Knit your own team!
Fun stop-motion video of knitted Olympians, created to promote the book Olympknits. Be warned, it’s ever so slightly racy – contains images of a knitted streaker and a diver who loses his swimming trunks. I am particularly amused by the synchronized swimmers.
If you do fancy Knitting The Olympics, there are three books to choose from! There’s also Knitlympics and Knitting for Gold. No matter which book you get, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy while watching the coverage.
Fascinating
Our own columnist Donna Druchunas has a new video workshop, “Knitting Lithuanian Socks“ available from Interweave Press. You can see a sneak preview here. In this nearly 3-hour video, Donna takes you through the history of Lithuanian knitting, talks about the evolution of regional colorwork patterns, and discusses the role of knitting in contemporary Lithuanian culture. She provides tips and techniques for working colorwork designs and details several clever heel shapings. In addition, you get three patterns for fabulous socks designed by Donna, inspired by her research and travels.
The best dressed rubber chicken in the universe.
A knitter from the UK has been given the honor of knitting a new sweater for Camilla the Chicken, the mascot of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Camilla has twice travelled spaceward as part of projects to measure solar radiation, and will proudly wear her new sweater around the lab and on any future space ventures.
A thoughtful, thought-provoking blog post about the common comparison made between knitting and computer programming. Worth a read on your coffee break.
Capturing the beauty of these animals
A fundraiser for a heartbreaking cause: Liza Souza Dyeworks has created a limited edition colorway of their sock yarn, Appaloosa. This colorway will be available only until the end of June, and all proceeds will go to The Grace Foundation animal shelter to support their work with the ‘Susanville 70′.
The story is a terrible one: in April of 2011, more than 50 horses and several dogs (as well as two foster children) were rescued from a situation of great neglect and abuse. The Grace Foundation took in the horses, but due to a series of legal and financial blunders and maneuvers, they have been unable to adopt out the horses, and have been left to care for them – and to pay for that care. Many of the horses were in terrible condition, and many pregnant, and have required costly and time-consuming medical care. The legal situation remains unresolved, and the Grace Foundation is struggling to deal with the burden of the costs and work of keeping these animals.  More information on the story can be found here. Kudos to Liza Souza for her efforts to help.
An article on the New York Times blog about scams that are starting to appear connected to Pinterest.
