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

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The Read Along Knit Along is back!

February 23, 2017 2 Comments

The spring 2017 Read Along Knit Along is headed your way! Plan ahead with all the details in this post.

By popular demand, it’s time for another Read Along Knit Along! Last fall, we knit the Other People’s Houses Shawl and read the teen fiction debut novel from Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, The Smell of Other People’s Houses. The fantastic discussion on Ravelry, live chat with the award winning author herself(!), and beautiful finished patterns made the first RALKAL a roaring success.

This time around, we’re going to be knitting a brand new sock pattern, which will be revealed and available on Ravelry next Wednesday, March 1. (But there’s a sneak peek at the bottom of this post if you’re curious!) We’ll be reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Annie Shaffer and Ann Barrows, which was chosen from among the fantastic suggestions in the Ravelry Group book selection thread. It’s a fun read that clocks in at under 300 pages, and paired with (see what I did there?) a socks project, this RALKAL should be a fun little way to celebrate spring.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Annie Shaffer and Ann Barrows

RALKAL 2.0 Details

  • RALKAL 2.0 will run Saturday 3/4 through Saturday 4/1. That will give you 4 weekends to work on your socks & read the book.
  • The hashtags are #RALKAL & #rickandrollsocks.
  • Here’s the main RALKAL 2.0 Ravelry discussion board.
    • There will be a few specific sub-threads going on too:
      • a pattern discussion & question thread.
      • a couple threads to chat about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, with special care taken to avoid spoilers (because that’s the worst).
  • As usual, there will be a couple of tutorial videos demonstrating harder or unusual elements of the pattern we’re knitting.
  • For supplies, you’ll need 100g of sock yarn that you can get 6 stitches & 8 rows over 1 inch for gauge. A great opportunity to stash dive! ;)

Prizes!

Knit alongs are a little more fun when you’ve got a carrot to help motivate you to make the deadline, aren’t they? I’ve got a gorgeous yarn I can’t wait to show you for part of the prize package, and there’s also a copy of Barbara Walker’s first Treasury of Knitting Patterns (my absolute favorite stitch dictionary) up for grabs. You’ll be able to enter the giveaway for casting on, using the Instagram hashtags, participating on Ravelry, and of course, finishing the book and at least one sock. Since second sock syndrome is real, you can enter once for each sock you finish, even if you knit them two-at-a-time style. :)

The spring 2017 Read Along Knit Along is headed your way! Take a sneak peek at the socks we'll be knitting & plan ahead with this post.

A sneaky peek at the socks we’ll be knitting!

For now, that’s all I can reveal, but this should give you everything you need to get ready to cast on and start reading with us starting on March 4! Tune in next week for a pattern reveal and link to the pattern on Ravelry. Can’t wait!

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Filed Under: Knit Along, Knitting Tagged With: kal, knit along, ralkal2, read along knit along, sock knitting

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. MariposaKnits

    February 23, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    I’ve never heard of a RALKAL, such a cool idea!! I’ve also been wanting to try knitting socks for a while now, maybe this is my motivation… As a first time sock knitter, do you think this pattern would be do-able, and I would be able to keep up?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 23, 2017 at 8:16 pm

      Yes! I’ve got a bunch of tutorials that should help & there will be tons of support on Ravelry too!

      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

Craft book author & pattern designer ❤️💛💙
knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Please email for pattern support. 🧶

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
When you have four big skeins of pretty 2 ply yarn When you have four big skeins of pretty 2 ply yarn, you immediately think sweater, right? 
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My wardrobe could use another handmade sweater - I’m thinking something simple, seamed and with a decent amount of ease for potentially wearing tucked in with jeans or skirts. 🤔 
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Yarn: @universal_yarn Fibra Natura Cobblestone in Antarctica and Dragon’s Breath, wound in thick skeins of 100% superwash wool that’s a light DK weight.
How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style . How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style 
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In knitting, there are a few common knitting styles. Most often you’re going to encounter continental style and English (throwing) style on your knitting journey. I recently had an old video teaching continental style get a lot of views. Based on the comments, it was clear the people wanted to also see a throwing tutorial, so here you go! 🧶
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Please note that there is a LOT of variation in knitting styles, and one isn’t necessarily better than another. Most often, I’ve found it comes down to two things: how you were taught and whether or not you’re really into colorwork knitting (which can involve a mix of styles). 
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Longer-term knitters who’ve made it this far: do you prefer one over the other? And why? 
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#handsoccupied #englishknitting #learntoknit #knitting #howtoknit #knittersofinstagram #knitting_inspiration
How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on / a.k.a. crochet provisional cast on, scrap yarn cast on
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I read recently that tiktok and Instagram are being used as search engines more and more. 🤔 I thought since I’m going to all the work of making tutorials on YouTube, I should experiment with making a quick version of them for other platforms. There are obvious teaching limitations to vertical video, short-form content like this, but I think I covered the gist of this cast on in a minute. The YouTube version also covers how to unzip this cast on because there was time for it 👍🏻 L1nk is in my profile. 
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I’m very much looking for feedback as I continue to make instructional knitting & craft videos. Sometimes good tutorials are hard to find, and (ideally polite) feedback helps me improve. 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #knititngtutorial #knittersofinstagram #crochethook #knittingtutorial
For the first time in a long time, there’s a new For the first time in a long time, there’s a new tutorial from Hands Occupied! 🎉 The video is live on YouTube & the blog. 
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The post covers what provisional cast ons are & how they differ, and the video covers how to work a one-step provisional cast on using scrap yarn and a crochet hook. (This is a great one to save for future reference.)
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I learned several names for this method while researching this video & post. Crochet provisional cast on, one-step cast on, scrap yarn cast on - if you know even more names for this technique, please share! 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #scrapyarn #crochethook
Working on a sample for some upcoming videos. It’s an overcast day with intermittent sunshine & I have a scruffy little sidecar. 🐶 Can’t complain! 
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What’s on your needles this week? 
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Yarn: @debbieblissknits Cashmerino Aran 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #knittinglife
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