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Hands Occupied

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

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Picks of the Year

December 29, 2017 2 Comments

Read about the top 10 posts from Hands Occupied in 2017. Did your favorites make the list?
It’s always so interesting looking back on a full year of work, especially when you do something like design knit and crochet patterns. 2017 has been my first year designing full time, and I have learned so much! There was a great deal going on in my personal life this year. Between tending to family (which, sorry not sorry, comes before my career), tending to my own physical and mental health, and working on shoring up the foundation Hands Occupied is built on as a business, I feel like I’ve made some amazing strides. Stuff’s been light on the blog this week as I take time to celebrate Christmas (again, family, duh), but I’m also dedicating time to reflecting on where the business is at and where it’s heading in 2018. I’m eager to keep growing as a designer and business owner, and I am so grateful for each and every one of you for being part of this journey!

Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of free patterns and useful tutorials on this year’s list. (Here’s the best of 2016 list in case you’re looking to compare the two.) They’re absolutely worth taking a peek at if you missed them on the first go ’round. Next week, we’re kicking off the new year with a survey for you guys to help me narrow down some of the ideas and plans I have for Hands Occupied. Don’t miss out on that – I want to make sure I hear from everyone I possibly can to ensure Hands Occupied keeps bringing you the knitting, crochet, yarn crafts, and more that you want to see! For now, let’s take a look at this year’s most-visited posts. :)

The best of 2017:

  1. Little Hats Big Hearts – An overview of a favorite charity knitting & crochet program.
  2. Lopi Tote – A free knitting pattern.
  3. Golden Check Infinity Scarf – A free knitting pattern.
  4. Le Pom Blanket – A free knitting pattern.
  5. Read Along Knit Along – Announcing the fall 2017 RALKAL featuring The Scarf of Dreams (knitting pattern) & The Night Circus (book).
  6. How to Increase & Decrease in Brioche – Knitting video tutorials.
  7. Grab ‘n Go Purse – A free crochet pattern.
  8. Candy Cane Ornament – A free knitting pattern.
  9. Knitting Needle Sizes & A Handy Conversion Chart – A guide to knitting needle sizing and how they vary.
  10. Kleenex Share Mitts – A free crochet pattern.

Here’s to 2018!! 

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: 2017, free patterns, hands occupied top ten, picks of the year, top ten

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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Comments

  1. Louise Pozzi

    December 30, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    Heidi, I am trying to print the instructions for red hats for preemies and I really don’t want to print all 53 pages Please help me to print just the instructions. Thank you so much

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 1, 2018 at 5:47 pm

      You have to copy and paste the pattern into a separate document if you want to print it without images. I am on the lookout for a good website plugin to make my free patterns on the blog printer-friendly, but haven’t yet found one that fits knitters’ and crocheters’ needs!

      Reply

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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 🧶✂️
If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually k If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually knitting from one sweater into another here, no big deal. (What can I say, I lost a game of yarn chicken. 😂) I almost didn’t post this because I was worried someone might have some nonsense to say about my ability to knit. Then I remembered I can’t care about that. Silly me, I almost forgot myself! 
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Speaking of which, dang it’s good to have my mental health back consistently after the past couple of years. The anxious parts of my personality are just chilling, rather than constantly screaming that my work isn’t good enough to share. The confident parts of me that matter have me creating (and starting to share my creations & process with strangers and friends) again! 
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Anybody else feel like they are beginning to return to themselves, so to speak, this spring?
I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] proj I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] project needs is a couple of short sleeves! I’ll be finishing this sweater *just* before it gets too warm to wear, but isn’t that always how it goes? 🫠🧶 
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#knittersofinstagram #soldotnacrop #handsoccupied #knitincolor #springknitting
Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, wh Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, which has unsurprisingly turned into a love letter to primary colors. ❤️💛💙 The heart stripe is a wee tweak I incorporated, and I don’t regret it! 
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 #handsoccupied #soldotnacrop #strandedcolorwork #knitting #yokesweater
I am unfortunately home bound for the near future I am unfortunately home bound for the near future thanks to the big, bad bug. So far I’ve knit half a sweater, consumed about a gallon of ginger tea, & plowed through 3 seasons of Pit Bulls and Parolees. 
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June doesn’t understand why I’m suddenly so boring, but she seems to like watching animal planet. 🤷🏼‍♀️
A bit of Saturday swatching. 🧶 I am working in A bit of Saturday swatching. 🧶 I am working in greyscale today to practice designing “without color”. Kinda cool, kinda weird. We’ll see if it yields anything interesting! 😆
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