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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 Reader

January 31, 2014 5 Comments

This month is like a dream for anyone who loves seasonal DIYing as much as I do! We’ve got the Super Bowl, Groundhog Day, the Winter Olympics, AND Valentine’s Day coming up. This means that the homemakey internet has roughly a billion ideas for unique and fun takes on party snacks, sweetheart gifts, jewelry and home décor! Check out my faves of the week below.

But first, I want to let you know about a couple changes to Hands Occupied. First, in case you mostly read me offsite (I follow my favorite blogs via RSS, I totally get it), we’ve got an updated site design! The new look prioritizes pictures and is a bit sleeker. I hope you like it!

A New Look for HandsOccupied.com

The other tweak to Hands Occupied includes how you’re able to follow the site via email. Until now, you’ve been able to sign up only for an email that gets sent the day a new post goes live, featuring the new content. Starting today, I’ve added a weekly option to email subscriptions. You can read about all the new email subscription options, and sign up for or change your email subscription preferences here.

Thanks for reading! Now back to your regularly scheduled Weekly Reader… 

Weekly Reader 01.31.14  + A couple announcements | Hands Occupied

images via sources below

this was awesome

crafts, decor & more

mini washi tape chocolates box -lia Griffith
groundhog & its shadow plushie -wild olive
vegan & gluten free chocolate peanut butter footballs -she wears many hats
neon hanging macramé planter -a little birdy blog
faceted concrete heart necklaces -fall for diy
fun felt bracelets -Johanna Rundel
apple butter spiced rum -radical possiblity
paper heart garland -lil mrs. tori

read/watch/listen

I finished Hawkeye Vol. 2, Little Hits. There was a story about Hurricane Sandy, and even a story told from a dog’s perspective. Amazing! / Why I didn’t watch Frances Ha sooner, I’ll never know. / I just discovered how much I love my Rdio “Heidi” station, so I’ve zoned out listening to my college walking-to-class essentials all week.

in case you missed it…

  • Chicago is in yet another polar vortex, which means my dogs are stir crazy.
  • I’m wishing it were summer, so my heart-shaped sunglasses got a summery embellishment.

Filed Under: Weekly Picks Tagged With: crafts, diy, felt bracelets, football snacks, groundhog day, heart necklaces, inspiration, plushie, spiced rum, valentines crafts, weekly reader

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!

Previous Post: « Easy Friendship Bracelet Sunglasses
Next Post: Staggered Holes Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern »

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Comments

  1. johannarundel

    January 31, 2014 at 4:18 am

    Hey Heidi!
    Thank you for sharing my work!
    All the best from Germany
    xoxo Johanna

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 1, 2014 at 3:06 pm

      You’re welcome! The bracelets are so cool!

      Reply
  2. erin elizabeth

    February 1, 2014 at 3:20 pm

    I’m new to Hands Occupied, but excited for the new set up. You have such great ideas! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 1, 2014 at 6:03 pm

      Aww, thanks, Erin! I’m so glad to have you :)

      Reply
  3. Francesca Stone

    February 2, 2014 at 1:10 pm

    The new design looks great! And thanks for featuring my concrete heart pendant tutorial! :)

    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
.
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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