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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 Week for December 19, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

December 19, 2014 Leave a Comment

It’s almost knitting & crocheting for yourself time, kittens! In honor of that glorious, post-Christmas zen knitting glow, today’s collage features four totally cute winter patterns you should whip up for yourself after your December gift-making marathon. I, for one, am looking forward to some selfish knitting in 2015! 6 days and counting, my friends. 6 days.

55 Last Minute Knit & Crochet Gift Ideas at HandsOccupied.com

55 Last Minute Knit & Crochet Gift Ideas

December 17, 2014 4 Comments

Christmas is a week from tomorrow, which means I’m finishing up a few knit and crochet gifts, but of course, there are more I’d like to get done between now and Christmas Eve. I have a hunch I’m not the only knitter quaking in my boots, so today’s post is all about one-skein/fast-to-make knitting and crochet gift ideas that you can get gone between now and the 25th.

Picks of the Week for October 24, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

October 24, 2014 Leave a Comment

Next week is Halloween, which means there are tons of amazing, yarny ideas popping up online every day featuring costume ideas, home décor, and general fall outerwear.

Crush Creative Demons with Mighty Ugly at HandsOccupied.com

Crush Creative Demons with Make It Mighty Ugly

September 24, 2014 Leave a Comment

Make It Mighty Ugly: Exercises and Advice for Getting Creative Even When It Ain’t Pretty is a book by OG internet crafting mover and shaker Kim Werker. This book is all about helping readers understand what creative demons are, why we might have them, and – importantly – how to identify, confront and overcome them.

Picks of the Week for August 8, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

August 8, 2014 3 Comments

It’s Friday, and it’s Shark Week, and it’s Chicago Yarn Crawl week! There’s still a month left of summer, too! Life is good, and the weather is too (here in Midwestern America), so I’ve got nothing to complain about. I’ve got a bundle of knitting and crochet to work on this weekend, including all of the fine inspiration below to keep my brain yarn-occupied. :) TGIF!

Creative Space: Dad's Shop at handsoccupied.com

Better Living Through Handymanlyness

July 31, 2014 2 Comments

In this year’s Reader Survey, a chunk of you awesome respondents said you want to see some more personal content, one reader wanted to see some upcycling ideas, and another suggested a series about creative space inspiration. So I’ll hit a few birds with one stone today by sharing one of the most creative spaces I could think of that’s personal for me – my dad’s basement workshop.

Knitting & Crochet Picks of the Week at handsoccupied.com

Weekly Reader

July 18, 2014 Leave a Comment

TGIF! I had a big work week, and we are still painting our lovely living room. I’m beat! We’ve got great high ceilings which are so fun in real life, but in painting life, are not my favorite thing ever. But I digress. :) The internet gave us some really elegant, Pottery Barn-lookin’ designs this week! Patterns that would knit or crochet up right quick and really class up your abode… and they’d probably do it much more efficiently than a big home DIY project. Like painting – just saying.

Knitting & Crochet Picks of the Week at handsoccupied.com

Weekly Reader

July 11, 2014 1 Comment

It’s been a quiet week here on the blog as I’ve taken some time out to visit family and paint my living room (which really cuts in to the ole knitting time). Never fear, though, I’ve got some fun ideas planned for the coming weeks here on the blog, I’ve just got to finish knitting and crocheting them up!

Knitting & Crochet Picks of the Week at handsoccupied.com

Weekly Reader

July 4, 2014 Leave a Comment

Happy Fourth of July, American readers! And happy Friday, everyone everywhere else! :) I’m spending America’s birthday at home with family in North Dakota, where the fireworks over the prairie are amazing. I can’t wait to share a little bit next week about the HOT (you read that right!), summer side of Fargo you don’t get to see in the media and let you guys get to know me a little better. After all, the lovely folks who have responded to the currently-live reader survey so far are saying they want to get to know yours truly a little better.

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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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