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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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Life

Occasional blog posts about my life. Everything from work life balance to how yarn crafts help combat anxiety is fair game here.

Heidi from Hands Occupied wearing her primary colored version of the So Faded sweater by Andrea Mowry.

Stop, it’s recharge time!

January 8, 2021 1 Comment

A quick update on taking a short break to recharge for the new year!

What's up, 2020? Check out this brand new blog post about what Heidi has been up to on Hands Occupied hiatus, and plans for the rest of the year to come, including some surprises!

What’s up, 2020? (No seriously, what is going on?)

April 4, 2020 Leave a Comment

What I’ve been up to on my book hiatus besides writing a book), and plans for the rest of the year to come, including some surprises!

A quick look back at a year of growth for Hands Occupied, and creative dreams for the year (and decade) to come!

Almost a decade of Hands Occupied

January 6, 2020 2 Comments

A quick look back at a year of growth for Hands Occupied, and creative dreams for the year (and decade) to come!

Listen & subscribe to the Very Serious Crafts podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts!

The Very Serious Crafts Podcast

May 7, 2018 4 Comments

Learn about the new Very Serious Crafts podcast, a collaboration among Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive, Haley Pierson-Cox of Red Handled Scissors, and Heidi Gustad of Hands Occupied.

Love & Lopapeysas: All about knitting an Icelandic sweater

Love & Lopapeysas

March 5, 2018 9 Comments

In honor of my wedding anniversary today, I’d planned to share with you some pictures of my husband modeling my gift for him, a lovingly knitted Icelandic sweater, but, uh, about that…

Spring Meadow Scarf Knit Along - Hands Occupied for All Free Knitting

The Hands Occupied Story

February 8, 2018 11 Comments

A pretty thorough reflection on how the heck Hands Occupied came about and why. Suffice it to say, none of this was planned.

Get your hands on the Rhombuster Scarf pattern, a colorful new design from Heidi Gustad. Don't think scarf patterns can surprise you? Give the Rhombuster a shot to try something new!

Allow me to reintroduce myself.

September 25, 2017 7 Comments

One of my goals for Hands Occupied this year is being less buttoned up. Today I want to share more about what my first year as a full time knit & crochet designer looked like. Brace yourselves – it was a doozie!

The Hat Hat | Hands Occupied

Big Changes!

September 6, 2016 17 Comments

After much deliberation, I recently decided that I’m ready to move on from Librarianship. It’s officially official – Friday was my last day of working as a Librarian. Learn about what that means for Hands Occupied in today’s post!

Iceland trip collage

A knitter in Iceland

April 4, 2016 4 Comments

Last month, my husband and I visited Iceland for ten days to celebrate our anniversary. Since it turns out that there’s yarn just about everywhere you look in Iceland, I thought I’d share a roundup of all the wooly highlights (and a bit of scenery) from our trip.

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

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

work with heidi

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Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

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handsoccupied

Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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See you in a couple weeks! ✌🏻#handsoccupied #knitdesign #craftdesign #sofadedsweater
Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it shoul Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it should be. ☺️🎄The past few days have been filled with a lot of catching up on festive zoom calls & raising toasts to the camera. 🥂 Connecting with people has been a welcome change of pace! Now I’m feeling ready to meet my inevitable end-of-year deadlines. 😆
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Warmest wishes for the season, my friends! ❤️💛💙
Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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