Knitfreedom.com is one of the few places I have found on-line (or off line for that matter) where I have been able to actually learn how to knit from using the video based instructions. I started out first with the free ebook and then moved on to purchase one of the intermediate level ebooks later. Luckily, Liat is still at it as far as developing new ebooks for those looking for some knitting help, and her latest covers the multitude of ways you can cast on.  Here is the press lease for more information:

KNITFreedom.com Announces the Release of

The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons

New Online Video Guide Teaches Knitters the Top 38 Cast-Ons Needed For Mastery

PALO ALTO, CA, May 9 - KNITFreedom today announced the release of The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons, the first online video resource to truly give knitters an easy and convenient way to master the art of the cast-on.

“In talking with knitters who look for tutorials online, one thing that became very clear was that they were in serious need of a resource that would make it easy for them to know which cast-ons they could use for which projects, and how to do them correctly,” said Liat Gat, founder of KNITFreedom.com. “That’s what The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons was designed to address.”

Most knitters aren’t aware that there are over 50 ways to cast on for a project, and that the cast-on you choose can mean the difference between a garment that fits perfectly and one that’s unwearable. Many knitters want to learn new cast-ons but get frustrated looking them up on YouTube.

“The initial response to The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons has been even better than I expected,” continued Gat. “I think what is happening here is that knitters are drawn to some of the other benefits as well.”

For example, Gat said that many knitters were finding the extra tips about choosing and perfecting each cast-on an important added plus — a feature not available in any other online video resource. “I thought it was important, when creating The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons, to give even more than what people were asking for,” said Gat. “That’s why I didn’t stop with just making video demos of every cast-on out there. I really tried to cover all the bases.”

With The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons, knitters will now be able to:

understand which cast-on to choose and why
stop casting on too tight
fix dropped cast-on stitches
never run out of tail, and
do any number of popular cast-ons quickly and easily.

The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons will be on sale starting this Friday, May 10th. Signing up for the free KNITFreedom newsletter gives customers 30% off the product price.

About KNITFreedom

The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons is just the latest video guide from KNITFreedom. The company has also produced Become a Knitting Superstar and Learn to Knit Toe-Up Two-at-a-Time Socks, two step-by-step video courses that teach knitters the easiest and fastest ways to master Magic Loop, Continental knitting, and other popular techniques. Liat Gat creates HD video tutorials and classes on a wide range of knitting techniques, with over 200 free videos at knitfreedom.com. Customers can order The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons by going to http://knitfreedom.com/classes/cast-ons.

After making Teddy 1.0, I decided to back up in the Craftsy class I’m taking and make the first project, which is the chunky blue bird.

Don’t you just want to squeeze this little guy? He was super fast to make and ended up being about six inches high. I did a few things differently on this amigurumi than I have done in the past. First, I stitched the single crochet stitches in the back loops instead of both loops. I’m more comfortable going through both, but since this is a bird, I thought I’d go with what is suggested in the class and stitch in the back loops because you end up with some texture. One result of doing this is that you end up being to count the rows much easier because they are much more noticeable. I think I’m a back loop convert, at least when it comes to softies.

Another change I made were the eyes. Safety eyes are “safe,” but they are best for children over 3 years old, and since I plan to donate most of my future toys, I won’t know how old the children are who receive them. I ended up cutting circles out of felt and gluing them on. I need to come up with a method to cut more precise felt circles, but other than that, I like the results.

When I make an amigurumi toy that I know for sure will be used by a child, I either embroider the eyes or I use safety eyes. I saw this video from Knit Picks on how to attach safety eyes, so I wanted to share.

When you think of weddings and TLC, you probably think of “say yes to the dress.” But now there is a new twist airing tonight on TLC’s Craft Wars. This time, the crafters take over!

Tune in tonight - Tuesday - on TLC at 10pm eastern time/9pm central.

If you have been loving Craft Wars on TLC raise your hand! Yes, me too! In fact, I also wanted to pass the word onto those on the east coast who have Xfinity or Comcast or whatever they are calling themselves this week that you can see previous week’s episodes of Craft Wars on Monday nights on TLC. I think it comes on around 7pm, so if you missed last week’s show or just want to watch it again, take note!

Now for tomorrow night’s show, as usual there are three contestants and two craft challenges: first they have to make a toy box and then they have to make a dog house. Here are some clips from tomorrow night.

From what I read on Twitter and Facebook, the first episode of Craft Wars got some wonderful reviews. Yeah for all use crafters! Hail to the glue gun! Crafting is finally back on TV, and I know crafters will continue to watch. This second episode airs Tuesday 7/3 at 9pm central/10pm eastern, and like the first episode, there will be three crafters competing for $10,000.

I have to say I was pretty amazed about last week’s Master Craft Challenge, but that is nothing compared to what they are asked to do in the second episode. They are given beach gear like beach balls, towels, and surf boards and asked to make a patio set. Yes, “set,” as in more than one thing! Sure, they have 5 hours and some assistants to help them, but they are still scrambling like crazy to finish this huge project. Here are some video highlights:

Remember to watch tonight (Tuesday 7/3) on TLC for more Craft Wars!

Remember back in the day when you could actually watch craft shows on TV, and not just on PBS? Finally, crafters are getting some of TV time again. Crafting is mixed with a dose of reality TV and competition in a new show coming out Tuesday 7/26/12 at 9pm central time  on TLC. It’s called Craft Wars. I was lucky enough to get a chance to view an early screening of this new show, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

The basic premise of the show is for three crafters to compete against each other by making projects assigned by the host, Tori Spelling. The finished product is then judged by Erica Domesek (author of the DIY book, PS I Made This), Stephen Brown (author and founder of the multi-million dollar gift wear company Glitterville Studios) and Jo Pearson (author and creative expert for Michael’s). There are two rounds of competition. The first includes all three crafters, and then one is eliminated before the second competition. The final winner receives $10,000.

I have been seeing the clips on TV for this show for a few weeks now, and one thing I wasn’t too sure about was how long the crafters had to do their magic and what kind of support (if any) they received. I was concerned that they might get something ridiculous like 5 minutes to create a prom dress or something, but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, they are crunched for time, but for the first round they had an hour and the second they had 5 hours. Doable to a certain extent.

Contestants also received help in two ways: hands-on and via supplies and equipment. For the shorter round, their husbands assisted them and then later three additional helpers were provided for each contestant. On top of this, they had a wood shop available as well as the “Michael’s wall,” a shrine of everything craft related.

You can see a trailer and more information about this new show at Craft Wars TLC. What a great show to watch while your knitting or beading, hey? Don’t forget to watch and also set your DVRs.

As I have been spending a chunk of my summer vacation catching up on craft podcasts and finding new podcasts, I have noticed that spinning fiber is super popular right now. Of course, this may be because knitting, which tends to dominate the world of crafting podcasts, relates to spinning since knitters can make their own yarn from fiber that they buy, which I have learned is referred to “roving.” I sure as heck do not need another craft to spend my time and money on, but I have to admit that I am very curious and spinning looks pretty dang cool.

As I watch video podcasts and listen to audio podcasts that talk about knitting and spinning, I have realized that there is all kinds of terminology involved that I am not familiar with. Many of the folks doing these shows seem to assume I know too, so I went over to YouTube to find some spinning basics. Below is one video that shows how to use a basic drop spindle.

Here are some links to a few other spinning videos that I found helpful:

Hand Spindles - This video shows the different types of hand spindles available and also briefly shows how to use some of them.

Drafting Wool - In this video, Megan LaCore shows how to prepare fiber for spinning.

Finishing Yarn - Again, Megan is back showing how to take the yarn you spun and prepare it so you can knit or crochet with it.

Alpaca Direct - This is really an ad, but there is some good basic info in this about the fiber that I found helpful.

Shawl #2 is now officially frogged. And this means I have a heck of a lot of purple wool yarn. And I live in Florida were wool is sort of like tire chains, not necessary at all! Now what to do with all this purple wool yarn? I’m not ruling out an afghan, but I also realized I might be able to use at least some of this yarn to make bags and felt them. I have tried felting before without success, but I did not do enough research to understand how the process worked. Thanks to a few YouTube videos, I am thinking of trying it again.

In the first video, Mikey tries to felt a crocheted bag (versus a knitted bag). In the second video, he describes some of the things he should have done differently, even though his experiment was semi-successful.

This is a very interesting video from Coats and Clark, who make Red Heart Yarn. It is hosted by the Double Stitch Twins, who are so cute and funny, and it shows you inside the factory where they combine fibers into some of the company’s popular yarn.