One More Free Afghan Knitting Pattern - the Last, I promise!

from knitrowan.com

I fallen down the afghan knitting pattern hole, and I can't get out!  I just keep finding beautiful (free!) afghan knitting patterns that I love!

The latest is from Rowan yarns and designed by Martin Story.  This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download.  There's a knit-a-long going on and project yarn kits available on the web.

I really love the bohemian vibe of the afghan with all the different designs.  Although I've been looking at other afghan patterns to enlarge into a bedspread, I think I would knit this as a smaller afghan.

And, although I do love this pattern, I don't have any plans to knit it right now.  But I do love it and wanted to share it.

{Free Knitting Pattern}: More Afghan Blocks

from Creativebug.com, designed by Edie Eckman

A couple of days ago, I shared Norah Gaughan's Vintage Afghan, which has recently been released as a free knitting pattern (yea!).  Now I stumbled across another free pattern for blanket blocks, offered in a free course on Creativebug.com and taught by Edie Eckman.

The Edie Eckman afghan pattern seems to be offered as a free trial of Creativebug.com.  According to the comments at the bottom of the Creativebug page, you can download the whole afghan pattern by signing in and clicking on the "materials" link under Week 12. 

Some of the blocks in this pattern are similar to the Norah Gaughan pattern, but others would serve as a nice compliment to Norah's design if you wanted to add additional blocks or substitute some designs.

I'm thinking of making my blanket as a spread for the queen-sized bed in our guest room, and probably increasing it in size by adding blocks.  These blocks from Creativebug.com seem to be roughly the same gauge and might be exactly what I need to enlarge this afghan pattern.

BTW, I just love this afghan in this soft butter/wheat color, don't you?

Free Knitting Pattern: Pinwheel Basket

I love baskets for decorating and organizing things, and this knitted basket pattern is one of my favorites.  I had this pattern on my Hubpages for a while, but I haven't posted a link on this blog until now.  This is a quick, fun knit that uses Zoë Scheffy's free Pinwheel Coasters pattern for the base, then builds up the sides using a lattice pattern in two colors.  All the directions are on my Hubpages.

Just as an FYI - you won't find this pattern in Ravelry.  Since it uses part of Zoë's pattern, I felt uncomfortable posting and taking credit for this pattern there.

Friday Favorites: AMAZING Knit Wallpaper

from Spoonflower blog

I totally want this - knit wallpaper devised and installed at the Brooklyn Craft Company!  Just amazing.  More photos and details here.

For the Birds: Getting Ready

In celebration of the beginning of Spring, as promised, I pulled together my scrap yarn and put it out for the birds to use to build nests.

I had planned to buy a suet cage like Susan uses for her scrap yarn, but then I remembered that the previous owners of our house had left an old deer corn feeder behind.  I thought it might work for my scrap yarn too!

I had been holding on to bits and pieces of yarn in a little pouch to use to tie on tags, etc.  I tried to pick the most colorful yarn to put out for the birds, so I could see it if they used it in their nests.  Any long pieces of yarn, I cut down to 5 to 8 inches in length.

My scrap yarn has been out in our yard since last Friday.  So far, there's been little activity around it.  I'm not sure that our feeder is going to work well for the birds, since it doesn't really have anywhere for them to land on to access the feeder.  I also might have packed the yarn too tight for the birds to pull and get out of the holder.

I'm going to keep it out for a couple more weeks, then I might upgrade to a suet cage :)

New Knitting Pattern: Lace & Cables Table Runner (that good, happy feeling)

You know those special moments when everything works out just the way you want it to?  Aren't they wonderful?

Such is the case with my latest knitting pattern: the Lace & Cables Table Runner.  I just love it.  (Okay, it's a little shorter than I wanted because I ran out of yarn, but other than that, I love it).  It's interesting, it's pretty, it's simple, yet elegant.  And just to add a little bit of color and texture, I wove some multi-colored ladder ribbon yarn through the eyelets on the sides.

There's not much more to say.  The pattern and directions are available on my Hubpages.  I hope you like it!!

Husband-Sized

As promised, here are some photos of my finished afghan for my husband.  He wouldn't model it for this posting, but he seems happy :)

I posted my modifications from the Walt Painted Baby Blanket pattern here.  The finished size of this blanket turned out to be 36 inches wide by 64 inches long (unblocked,and I don't have any plans to block it).  If I were to do over this project, I would add 2 - 4 more chevrons (15 sts each) to the width.  That would give a little more coverage on the side, but it's fine the way it is :)

You'll notice I only did two white stripes as opposed to the three I originally planned.  Knitting a third stripe would have meant starting another skein of yarn and I decided I didn't need any more length, so I chose to skip the stripe and return the extra skein.  Here an update on the yardage I used:

2 1/2  skeins of Caron Simply Soft in Gray Heather (main color)
2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue
1 1/2  skeins of Red Heart Super Saver in Tea Leaf (green)
1 skein of Caron Eco Ways in an off-white

I have enough yarn left over in a few of the colors to do a baby blanket, and we have a friend expecting in late May.  I hope to come up with an original pattern for this blanket.  Stay tuned :)

Keeping Hubby Happy & Warm

We've made it through our first winter in our new house and the one thing we've learned:  our new house is COLD.  My husband complains almost constantly and keeps raising the thermostat (neither of which really helps).  So when I was between knitting projects in February, it dawned on me that I should knit hubby a lap blanket/afghan to keep him warm and happy :)

So I struck a deal with him:  I would knit him a blanket if he let me choose the design and colors.  I knew I wanted a pattern that was simple and modern.  I came across this Walt Painted blanket pattern by Danielle Romanetti that I really liked and went about expanding the baby pattern to be husband-sized.  However, after doing some test knitting, I realized the purl front & back that she uses in her pattern was going to be a nightmare when I enlarged the pattern.  So instead, I used the basic pattern from Zig Zag Pram Blanket by Debbie Orr and made some changes to include garter stitch chevrons.  Since these are free patterns, I feel okay explaining how I incorporated both into my blanket.

First, since I knew my husband wasn't going to treat this blanket with any particular care, I decided to use inexpensive acrylic yarn from my local craft store.  I'm only about halfway through knitting my blanket, but I plan for the finished size to be about 42" wide by 60" to 64" long.  Since I'm still working on it, the yarn amounts below are estimates:

My materials 

3 skeins ( maybe more) of Caron Simply Soft in Gray Heather (main color - MC)
2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue
2 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver in Tea Leaf (green)
1 skein (maybe 2) of Caron Eco Ways in an off-white

So, first was to adjust the chevron garter stitch from the Walt Painted Baby Blanket.  Here's what I came up with:

Garter St Chevron
R1 (RS) :  K5, * kf&b, k5, sl1 knitwise, k2tog, psso, k5, kf&b, repeat from * to * until last 5 sts, k5.
R2 (WS):  Knit

Stocking St Chevron (worked only in main color)

R1 (RS):  K5, * kf&b, k5, sl1 knitwise, k2tog, psso, k5, kf&b, repeat from * to * until last 5 sts, k5.
R2 (WS):  K5, purl to last 5 sts, k5.

For my blanket:

With MC, cast on 220 sts with #7 needle (this creates a 5 st border on my blanket).

Worked 5 repeats of Garter St Chevron (10 rows total).  Then worked 6 repeats of St St Chevron (12 rows total).

*Changed to Country Blue and knitted Garter St Chevron for a total of 20 rows.  Then I changed back to the gray (MC) and knitted in St St Chevron for 6 rows.*

I repeated from * to* two more times for a total of three blue stripes.  Then I did the same pattern repeats to create:

3 green stripes
3 off-white stripes
3 more green stripes
3 blue stripes
(total of 15 colored stripes in all)

After finishing my last blue stripe, I'm going to switch back to gray (MC) and work 12 rows (6 repeats) in the St St Chevron and finish with 9 rows of the Garter St Chevron (end on right side).  I'll bind off loosely on the WS to finish my blanket.

As I said, I'm not done yet, but I like how it's coming out.  A hearty thanks to the two designers for coming up with such great patterns!  I'll post more photos when it's finished :)

Ode to Spring (and a new knitting pattern)

I've been talking about Spring for a while now and I know it's not here yet.  But we are about to change our clocks, and it is getting lighter every day.  So I've been celebrating Spring with some new projects, hoping this will encourage the sunshine and warm weather.

First up is my latest knitting pattern - the Loopy Loop Necklace.  (You can click on this link to get the pattern on Hubpages)  This pattern is inspired by some of the bold statement jewelry I've seen in stores for Spring.  The design uses a basic i-cord to make the pendant (a video tutorial is posted with the pattern).  Then I added some bright colors with a simple wrap embroidery stitch.  I love how it came out!

And to welcome Spring when it finally arrives, I've made a new wreath for our door.   This Scrap Fabric Wreath is easy to make using strips of fabric, a wire wreath form, and the decorations of your choice.  The best part is that you can make a wreath for any holiday or season just with the fabric you choose.  I wanted a Spring decoration, so I chose sunny yellow and bright pink, but you could make a wreath that is more rustic by using plaids and denim, or that celebrates your school by using the school colors.  The options are endless :)

I hope these projects help you prepare for Spring's arrival!!

Friday Favorites: The Holiday Season

I really do love the winter holiday season.  Yes, it comes earlier every year.  Yes, it's a lot of rushing around.  But I love the decorating, the food, and doing something special for those you love.

Here are some crafts, gifts, and recipes to make your holidays a little more merry :)

1.  I made this needle felted reindeer decoration (above) for my knitting group's handmade ornament exchange (we had a blast).  It was my first time needle felting, and I enjoyed it.  I've posted my notes and instructions here.

2.  Knitty.com has a great list of gift ideas for knitters.  These gifts include storage containers (always needed and appreciated), magazine holders, and design materials.  These ideas are items you don't always think about, but every knitter wants and needs!

3.  In case you missed it, I've just posted a new FREE holiday-themed knitting pattern for my Reindeer Tracks Cowl (I must have reindeers on the mind). 

4.  I always love it when someone gives me something I can't splurge on myself.  Here's a review of the much desired and beautiful A Stitch in Time (Vols. 1 & 2) knitting books.  Any vintage knitting fan would love these books!

5.  What would the holidays be without food and entertaining?  Here are a few of my favorite recipes for parties and little get-togethers:

Warm Eggplant Parmesan Dip (so good!)
Easy Meatball and Pepperoni Pasta Bake
Quick Salsa Cheese Dip

Hope these ideas fill your heart with warmth and cheer!

Friday Favorites: The Lust List

Or "If money grew on trees..."

photo by Genevieve Williamson on etsy

1.  Polymer Clay Bracelet by Genevieve Williamson on Etsy - This bracelet is beautiful! I love how she formed and colored the polymer clay to look like old, worn pieces of wood, stone, I don't know, something else. It's - at the same time - both very architectual and organic. Really cool.

photo by Zach Medler on etsy

 

2.  Pittsburgh Mug by Zach Medler on Etsy - He doesn't currently have this mug in his shop, but I love this design. I love how he uses stamps to create a Pittsburgh-like landscape on his mugs. I lived in Pittsburgh for 9 years and loved it. This mug reminds me of Pgh - the heaviness and colors of this piece remind me of the industrial past and hardworking roots of the city. Plus, I always love a great handcrafted ceramic mug!

 

 

photo from elvafields.com

 

3.  Handmade Necklace from Elva Fields - I first heard about Emily Wheat Maynard's beautiful jewelry in an article in Country Living magazine and just fell in love. It's hard to pick a favorite among all of her beautiful pieces. Emily recycles/upcycles vintage jewelry into new pieces with a great modern look. I love bold necklaces and really like how she maintains the femininity of the vintage pieces while updating them to a very current and cool look.

 

 

4.  The Photographs of Sarah Szwajkos - We saw an exhibition of her really large photographs recently at the Chocolate Church Arts Center (I'm not making this up) in Bath, Maine. I can't seem to copy any of the images from her website to share on this blog, but believe me, her photos are amazing (follow the link). Her photos of indoor spaces capture this wonderful sense of stillness, beauty, and mystery. You feel as if the occupants have scampered off, and left the details of their daily lives to be examined like an archaeological dig. Really fascinating.

 

With the holidays coming up, I hope this list gives my husband some ideas :)



The Big Reveal

We finally moved into our new house last Monday and are still unpacking.  But, of course, the first space I had to set up is my new knitting/craft room!

I love it!  (though I've only spent a couple of hours in it (so far) while I waited for Habitat for Humanity to come and pick up my husband's old recliner).  I still need to hang some artwork, but I think all the elements have come together just as I had hoped :)

Surprisingly, only a couple of items in this room are new.  All of the furniture I've had for at least 10-15 years (yikes!).  This green chair (with the finished front of my Sakura Top draped over the arm) and I have been together for many years.  I love it, and really built the room around it.  Only the ottoman and carpet are new. 

The ottoman I bought at Target for $55 (but I used a gift card).  I wasn't really sure that this ottoman went with my chair, but now that I've got the rug, I think it looks great together.

I went over budget on the rug.  I realized I had to go up in size to fit the room, then, well, things change.  My husband liked the rug and agreed that we could up the budget to buy it.  It is perfect for the room and we're happy.

I was hoping that these shelves would look neater once I got all my supplies on them, but it was not to be.  Oh well, its a working space.  And its my space :) 

What do you think?  Any suggestions?  I'd love to hear about and see photos of your work spaces!!