Spooky, Spooky Halloween

Halloween Pumpkin Burning Lamp by euart on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licence.

What plans do you have for Halloween? If you're going to a party, do you have a costume ready yet? Or appropriate attire for keeping warm whilst out Trick or Treating? Well, if not I have some suggestions to help you along because there's still time to knit a quick something before Saturday night.

Some Fingerless Boucle Gloves would look great knitted in black with a wide orange band in the centre. I have even seen lots of pumpkin and ghost buttons in the shops that you could accessorise with too.

For the chaps, I think you'll agree that a Bowtie Tie could set off your zombie outfit nicely.

Best of all though, the Tiny Tippet could look great knitted up in flesh or white, with a line of red through the middle. Wear it jauntily to the side, for that cut-throat look: it's an outfit in itself!

Happy Halloween, knitters!

Ingrid
editorial assistant

Poppy Gallery: 1

Remembrance Poppy by Milliebead on Flickr

Here is the first of our featured poppy brooches, made by Millie (mildunk on Ravelry), for knitonthenet's Knit a Poppy Campaign. Isn't it gorgeous?

You can download the pattern and help to support the British Legion's Poppy Appeal by visiting the knitonthenet site.

Please do send a photo of your finished brooch to ingrid(at)knitonthenet.com or post it in the Ravelry group. We'd love to see yours.

Ingrid
editorial assistant

Giant Knitting Needles!

Ever wondered how they make a pantomime Dame's wig?
Well now you know!

Poppies, poppies, poppies.

Exciting news! knitonthenet's Knit a Poppy Campaign is featured in This Week in Ravelry #61.

This coincides with the official launch today of the British Legion's 2009 Poppy Appeal which supports present and former members of the British armed forces and their families, emotionally, socially and financially.

We hope to get lots more people downloading Just call me Ruby's pattern and donating some money to support the British Legion's Poppy Appeal.

If you are one of them, please do add your brooch as a Ravelry project, share it with the knitonthenet group and post a photograph of your finished poppy in the knitonthenet forum.

For those not on Ravelry, you can also email me at ingrid[at]knitonthenet[dot]com and I will be posting photographs of the poppies in the blog and on our facebook fan page.

We are keeping a total of how much has been raised on the site: at the time of writing it stands at £224. Please do let us know if you raise further monies for the appeal with your poppies.

To start the gallery of poppies, here is my first effort. Let's see yours!

Poppy Brooch by InnyM on Flickr

Ingrid
editorial assistant

What's in a Name?

Recruiting Poster by AJC1 on Flickr, used under Creative Commons licence.

This famous First World War recruitment poster is known worldwide and has been reproduced and parodied relentlessly. But did you know that Lord Kitchener was also said to be the inventor of kitchener stitch? You might have used this method if you have made a pair of top-down socks. It makes a seamless graft of two edges and was a real breakthrough in the 1910s as it made the troops' socks much more comfortable for them to wear.

The National Portrait Gallery is holding an exhibition, looking at the stories behind some of the people in their most famous paintings: Lord Kitchener is one of them and the exhibition tells the story of his drive for home-front knitting of 'forces comforts'.

If you want to try kitchener stitch out for yourself, why not knit one of Woolly Wormhead's sideways hats? Slouchy beret Ziggy and this issue's Molly both use this finishing method.

Ingrid
editorial assistant

Do you have a UFO?

Textile artist Rachael Matthews has started up her UFO Project Administration Service once more after a break of a few months. If you have any unloved, unfinished knitted projects (UnFinished Objects) in the back of your cupboard this collaborative knitting project might be a great way to recycle them.

UFO Project Administration Form

The basic premise is that you can send in a UFO which you have totally given up on, or sign up to finish somebody else's UFO. You sign up for an invitation and are sent a specially designed form on which you fill in details about both yourself and your UFO (or the kind of thing you might like to knit of somebody else's). Rachael will then matchmake knitter with UFO. The brilliant thing about this is that you don't have to continue to knit the original pattern: you can be as inventive as you like. Jumpers with extra arms, parts of tea cosies made into bags, using a totally different yarn to continue, crocheting something that was started in knitting; the possibilites are endless. Of course you can just continue to knit the original too, if you like. I've done it myself and it is a lot of fun. I sent in around 60cm of lace scarf and finished somebody's sock instead.
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Mrs Miniver's Petulant Sock by Ingrid Murnane

Ingrid
editorial assistant

Knit a Poppy for Remembrance Day

knitonthenet is proud to announce the return of our Knit a Poppy campaign in support of The Poppy Appeal.

The Royal British Legion provides financial, social and emotional support to millions who have served and are currently serving in the Armed Forces, and their dependants. Currently, nearly 10.5 million people are eligible for their support and they receive thousands of calls for help every year.
Please visit knitonthenet to download our elegant poppy brooch pattern (designed by Just call me Ruby) by making a donation of £2.00 to The Poppy Appeal.

We shall be keeping you updated of the Knit a Poppy Campaign via the blog and website, and would love to see photographs of your finished brooches, and also hear how much money you have raised. Please do remember to attribute your finished poppy to the knitonthenet appeal and Just call me Ruby as designer!

Best wishes
Ingrid, editorial assistant
the knitonthenet team