Save the Date!

 

Hello again, Disney Stitchers!  Mark your calendars for the 2026 Stitch the Magic event.

January 31-February 1, 2026

Keep following us for more details.  We can't wait to see you there!

Local Yarn Store Day!

Did the Easter Bunny forget to put yarn in your basket?  We've got a solution for you.  Hop on over to Knit & Stitch Boutique this Saturday (April 26) and check out the Beach Bunny Yarns Trunk show with all their scrumptious yarns, including the 100% Mulberry Silk!  And you don't want to miss the exclusive LYS Day colorway.  Stock is limited, so get there early.

And as a friend put it, "you don't have to wait until January to get some bunny yarn!"  See you soon!

Ron’s Top Ten Tips for Beginner Knitters

 

I’m not just a dyer; I’ve been teaching knitting for more than seven years now.  In that time, I’ve seen quite a few beginner knitters.  Here’s what I’ve learned and what I think a beginner knitter needs to know besides just how to knit and purl.  There’s no order to these tips, but the last one in the list is the most important in my mind and will absolutely define you and your knitting journey.  So read on!

1. Relax, it’s not a death match between you and the yarn!  If your knuckles are turning white and you’ve cut off the circulation to your fingers from wrapping the yarn like a mutant cat’s cradle, you need to relax!  Besides, tight stitches make the next row of stitches even harder to knit.  Consciously ease back on the tension and you’ll find a point that gives you control of the yarn without strain.
   
   
2. Use good needles.  I recommend this for so many reasons.  First, good needles will not catch or snag the yarn but will have some friction to help you control the yarn and stitches.  They’ll also feel better in your hands and reduce pressure points and cramping.  Don’t be afraid to try different styles of needles to find what works for you.  There are a lot of options on the market and twice as many opinions as to which ones are the best.  The best needles are the ones that feel good in your hands and make your knitting easier!
   
   
3. Use good yarn.  Ok, one shameless plug per blog post, I think Beach Bunny Yarns makes the best yarn because I won’t dye something I’m not happy knitting for myself.  That said, there’s a lot of good yarns at various price points for you to use while building your knitting skills.  I recommend using SuperWash wool, preferably in sport, DK, or worsted weight.  If it’s a wool and nylon blend, that’s ok.  Don’t attempt to learn with cotton, linen, or silk as they have no springiness and aren’t forgiving.
   
   
4. Be patient with the learning process and yourself.  It’s not a race and you won’t master a new skill overnight.  Take your time and think about each stitch and each movement.  Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent.  So, make sure you’re practicing with thoughtful intent.  With careful and deliberate practice, you’ll soon find your knitting groove.
   
   
5. Don’t stop in the middle of a row.  I tell my beginner students that unless the house is on fire, do not stop until you get to the end of the row.  Stopping in the middle of a row is the cause of most beginner problems because the beginner will inevitably restart the knitting in the wrong direction.  This is great for short rows, but not so much for a new knitter.  Always finish your rows.
   
   
6. Count!  As a beginner, count your stitches in each row.  This helps you by ensuring that you have the expected number of stitches on the needle.  If not, you know you have a problem in the row you just knit.  It’s a good habit to get into and even experienced knitters get burned by not counting stitches on each row and will have to “tink” (unknit) several rows to correct the problem.
   
   
7. Learn to read stitches.  As a beginner, understanding what a knit and a purl stitch look like on the needles will be a huge boost to your knitting skill.  This is literally the, “see Spot run,” of the knit world.
   
   
8. Swatch and block, it’s worth it.  As a beginner, you’ll be making swatches for practice anyway, so get into the habit of blocking them.  Why?  Well, all patterns give you a gauge of stitches per inch to knit.  That gauge is usually measured after blocking.  When you wet a knit fabric swatch and pin it out flat to dry, it will grow and the stitches per inch will be different than the unblocked gauge.  Trying to guesstimate that difference is far too risky when making a garment, so get used to making swatches and blocking them.  You can quickly build a set of reference swatches for each needle size and yarn type that you like to use.
   
   
9. There’s not one perfect way to knit.  In your knitting journey, I can almost guarantee that you’ll run into someone that just has to tell you that you’re not knitting correctly.  If you are making knits and purls consistently and the finished fabric is correct, ignore them.  You’ll hear terms like English, Continental, picking, flicking, throwing, etc. and opinions on what’s best.  What’s best is what works for you!  Seriously, if your finished stitches are correct, how you got there doesn’t matter and I’m happy for you!
   
   
10. Here’s the big one and it has nothing to do with the mechanics of knitting at all.  Are you ready?  Here goes.  Don’t say, “I could never do that.”  Arrrrrgh!  That phrase makes me so mad.  That’s giving up before you even try!  Try!  Challenge yourself to do better and learn something new!  You couldn’t knit or purl until you tried, right?  So why are cables or stranded colorwork or lace any different?  Because they look hard?  So what?  Just try it!  Now I’m not saying that you must love mosaic colorwork or brioche or bobbles, but you should try new techniques and styles to find out if you like doing it or not.  Thinking negatively about your abilities is a sure way to limit your skill future.  Replace “I could never” with “I’ll try” and you’ll find so much more joy to knitting!

Whether you are a brand-new beginner or experienced knitter, I hope you get some mileage out of these tips.  If you’d like to add to my list of beginner tips, please leave a comment below!  

Knit Happy!

-- Ron

A ROARING thank you!

 

We had a monstrously grand time at the 2025 Stitch the Magic event.  Thank you to all of you who attended our gathering.  That bingo game was a lot of noise!  We'll have to think of another game as exciting!

Congratulations to our door prize winners, Allyson and Shelvia, and to our grand prize winner, Ilse!  We can't wait to see the amazing projects you create.

We're taking a break for a bit, but don't worry.  We already have lots of things on paper and tons of ideas flurrying around in our heads on how we want to pull this off.  Keep checking back for the latest info.  Meanwhile, help support our creative team by checking out what keeps them busy when not at our amazing annual event.

Beach Bunny Yarns

Dizzy Blonde Studios

yBsquare

The Devil is in the Details...

It’s almost time to scream with laughter as we join together to meet new friends, catch up with those familiar, talk about our love of all things Disney, and stitch the afternoon away.

We will start our gathering at 1:00 PM on Saturday, January 25^th.  Plan to hang out until around 4:30 PM or until we can’t stitch anymore.  This year’s location is at Disney’s Coronado Springs – Old Lobby.  Where is the old lobby?  It’s on the left side of the tower, just past the bus stops, but not as far as the Convention Center entrance.  Attached is a map showing you our approximate location.

What to bring:
In addition to your lovely selves, feel free to bring your Stitch the Magic WIPs, or any other projects you may be working on. 
We do have a few items left of this year’s exclusive merchandise.  If you haven’t already, please support our dyers and crafters and order some cool stuff HERE.  We aren’t allowed to sell on property, so you’ll have to order before you go.  There’s still some yarn, T-shirts, and notions left.

We have a completely full registration this year.  If you are unable to attend, please email:  alicia@beachbunnyyarns.com to let us know.

If you have a park ticket and would like to join us for our park excursion on Sunday, we are playing the day away at the Magic Kingdom.  Don’t worry; you don’t have to spend the whole day with us.  We hope to all get in on the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and scream with laughter, all the while wearing our 2025 themed T-shirts (so wear ‘em if ya got ‘em).  Please fill out the attached Google form below with your info so we can keep you up to date on where we are.

We are so looking forward to hanging out with you at the Stitch the Magic 2025 event.  See you real soon!

Beach Bunny Yarns (Ron & Alicia)

Dizzy Blonde Studios (Laura)

yBsquare (Amanda)

How do I get to Disney’s Coronado Springs?

The first, and coolest, option is to book a room at Coronado Springs Resort.  Then, you’ve got access to all of Disney World’s amenities and the theme parks are just a quick bus ride away.

The second option is to drive to the Coronado Springs Resort.  At the guard gate, tell the guard you are there to dine at Rix Café or the El Mercado food court.  Once you go through the guard gate, take an immediate left into the convention center parking lot.  Head towards the blue-roofed overhang just left of the Disney bus stop.  This option may be limited due to a full parking lot or other events.

Or the third option, park at one of the garages at Disney Springs and catch the bus to Coronado Springs Resort.  Know that the bus ride itself is ~18+ minutes.  Please allow an extra half hour to wait at the bus station in addition to the bus ride so you won’t be late.

Park Excursion Registration Form

 

A couple of our artists decided to go above and beyond this year, offering you some a la carte items.  As with previous years, you can purchase any item in the combos individually, if you so choose.  But we now have a couple of items that are offered exclusively on their own.

First, the Stitch the Magic Notions Pouch from ybSquare.

Made from custom-printed cotton fabric, this handy pouch measures 9" x 5" at it's widest, with a boxed bottom measuring 3.25" x 6".  It is fully lined and is just the right size to hold all your stitching necessities.

Our second a la carte item is an adorable enamel collector's pin from Dizzy Blonde Studios.  

Measuring 1.5" at it's widest, it has double pinned/rubber stopper on the bag to make sure it stays secure.  The pin boasts a simplified representation of our logo, horn-rimmed glasses and "Always sWatching" is written around the base.  There can be no mistaking who the received inspiration from.


You can pre-order the notions pouch here

The enamel collector's pin here

Visit here to see the entirety of this year's collections and combos.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

 

Time to reveal our second pattern created just for us this year.  Our knitting pattern comes from another popularly-talented Florida designer: Paula King of KraziKnitz Designs, and is quite stunning worked up using both "That Darn Paperwork" and "Always Watching".  If you wish, you could substitute "Googly Bear" for one of the other colors, and really make a statement!

The Power of Laughter

(click pic to embiggen for closer detail)

From the Designer:

The ending of Monsters, Inc helped me decide on the inspiration for The Power of Laughter Wrap. The stitch patterns is directly inspired by things in the film such as the closet doors that the monsters use to enter the human world. The other stitch patterns showing the generation of energy in the monster world. This wrap pattern is a rectangle worked on the bias, which adds to the tilted world view of this film. They say laughter is the best medicine and the power of it can change worlds.

Paula is offering The Power of Laughter Wrap to our Magic Stitchers at a discounted price, but only for a limited time.  Currently, the pattern is only available for pre-order as a digital pattern here, or you can receive this pattern for free when you pre-order the 23-19 Combo.  Patterns will be distributed once the pre-orders are ready to ship. 

About the Designer: 

My name is Paula King of KraziKnitz Designs. I am a native of Florida, where I currently reside with my husband. I’ve been designing for several years, primarily drawing my inspiration from nature. I work at my local yarn shop, Knit and Stitch boutique in Cocoa Village on Florida’s Space Coast.