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Hands Occupied

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

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Weekly Picks

Picks of the Week for December 13, 2019 | Hands Occupied

Picks of the Week

December 13, 2019 Leave a Comment

It’s beginning to look festive out there! It’s mid-December, which means the winter holidays are in full-effect and holiday parties have begun. If you’re like me, you’ll be filling every minute not tethered to your to-do list looking to recharge your batteries. What better way than by curling up with a sneaky stitching project? This week, we’ve got ideas for holiday cross-stitch, sewing, and your favorite: yarn crafts. ;)

Picks of the Week for November 29, 2019 | Hands Occupied

Picks of the Week

November 29, 2019 Leave a Comment

Welp, Thanksgiving ended 6 hours ago, so now it’s Christmas, right? 😉 If you’re ready to get in the spirit, or have just accepted the fact that the holidays are upon us, here are some festive new ideas that could also make great gifts!

Picks of the Week for November 15, 2019 | Hands Occupied

Picks of the Week

November 15, 2019 Leave a Comment

Are you ready to stitch up a winter wonderland? The holidays are coming, so if you’re on the lookout for some quick gift knits, this week’s picks might have just the thing for you.

Picks of the Week for November 1, 2019 | Hands Occupied

Picks of the Week

November 1, 2019 Leave a Comment

I can’t believe it, it snowed three inches in Chicago on Halloween! At least there’s nothing like an extra early snow to make you want to cast on roughly 100 projects at once. 😊 And here are a few more to queue!

Picks of the Week for October 18, 2019 | Hands Occupied

Picks of the Week

October 18, 2019 Leave a Comment

It’s cold out there – time to bust out all of the cold weather gear you’ve finished this summer, pals! And if you’re feeling like your fall accessory game could use some work, you’re in luck. Ear warmers, hats, cowls and mitts make great projects to finish in a week or less. Happy fall!

Picks of the Week for October 3, 2019 | Hands Occupied

Picks of the Week

October 4, 2019 Leave a Comment

It’s October, so the motivation to knock out a ton of knitting and crochet projects is strong. This time of year, weekends are our friend! Inspire your weekend creativity with this week’s picks.

Picks of the Week

September 20, 2019 Leave a Comment

You can just about lock down all of your fall making with this week’s picks!

Picks of the Week for September 6, 2019 | Hands Occupied

Picks of the Week

September 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

Fall, that time of year when every other pattern you see seems to find its way on to your to-make list. Let’s see if we can’t tempt you with a few more ideas!

Picks of the Week for August 23, 2019 | Hands Occupied

Picks of the Week

August 23, 2019 Leave a Comment

What’s that I see? A bunch of knit & crochet ideas to cast on for fall? Yes indeed! Welcome to late August, my friends. I can’t decide if I’m sad about the end of summer or excited for knitwear season to begin!

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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

Helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010
🧶 Really into intarsia
Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop the latest patterns ⤵️

Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts
How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with jus How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with just a few supplies ✂️
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When I was a librarian, we would use these hanging bags to circulate books with audiobook CDs. They came to mind when I wanted to develop a filing cabinet-like system for my differently-sized WIPs. To fit in my studio closet, a standard bedroom closet, they just needed custom hangers. 🤙🏻 
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HOW TO MAKE THE HANGERS
1. Carefully cut approx. a 9” (23 cm) length of flexible 3 mm aluminum wire.
2. Near the end of a large knitting needle or dowel, wrap the wire around it as you would a twist tie. 
3. Bend the other end into a hook shape, perpendicular to the circle shape you just created. 
4. Hang like a hanger in a closet, as shown. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration #craftcloset #craftroom #craftroomorganization #craftroomstorage #craftroomdecor #crocheter #latchhook #knittersofinstagram #wip #wips #hangingstorage
It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! T It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! This go around, get to know two new sister yarns from @manosyarnsusa, Marla and Sami, and enter to win a skein of each to try for yourself. 
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What makes these yarns sisters is that, while dyed differently, they’re the same weight and come in intentionally coordinating color palettes. For my review, I opted for a sky-inspired combo of Sami in Natural and Marla in Nube. 🌧️ 
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Check out the full review & enter the giveaway at the link in my bio. 
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#handsoccupied #yarnreview #manosdeluruguay #knitting_inspire #crochet #yarngiveaway #knitters #yarn #crochetersofinstagram
If only knitting a whole project took 39 seconds… 😮‍💨 
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In this video, you can see how the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern knits up - two flat panels, one with intarsia, both are blocked, and then they’re seamed. Find the pattern on @hi.ravelry & my website, just search Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 
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P.S. I’m really smiling in this video while seaming the pillow, so I guess I’m proving last week’s claim that I truly enjoy that sometimes-dreaded task. 😆🫣
In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you add a stitch in between two columns of stitches that leans to the left. Similar to an M1L, LLIs allow you to increase nearly invisibly.
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To learn more about lifted increases, including when to use them and how they differ from Make 1s, head to the 🔗 in my profle. 
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Have you ever used lifted increases? I used M1’s almost exclusively for a long time when I needed to inc between stitches, but when I designed the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern, I needed something that would allow me to increase a lot near my cast on, and M1’s resulted in edge curling. The more you know! 🌈 
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Yarn: @lionbrandyarn Wool Ease from my Stash / Neddles: @boyeyarncrafts - Just remembered these are the needles I learned to knit on at age 8. 😂
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#handsoccupied #knitting #learntoknit #howtoknit #sweaterknitting #knitinspiration #knittersofinstagram #liftedincreases
Last week I got to hang out with my family & helpe Last week I got to hang out with my family & helped babysit my red-headed niece and nephew. So here’s some plane knitting, and a couple pictures (shared with permission) of my babysitting adventures.
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Lessons learned: 1️⃣ Trying to knit around 2 toddlers, 2 cats & 2 large dogs is pretty hard. 2️⃣ I learned during water color time that pink and black make “colorful black.” 🩷🖤 3️⃣ Toddlers do NOT care about your rainbow sorting of their toys. 4️⃣ Toddlers are very good at finding mischief in a very short amount of time, what a surprise. 😂
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#handsoccupied #knitting #placesyoucanknit #knitters #knitinpublic #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration
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