Are you a sticky notes knitter?

A highlighter hooker?

Or maybe you’re a washi-tape wonder? 🤩

At various points in my 4 decades as a Yarnie, I’ve been all of the above. As I’ve progressed (and my eyesight has regressed) I find myself using all kinds of tricks to keep my place and track the instructions for my size in a pattern.

Sound familiar? 🤓

So that’s why I was blown away when I finally downloaded and started exploring the new Tin Can Knits app from Season 2 Knit Stars Alexa Ludeman and Emily Wessel.

Y’all, I know there are zillions of yarn apps out there but this one is a gamechanger. I have no skin in this game, other than my personal pain points of (a) squinting to see patterns, and (b) printing out loooooooong patterns that waste a ton of paper.

In a nutshell, here’s how the app solves that and why it is so brilliant:

✅ It shows you only YOUR numbers – your size, your yarn weight, your units (metric or imperial)
✅ It’s adjustable and accessible – adjust text size, choose light or dark mode, abbreviations or full text (“k1” or “knit one”)
✅ It’s satisfying! Tap through the pattern and save your progress at each step.
✅ It’s fun! There’s less to get in your way so you can just enjoy your project.
✅ It’s FREE! Plus it’s loaded with helpful tutorials and 10 free Tin Can Knits patterns.

I was so wowed, I reached out to Emily and Alexa and to find out their Big Y – why put so much time and effort into developing an app?

“We always strive to create patterns with lots of value (sized baby to adult, inclusive sizing, options, multiple yarn weights, etc.), but more value tends to make PDFs longer, and sometimes more complicated,” Emily said.

“In the Tin Can Knits app, you see only your size, your yarn weight, and your options. The patterns are tick-through, tutorials are just a tap away, and knitters adjust units, font sizes, and colors to suit them. We’re making knitting simpler and more joyful!” she added.

And then they told me something else that made my heart so happy…

“Our Knit Stars class is what started us down the path of creating this knitting pattern app,” Alexa said.

Wait, whaaaaat? 🤯

“Dog Star” by Tin Can Knits

“It’s true!” Alexa said. “Back in Season 2, we were SO excited to be part of Knit Stars! For that event we developed our Strange Brew Colorwork Yoke recipe and the Dog Star sweater too. Our Knit Stars class was all about helping knitters discover colorwork and try their hand at design…something we are still passionate about!”

“From Strange Brew came our idea for the app. Emily and I always want to give knitters MORE: more sizes, yarn weights, and options. But we also love to keep patterns simple. That’s why we developed our pattern app – it makes patterns easy to follow on your phone or tablet! You see only your size, the units and settings you prefer, and help is just a tap away.”

“You and your Knit Stars team set us on the path to create our popular Strange Brew ebook AND our new app. Thank you all!”

To download the free Tin Can Knits app and get the 10 free patterns too, click here. Once you’ve downloaded the app, you can tap the menu button at the top right to sync it with your Ravelry, and presto chango, any Tin Can Knits patterns you’ve bought on Ravelry zap right into your app!

Have fun playing with this awesome new tool. 😍

xoxo,

P.S. If you own Knit Stars Season 2, log into your portal, click the Season 2 product, and you’ll find info on how to add the Dog Star yoke sweater pattern to your Tin Can Knits app at no charge.

Summer is such a great time for stash-busting projects!

Loni just finished this “Cubetcha” by Casapinka. This pattern is a few years old but somehow I’ve never seen it – nor did I know that Casapinka and her son were involved in Rubik’s Cubing competitions!

Check out the Cubetcha pattern page to read the delightful story and get the pattern, which calls for 320-500 yards of fingering weight yarn.

And if you’re in a crochet mood, check out “That’s Meshed Up” by Vikki Bruff. These mesh tops are in all the boutiques right now, and you can make your own version super-quick!

Check out the pattern – it’s FREE – here.

Summer Garden Pasta

“It’s funny you should ask about a recipe,” said Alexa of Tin Can Knits. “I’ve been making this one for my family with rave reviews lately.” This Summer Garden Pasta recipe has a secret: You don’t actually cook it! Well, you cook the pasta, but you don’t cook the tomatoes. They sit on the counter for a few hours, cozying up with the garlic, basil and olive oil. Then you just toss them with the hot angel hair pasta and you get what thekitchn.com calls “the freshest, most flavorful sauce imaginable. It might sound too good to be true, but it’s seriously delicious!”

If you give it a try, post a photo on your social and tag @knitstars and @tincanknits – we want to see! 👀

Ingredients:

• 4 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• Good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
• 18 large basil leaves, julienned, plus extra for serving
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound dried angel hair pasta
• 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Instructions:

Combine the cherry tomatoes, ½ cup olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper in a large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature for about 4 hours.

Just before you’re ready to serve, bring a large pot of water with a splash of olive oil and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil and add the pasta.  Cook al dente according to the directions on the package (be careful – it only takes 2 to 3 minutes!).  Drain the pasta well and add to the bowl with the cherry tomatoes.  Add the cheese and some extra fresh basil leaves and toss well.  Serve in big bowls with extra cheese on each serving.