🧶Knitting and the north…pole?

posts / 🧶Knitting and the north…pole?

🧶Knitting and the north…pole?

August 7, 2023

Sometimes our Stars have hobbies outside of fiber arts that surprise us in the best possible way.

During our pre-production meeting with upcoming Season 8 Star Hélène Magnússon, I casually asked what she does when she’s not knitting up gorgeous traditional Icelandic lopi sweaters. Her answer surprised and delighted us.

“Well, there’s the pole!” Hélène replied!

And then she proceeded to explain about “pole kisses.”

That’s the nickname for the superficial bruises she gets from pole dancing.

“You get used to it,” she says. “It’s very painful, but it’s like a badge of honor.”

Hélène started pole dancing years ago, when she was looking for an engaging alternative to going to the gym. She likes to ski and hike, but in Reykjavik, Iceland, the conditions are not always ideal. One day Hélène saw a pole dancing video, then took a class, and she was instantly hooked.

“It’s the best sport I’ve ever done. It’s very addictive because it’s made up of tricks and you always want to get to the next one,” she says.

Check out Hélène on the pole, combining her two favorite hobbies!

One of the things Hélène loves about pole dancing is how inclusive it is. She used to do ballet, where there was pressure to look a certain way. But with pole, all bodies, nationalities, and ages are welcome. (Just check out #poleover50 and prepare to be amazed!)

“It reminds me of the knitting community. People are so supportive and there are online challenges similar to a knit-along where you do a different move every day,” Hélène says.

Hélène loves to dance to classical music and likes when the movements are fluid – her pole motto is spin fast, move slow. (Love this!!)

She says there’s still a lot of stigma around pole dancing, but as more people adopt the sport, that’s changing. “It’s about strength, working on abdominals. I’m much stronger now than when I was in my thirties.”

Season 8 is going to be full of beautiful projects and surprises! If you haven’t already purchased your ticket, be sure you’re signed up here for notices when signups re-open.

P.S. We have a brand-new freebie for you to add more fearlessness to your projects – and your life! Go here for instant free access to our Fearless Knitting Video Tips from the Stars, plus a printable 30-page Fearless Knitting Journal. Enjoy!

From pole dancing to tumbling…we’re embracing all the fearless things this week! 🤸‍♀️

We’re super excited to announce the re-introduction of one of our all-time favorite patterns, the Tumble Cardi.

Thousands of these have been made since we introduced the pattern years ago.

Tumble Cardi is a modern take on the classic cable cardi, reinterpreted in a drapey plant-based yarn. The drape of the fiber elongates the cables, giving them an elegant, subtle look.

Our re-released Tumble Cardi is worked up in our uber-popular Plant-Based Princess cotton/bamboo/hemp blend. Plus – at long last – we’ve invested in pattern grading this beauty to a more inclusive size range – finished sizes of 28” to 58” 😄

We’ve got 8 colors of Plant-Based Princess for you to choose from, here.

Looking for more project ideas for this staff-favorite fiber? Check out the Plant-Based Princess Yarn page for your next all-Season, any-climate top! (P.S. This fiber loves crochet projects just as much as knitting projects!)

You can also make your Tumble Cardi in the original yarn it was designed in – Euroflax 100% linen. We’ve just restocked in all the most popular Euroflax colors, here.

And if you missed out on the new “Flaxi” 100% linen yarn from Eco Stitch, here’s some happy multicolor news for you 🌈… we just got a restock, including our custom Knit Stars color specially created to closely match the original hand-dyed colorway I used for my “50 Shades of Linen” top.

Shop all the colors of Flaxi and find the project details for “50 Shades” here.

I’ve gotta share one more juicy bit of Plant-Based Princess inspo, courtesy of longtime customer Lynne. She walked into the Flagship Store and showed us her work in progress, “Blanket of Joy” by Season 3 Knit Star Kay Gardiner, made in all the subtle, earthy colors of Plant-Based Princess!

You’ll need 8-10 skeins of PBP (feel free to get all 8 then double up on 2 of your faves). Pattern is on Ravelry. Shop the yarn here.

“Blanket of Joy” photo by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne.”

photo from The Barefoot Contessa

Gazpacho

It’s that time of year…gazpacho time!!! I don’t know how I get this far into summer without remembering to make this spectacular recipe from Ina Garten. I’ve tried a million-ish gazpacho recipes and this one is head and shoulders above the rest. I think it’s her method of processing the veggies one type at a time, and keeping things a bit chunky. Try it today, and you’ll feel healthier all week!

Ingredients

2 hothouse cucumbers, halved and seeded, but not peeled
3 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
8 plum tomatoes
2 red onions
6 garlic cloves, minced
46 ounces tomato juice (6 cups)
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!
After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.