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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 November 21, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

November 21, 2014 1 Comment

This must be a week in which a lot of the knitters and crocheters I follow are busy working on holiday knitting, rather than blogging explicitly festive items. Don’t get me wrong – awesome knit and crochet ideas abounded, but it was a lot of accessories, super adorable knitwear for kids, that sort of thing. But I guess I can’t say anything about the lack of festive projects I’m finding because it took me until yesterday, November freaking 20th, to post my first holiday tutorial of the season. I better get on blogging some ornaments and home décor ideas asap!

Picks of the Week for November 14, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

November 14, 2014 1 Comment

Winter is coming. Christmas is coming. It’s almost Thanksgiving. And that means a lot of us have very deadline-driven knitting and crocheting to do! I am thoroughly convinced my handmade gift-giving goals are pretty much delusional, but I’m bound and determined to give them a try. Anyone else in this situation about now?

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

Picks of the Week

November 8, 2014 Leave a Comment

It’s weird to be writing a blog post for a Saturday! As I write this sleep-deprived roundup of my favorite yarn projects of the week, I’m so happy and excited in spite of my tiredness. The fall knit along has just a couple posts left, and I feel really good about how everyone’s sweaters are going. I hope the knitters along reading this are enjoying the KAL and will get to make a lot of progress on their Remy Pullovers this weekend. Knitting and crochet are so awesome.

Picks of the Week for October 31, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

October 31, 2014 2 Comments

Happy Halloween and TGIF, all in one! Unsurprisingly, this week was full of great autumnal patterns, throws, and Halloweeny ideas online.

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.

Picks of the Week for October 17, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

October 17, 2014 Leave a Comment

This was the week of lovely ladies modeling things they made on their blogs, apparently. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge how cute both they and their creations are! Along with a bunch of other adorable stand-out crochet & knitting patterns, the four accessories pictured stood out this week in the blogosphere.

Picks of the Week for October 17, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week & A Giveaway Winner!

October 10, 2014 1 Comment

I think the internet’s initial pulse of “OMG IT’S FALL!” knitwear has passed, and we’re now onto, “oh hey, Halloween, chill sweaters, let’s improve our knitting skillz.” It’s now the confident part of knitting and crochet season where people start to stretch and work on the project that’s been brewing in their head all of late summer and early fall. (That’s not just me projecting how my knitting season is going, I think? I hope? Let me know if you think I’m bananas with this line of thought.) We’re seeing some super cute Halloween & fall stuff, and some really cool knitwear designs have shown up lately that I’m all about. I mean, do you see the shawl and cape in this post? So good.

Picks of the Week for October 3, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

October 3, 2014 Leave a Comment

It’s knit along season, and I’m digging it. Since the Hands Occupied knit along launched this week. I’m so busy hosting I don’t have enough time to follow along with other great KALs happening around the web, which is a shame since everyone is doing fun patterns for their fall knit and crochet alongs this year. I’ll have to do a roundup of my favorites for you guys next time I’m not spending all of my time knitting, writing and photographing this blog’s KAL. For now, check out my top picks of the week.

Picks of the Week for September 26, 2014 at handsoccupied.com

Picks of the Week

September 26, 2014 2 Comments

Slowly dropping temperatures mixing with randomly hot days are perfect for layering headbands and cowls. This week’s picks are full of patterns and tutorials for how to make some new layerable items for your fall wardrobe! The best part of patterns like these are that they work up in a sitting or two – why not cast on one of these and finish it this weekend?

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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
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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