom corners as much as I do. I see quite a few fast knits in my future!

But as Levar Burton always says on Reading Rainbow, don’t just take my word on it! A few of my friends have tried out the new Zippy Loom corners and written up some patterns for you to enjoy:

Isela Phelps has a few goodies here!

Bethany has an adorable fall hat here!

Renita Harvey has a bit ‘o holiday fun!

And Jenny Stark has something terrific for you, too!

And here it is!

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knittingloomclass

Well it’s live!! I am so excited to say that my online knitting class is live on the Annie’s site!

Here is part of the class description:

“Join knitting loom expert, Denise Layman while she shows you step-by-step how to use fine, small and large gauge knitting looms, which are compatible with most hand-knitting yarns. You’ll learn the basics of loom knitting from the ground-up, and you’ll be introduced to techniques such as: how to knit lace, produce a mitered square and how to knit cables. Yes—all made on a knitting loom!

This comprehensive class includes three quick-knit hat and cowl patterns so you can practice your new loom-knitting skills. Accessories are a great way to learn new skills because they are small and can be made quickly. As an added bonus, this video class includes all of these patterns as free downloads so you can print them and follow along with Denise every step of the way.”

If you want to expand your skills as a loom knitter this class was planned to do that! I always find it nice to see the technique done, rather than reading instructions and viewing pictures in a book!

Click here to check it out!