I watch a ton of TV. If you follow me on twitter you’ll see me tweeting up a storm about all the terrible shows and movies I watch. That 6 hours a day that the average American watches? I’m bringing up that average like crazy. But when you work from home you need stuff going on! Sometimes I sit and knit all day, and I’m not going to do that just staring at the wall.

So here is a carefully constructed list of my go-tos. Shows and movies I’ve been watching for years and have just discovered, perfect for hours and hours and hours of uninterrupted knitting, broken down by the level of knitting difficulty.

Super Challenging Knitting and/or Pattern Designing

These are mindless watches that you can concentrate on or not. You can never take your eyes off your elaborate chart pattern, or keep writing your pattern, and still know exactly what is going on on the screen.

1. Greek

Greek!

Silly, fun, and totally over the top, Greek is so easy to watch it catches you off guard when you realize how much you really like it. It’s a world I was never a part of and never wanted to be a part of, but while watching these 70+ episodes you almost wish you would have been a part of it when you had a chance. Almost.

2. All of Jane Austen

Ohhhh Mr Darcy

It is a truth universally acknowledged that all knitters love Jane Austen, so when I need some tried and true Austen, I set up a marathon: Emma (the Gwyneth Paltrow one), Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson), Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightly), Becoming Jane, Mansfield Park (Johnny Lee Miller), Clueless (it counts!), and, finally, Pride and Prejudice with our good friend Colin Firth here. It’s all just delightful candy!

3. Freaks and Geeks

Freaks and Geeks!

It has gotten to the point now where when I put in Freaks and Geeks it’s like visiting old friends but SERIOUSLY, not in the lame way people say that about, like, Friends. I’ve watched the entire series, one glorious, perfect season, dozens of times, and every time I laugh and LOVE IT so hard it makes me want to start it right over again. The only problem is that my crush on Neil gets grosser and grosser the older I get.

4. The Office, American Version, Seasons 1-6, ep 5

The Office!

Watching The Office is not at all like visiting friends. It’s like being a fly on the wall in a room that you don’t want to leave but are very happy staying a fly. It’s funny and easy, and you love Jim and Pam, and when Jim goes to the other office and you meet Andy, and when they come back, and it’s all before Dwight stops being endearing and starts being super creepy.

Why Seasons 1 – 6, ep 5? Because that is when Jim and Pam get married. Nothing after that really matters.

Kinda Challenging Knitting, but Manageable with a Few Distractions

You are almost on autopilot with your knitting, but still have to pay attention to shaping, or cables, or sizing. These shows have lots of physical comedy elements, or crazy drama and fighting, so you have to keep a closer eye on them, no matter how many times you’ve seen them.

1. Arrested Development

Arrested Development

Amazing and hilarious in every way, Arrested Development has been rewatched almost as many times as Freaks and Geeks has. You remember it being funny, but it’s always more funny than you remember. And you forget things! Like Mrs Featherbottom! And how amazing Liza Minnelli is! And Bob Loblaw! God. Fantastic.

2. Lord of the Rings, extended versions

LORD OF THE RINGS!

Like 11 hours of making fun of Orlando Bloom, but STILL FREAKING OUT when he and the dwarf are going to die as friends at the very end? Helm’s Deep is bad ass, all the women glow and are totally kick ass, and Viggo is super hot and in basically every scene.

3. Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation is fantastic and keeps getting better. When I rewatch Parks and Recreation I even rewatch those first 4 pretty terrible episodes as kind of a tribute to how far the show will go, and the addition of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe in season 3 is like ice cream on a huge warm brownie. Every person in this show is loveable, and that is so rare.

4. The IT Crowd

The IT Crowd

Half nerdy IT department tribute, half The Office-like shenanigans, The IT Crowd is so fun and hilarious that you forget you started watching it to look cool and keep watching it because you love it so much. Roy is all famous now because of Bridesmaids so talking about how good The IT Crowd is isn’t going to make you that cool anymore, anyway.

The Most Mindless of Mindless Knitting

You’ve got 13″ of St st to get through. You can stare at the TV uninterrupted for hours while knitting because these shows require a lot of attention.

1. Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl

Is Gossip Girl the worst shit ever? Oh yeah. It’s worse than the worst shit ever. The show must have found a way to spit crack at you through your TV because you can’t get enough of the mean girls, the sex, the drama, the outfits, and the soundtrack. Much like how Parks and Recreation has all characters you love, Gossip Girl has all characters you hate. Even the ones who are suppose to be the good characters do terrible things to the evil characters. Everyone is hot, and evil, and you have to read a TON of text messages to keep track of what is going on.

2. Harry Potter, movies 1-4

Harry Potter!

(I like to live in a world where everyone still looks like this) The first four movies are delightful magical romps! When things start looking super scary *cough* MOVIE FOUR *cough* you just start watching movie one again! And everyone is alive and happy and Voldemort is still just kind of a foggy thought. And nothing else bad happens!

3. The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries

The above picture should be enough to sell this show to you, and to explain why this is a show for mindless knitting, but on top of the HOTT there is also lots of fighting, really fast vampire fighting, people constantly being killed by surprise attack, and there are lots of flashbacks to like 1492 and 1864 to keep track of. And hot vampire sex. The most surprising part of The Vampire Diaries? How legitimately good it is.

So dial up the Netflix, grab your knitting, and get watching! And if you’ve got more suggestions be sure to share!

I’ve been in Minneapolis for over a month now, and have gotten a few knitting and teaching gigs around town I wanted to share in case you, too, are in Minneapolis!

Digs Studio

I’m teaching quite a few project classes at Digs Studio just south of Uptown in Minneapolis. Projects like my Chunky Cabled Cowl, WORK+SHELTER Hand Warmers, and Cabled Change Purse. If you click over to their calendar you can see all the classes they offer at Digs, and anything that is my pattern I’m teaching.

I’ve also been going to Thursday night knit nights at 2nd Moon Coffee Cafe on Franklin and 22nd. I get there around 6pm, grab a coffee and chill for a couple hours. All are welcome to join!

See? I’m leaving the house sometimes! If you have any questions about these classes or knit night, you can always email me at allyson@thesweatshopoflove.com, and contact Digs to sign up for a class by emailing info@shopdigs.com.

Handmade Ryan, who I know you are all acquainted with by this time, was asked to be part of the blog tour for the book The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos by Heidi Adnum. I was able to squeeze in a read this week so I was the member of the Handmade Ryan team chosen to take a look at the book. And I’m so glad I did!

The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos by Heidi Adnum

First of all, this book is like candy. As it should be! You wouldn’t believe it if a book about taking great photos wasn’t filled with great photos. From the table of contents to the glossary, each page of Crafter’s Guide is full of some of the most beautiful pictures of handmade products, everything from jewelry to bags to knits to stationary. I flipped through it the first time like I’d flip through Vogue.

DIY Accessories Tutorials

I rolled through the book a second time to take it in. The lovely photos are telling you things, like how to make your own light tent and flash diffuser. What aperture means. The pros and cons to using props in your photos.

It’s full of before and after pictures, and the same product shot in different ways, showing how the different textures in your background effect the look of your product. You want your product to look like the products in this book, so you naturally pay attention to everything Heidi Adnum is telling you.

Photographing Knitting and Needlecraft

Heidi goes into photographing specific crafts and products in the middle of her book, and naturally I read the Knitting and Needlecraft section closely. She goes into the challenges to shooting such textured products and how to overcome them. She talks about the most flattering backgrounds and compositions, and answers FAQs like how to shoot floppy, soft knits. Then she interviews Jenny Gordy of Wikstenmade about how she photographs her knits (though I couldn’t find any knitwear on her site).

Heidi goes into this kind of detail with crafts like bags, dolls, fabric, and stationary, so if you make it, she can specifically help you shoot it better.

That Technical Stuff

Crafter’s Guide ends with help post-shoot. Cropping, color correcting, working with your digital files, sizing, and adding watermarks. Heidi even gives you ideas on what to do with your photos once they are looking their best, like sharing them on social media and working on your brand.

So yeah. I was really blown away by how much I liked The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos. I highly recommend this book if you sell handmade products online, if you shoot your craft and post pictures to your blog often, and if you are looking to upgrade your camera (or if you’ve got a camera you don’t really know how to use).

Written by a crafter for crafters, this book was easy to read, amazingly helpful, and instantly made me more aware of how the pictures I’m taking can look better. I’m excited to spend more time with this book soon!

Want to read more? Here are the other stops on the blog tour!

1/25 Mark Lipinski’s Creative Mojo Podcast

1/26 Rena Tom

1/27 CraftBuds

1/28 SweatShopofLove co-creator of @HandmadeRyanGosling

1/30 Artist Success with Lesley Riley

2/1 Jenny N Design — featured designer in the book

2/2 Rifle Paper Co. — featured designer in the book

2/3 See How We Sew

2/4 Imagination Kids Toys — featured designer in the book

2/6 Canadian Living Crafts’ Blog

UK Blog Tour

2/7 Feeling Stitchy 

2/8 UK Handmade

Australian Blog Tour

2/9 WhipUp.net

It’s HUGE SALE TIME!

Hello Sailor Knot Necklace Knit Kit

If you’ve had your eye on one of my knitting kits, now is your time to grab one for you or a friend because they are 50% off!

Daisy Chain Necklace and Ruffle Bracelet

My crochet kits, too! Grab a Daisy Chain Necklace crochet kit or Ruffle Bracelet crochet kit for $10 and $13!

Hello Sailor Knot Necklaces Knit Up!

My finished knits are 50% off, too, so why do the work when I’ve already done it for you? Get Hello Sailor Knot Necklaces for $13.50, Bow Headbands for $7.50, and Change Purses for $10.

Just head over to My Etsy Shop and punch in coupon code

LetsDoThis50

for 50% off your entire order! 

Not enough?

Buy 2 Get 1 Free!

Then head on over to my Ravelry Designer Page to get

Buy 2 Get 1 Free patterns with coupon code

LetsDoThis!

Me at No Coast Minneapolis

So what is with this insane sale? I’m celebrating my retirement from craft shows. After Renegade Chicago this year I decided that craft shows are just not for me. They are a ton of work, not to mention all the work that goes into them before you even get to the show, and for a knitwear designer and knitter like me, it’s just not worth it. And I’ve still got a lot of inventory that I’d love to find homes for.

And I’m always looking for a way to get more people my patterns. So go out and get everyone on your list a knitting kit or piece of knit jewelry! This sale ends Friday night at midnight.

I’ve loved Wool and the Gang since they were introduced to me years ago. Their fresh, fun, and accessible approach to knitting is something a strive for with my own knits and attitude, so when they approached me about a guest article I jumped at the chance just in case I could be the one to introduce this fun company to you.

One Cozy, Sustainable Skein

Wool and the Gang is committed to bringing knitters wool harvested sustainably and ethically from Peru. Whether you are purchasing a kit, a finished piece of knitwear, or a skein of their beautifully dyed yarn, you know you are getting the highest quality yarn direct from their own sustainable source in Peru.

From their site: The ready-to-wear clothing is hand knitted by locals steeped in the skill and tradition. The knitting wool for the locals or for you, is provided by grazing sheep at altitudes conducive to a uniquely pure and effective product. You get wonderful colors, and silkiness without sacrificing the stout thermal quality that makes wool such a magical material. The treatment the sheep receive is based on a deep and rich connection of the ranchers with their herd. The sheep get individual names and harvesting is done by hand sheering with superior care taken to never to do harm. Not only is it the right way and the time-honored way, it is integral to creating an amazing quality wool for you.

Wool And The Gang

More than that, their knits are simple and cool. On their blog they share a lot of the inspiration behind their knits, shots from their dreamy photo shoots, and stories about visiting their knitters and spinners in Peru.

A Kit For You!

And even though I want to keep this kit SO BAD, I’m going to suck it up and give it away to one lucky blog reader!

Snood Dogg in Tweed Grey

Wool and the Gang’s Snood Dogg is a fantastically chunky snood that you are sure to wear every single day. And what an amazing time to get this kit! It will knit up quickly in the yarn and needles included in the kit, and you will be sorry when spring rolls around so you will have to stop wearing it!

To Enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post!
2. Tweet: “I just entered @sweatshopoflove’s @woolandthegang Snood Dogg kit giveaway and you should, too! http://bit.ly/vUsOiO”, and leave a separate comment on this blog post telling me you did.
3. Post this giveaway on facebook, and leave a separate comment on this blog post telling me you did.

You’ve got until the end of the day Monday, November 28th, when I’ll randomly pick a winner. Good luck, and be sure to pop over to Wool and the Gang and say hi for me!