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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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A Hard Knit Life

February 21, 2011 Leave a Comment

Well folks, it’s finally happened. After successfully knitting my first sweater, afghan, cabled hat/mitten/scarf set, and as of today, my first pair of socks, I’ve reached a new plateau of knitting skillz. Yes, with a z. In the process, I even learned to knit left-handed, a goal I didn’t think possible for a few years. Between the afghan and the socks, both of which I had hoped to finish by Christmas 2010, my tendinitis necessitated finish the afghan left-handed and the socks past deadline. In my ambidextrous excitement, I tried working on the microscopically-gauged socks (knitted on size 1 double-pointed needles) left-handed and totally failed. There’s only so much a person can do with their non-dominant hand in a short period of time.

I won’t bore you with more details than the above, but I thought I’d share some in-progress and completed pictures of my first pair of socks, which I started making right after Thanksgiving of 2010 and completed Sunday, February 20, 2011.

I mentioned finishing a few other first-ofs in the past year. My winter set was inspired by a Michigan brew, Short’s Huma Lupa Licious and was made using Stitch Nation Full O’ Sheep yarn. The sweater was my take on the Hey Teach pattern from Knitty and was made with Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe yarn in periwinkle. Finally, the afghan was made with some Red Heart Fiesta yarn in cornmeal and was a pattern of my own creation.

I’ve made my own knitting patterns in the past, but my new goal is to learn how to get them down on more than miscellaneous scraps of graph paper. Later this week, I’ll begin the next leg of my knitting journey – pattern making. If anyone out there has tips for pattern-making, please leave a comment. Otherwise, wish me luck!

Filed Under: Inspiration, Knitting, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: afghan, Knitting, mittens, ravelry, socks, sweater, yarn

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Yarn craft designer & author. Into intarsia knits, latch hook, color & vintage-modern style.
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Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
Sneaking in a few stitches in the shade. 😎 Sneaking in a few stitches in the shade. 😎
Another morning of filming! One of the knitting vi Another morning of filming! One of the knitting videos I’d like to release soon is a big overview of how to swatch and why - if you have any questions or favorite tips, let me know. 
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To be honest, I want to be able to link to this video as a resource when I get angry gauge questions, so please don’t hesitate to share your best tips. Together, we can tame the knitting Karens. 😆
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#stopswatchandblockit #handsoccupied #knitting #knittersofinstagram
A big issue I've had in the last year is putting t A big issue I've had in the last year is putting together new design work but not doing any independent releases of them. Chalk it up to anxiety, burn out, or whatever but here we are. 
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Last week I turned 35, so in honor of that here’s 3 things: 
❤️ a picture of me at my most stylish 
💛 a little glimpse at some of the design things I've recently been working on
💙a promise that I will be releasing some of the pictured designs this year. Getting back in the swing of things after taking it easy is hard 😆 - wish me luck!
Like a riding a bike! June guarded the neighborhoo Like a riding a bike! June guarded the neighborhood while I shot a new crochet tutorial today. With any luck, editing will go smoothly & I’ll be posting new videos to YouTube regularly soon! Got any requests for tutorial topics? 
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#handsoccupied #crochet #studiodog #crochettutorial
This yoke deserved a mid-blocking closeup, don’t This yoke deserved a mid-blocking closeup, don’t you think? ❤️💛💙
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Pattern: modified #soldotnacrop sweater / yarn: various from my stash
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