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Hands Occupied

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

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Knitting with Disney… and Me!

October 20, 2021 Leave a Comment

The Magic Carpet Throw Blanket by Heidi Gustad can be found in the new Knitting with Disney book by Tanis Gray! (Insight editions, 2021)

You read that title right, folks! I have a new knitting design coming out in the brand new, official Knitting with Disney book. Mine is just one among dozens of awesome Disney-inspired projects in the collection, all brought together by the book’s publisher, Insight Editions, and its author Tanis Gray.

Knitting with Disney (knitting pattern book) by Tanis Gray 28 Official Patterns Inspired by Mickey Mouse, The Little Mermaid, and More!
The cover, so cute!

With more than a dozen published knitting titles under her belt, I was excited to have the opportunity to work with Tanis on a project like this! This project came about when things were kind of crazy last year (as if all of 2020 wasn’t “kind of crazy” 😆 ). When they reached out, the book was coming together, but they were looking for someone excited about designing an intarsia colorwork pattern, specifically a life-size take on the Magic Carpet from Aladdin. … Gulp, right?

But it turns out I’m a happy little weirdo when it comes to designing and working with intarsia, and I absolutely enjoyed brining this character to life. Every time you bind off a knitting project, there’s a little feeling of having created some magic (at least for me). But when I bound off a life-size take on the Magic Carpet, a sentient being y’all!, it really thought for a second I’d quite literally woven magic. It was a pretty rad feeling, even though this is actually how tired I looked after joining the final tassels to this project:

Heidi Gustad (Hands Occupied) after finishing the Magic Carpet Throw Blanket design and sample for Knitting with Disney (Insight Editions, 2021).

Like I said, I’m very proud to have been tasked with making the Magic Carpet into a usable, human-sized blanket, but I admit I was intimidated at the start. :) I sort of said yes to this project because I didn’t have anything else to loose, other than my fear of taking intarsia colorwork design concepts to the next level. I’d started to play with some of these design ideas in my Intarsia Mountain blanket (2018) & Faded Flare Wrap (2019), specifically making a somewhat reversible fabric using intarsia colorwork. So, for me, that meant using garter stitch primarily with intarsia, rather than the stockinette that is so often encountered. The Magic Carpet Throw is probably the fullest expression of this idea while still being knittable, and I really enjoyed the process of interpreting a rug animated by computers and drawing in knitting.

Peep my Magic Carpet Throw in the Knitting with Disney book trailer:

Preorder information and how to get bonus free pattern: Knitting with Disney

How to get your hands on the book, plus a discount and a bonus pattern!

Preorders are now open for Knitting with Disney, which will be released November 9, 2021. If you preorder the title, you can submit proof of purchase to get a free pattern not included in the book, the Simba Mittens. Here’s how it works:

  • You can buy Knitting with Disney from any retailer to get the free pattern, but you will get a 25% discount if you purchase at InsightEditions.com with the code DISNEYKNIT.
    • Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1647221803/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i7
    • Insight Editions’ website, use code DISNEYKNIT to get 25% off: https://insighteditions.com/pages/knittingwithdisney
  • Getting the free pattern:
    • After you’ve ordered the title, “register” it on this page to get the free pattern.
    • Everyone who registers their pre-order will be sent the free pattern on November 9, when the book is released.

It’s funny that I designed a knitted take on a magic rug for Knitting with Disney, because I’m also a designer of actual rugs, specifically latch hook and punch needle. While you wait for your Knitting with Disney preorders to come in next month, you should check out my book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker. It turns one TODAY: https://bit.ly/latch-hook-book.

For either book, shipping could be bananas because the world continues to be complicated, so I encourage anyone who wants a physical copy of either title by, let’s say, December 25 to hop on the preorder (or just plain order) train!

//

And one last thing: Catch me on the Stockinette Zombies Podcast this Sunday as part of the Knitting with Disney virtual launch party!

To celebrate the release of Knitting with Disney, the Stockinette Zombies podcast will be hosting a launch party Zoom call this Sunday, Oct. 24 at 3PM CST! Tanis Gray, the hosts of Stockinette Zombies, and several of us contributing designers will be there live to talk about the book, discuss our patterns, and have a yarny good time.

Find all launch party Zoom details here.

Filed Under: Knitting, My Work Elsewhere Tagged With: aladdin, heidi gustad, intarsia, knitting book, knitting with disney, magic carpet, magic carpet design, magic carpet throw, throw blanket

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. 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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Helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010
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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts
Wow! I am floored by the awesome response to the S Wow! I am floored by the awesome response to the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest. Thank you. 🙏🏻❤️ If you love this pattern & didn’t know already, we are going to be doing a knit along (KAL) from October 1-29 featuring this spooky sweater vest & lots of tutorials, especially for the intarsia part. 
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Later today my newsletter will be coming out with additional Knit Along details, so if you’re not already signed up, now is a great time - the 🔗 is in my b1o. 
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Pictured: My Spiral Hill Sweater Vest pattern from the new Nightmare Before Christmas knitting book by @tanisknits. Model is wearing size 1 with 2” of positive ease, knit in @brooklyntweed Imbue Worsted. Vest images via @insighteditions 
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#spiralhillsweatervest #handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmasknittingbook
At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest, my contribution to the new book Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Knitting Guide to Halloween Town and Christmas Town, out now! 🎃💀 
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I’m hosting a knit along (KAL) October 1-29 for anyone who’d like to knit this vest along with a group & learn a little about intarsia while we’re at it. I’ve got weekly tutorials planned to help you knit this worsted weight sweater vest, and there’s a prize package giveaway at the end for KAL participants too. Details are on my site - you know where to find the 🔗 I think. 😉
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Book by @tanisknits 
Publisher @insighteditions 
Yarn @brooklyntweed Imbue 
Find it wherever fine books are sold. 
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#handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmas #intarsia #sweatervest #knittingpattern #knittingbook #spiralhill #knitting_inspiration #knitting
Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs closet after this weekend’s quick tutorial, here are few. ✂️ The tutorial is one post back in my feed as a video.
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As you can see, I didn’t worry about the wire hangers all being perfectly uniform, but it doesn’t matter to me. Also, this closet holds a lot! Despite that, it is already at capacity. Since the hanging bags don’t appear to be recyclable, I want to reuse them as long as possible. Who knows, maybe this will be a way to limit my WIPs? 😅
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P.s. In the third photo you can see how I use this system to store the original swatches, scraps, yarn ball bands, & notes from a design project all together. 
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#handsoccupied #wips #craftstorage #yarnstorage #yarncrafts #knitting_inspiration #craftstudio #craftroom #craftcloset
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
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