Handmade Knitting Needles

I previously mentioned yanaknits.com, a site started by my wife to teach people how to knit. She’s written instructions for all kinds of knitting projects, from a scarf and mittens to a soccer ball. Now she is collaborating with a friend to create hand-crafted knitting needles. They are bamboo needles with beautiful glass tops, lovingly packaged, and would make really wonderful gifts for anyone who enjoys knitting.

The glass tops come from Andru Anderson’s Kodiak Glass. Andru has been working with glass for about 8 years now, learning different styles and techniques and creating glass jewelry and art. He does a lot of torch work to create glass beads and small sculpture. He has also taught classes at the Bay Area Glass Institute. The small glass beads he created for the needles are gorgeous and unique.

Check out the store here!

Knitting!

And now, for something a little bit different: knitting! Actually, come to think of it, knitting isn’t all that different from my normal subject matter. It is definitely under the “Making Stuff” umbrella of topics. And Craft magazine is almost like Make magazine…

Anyway, the point is: my wife knits. A lot. And she has started channeling her creative energy into a knitting site with the goal of teaching people to knit. She’s starting with a couple articles showing how to make a baby blanket and a hat. The plan is to supplement this with instructional material on knitting basics, more patterns, etc. (Actually, the instructional material would already be up except that to do it right really requires video, which takes a bit more time than writing). Her site is at yanaknits.com. If you have an interest in knitting, drop by.