New FREE Knitting Pattern: Mosaic Baby Blanket or Lap Afghan

In celebration of Spring, and just cause I feel like it, I'm now offering my Mosaic Baby Blanket and Lap Afghan knitting patterns for FREE on my Hubpages!  This pattern includes instructions for both a baby blanket and an adult-sized lap afghan.

I think this pattern is so pretty for Spring, and easy to adapt to any room decor or occasion.  I hope you like it :)  Find the pattern here.

ENDED 8/14/14: FREE Yarn and Knitting Pattern Giveaway!!

It's time for my first giveaway!!  One lucky person will win (drum roll please):

• A hardcopy of my Mosaic Baby Blanket or Lap Afghan knitting pattern (more photos on Ravelry -pattern includes directions for both the baby blanket and the adult-sized afghan), and
• One skein each:  Caron Simply Soft worsted weight yarn in Persimmon (not quite as deep a color as pictured below), Country Peach, and Off White - 3 skeins total - enough yarn to knit your choice of afghan!

This yarn includes a pretty coral colored skein (not really as orangey as shown here), a soft peach color, and an off-white neutral.  I think these colors would make a cheerful baby blanket or lap afghan.  But, you could also swap out one of the colors and change the color combination.  You could take out one of these colors and add a denim blue to make a great blanket suited for a boy - or add a pretty lilac color for a lovely girl's blanket.  Or swap one of the colors for a dark emerald green to make a rich design of mosaic color.  You can use them however you choose!

How to enter my Mosaic Blanket Pattern and Yarn Giveaway:

1.  Go to my Hubpages knitting pattern and craft tutorial website and check out all my knitting patterns.  Links to these patterns are also on the right-hand side of this blog.

2.  Come back to this page and tell me your favorite of my knitting patterns, or your favorite of my craft tutorials in the comments below.

3.  Be sure to leave your name and a valid email address for me to contact you.

Giveaway will end on Friday, August 8, 2014 at midnight EST.  Official rules and regulations:

1.  This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only.

2.  Only one entry per person please.

3.  Winner will be chosen by random selection.  Please be sure to include your email address.  I will contact the winner and give that person one week to respond with their address.  If I don't get any response by the end of that week, I will pick another winner.

That's it!  Good luck!!  Remember, this free giveaway ends on Friday, August 8, 2014 at midnight e.s.t.

Not feeling lucky?  I you can buy my Mosaic Baby Blanket and Lap Afghan knitting pattern for only $3 on Ravelry!  Thanks!!

Choosing Colors for Your Mosaic Afghan or Baby Blanket

Thanks so much to everyone who has shown interest in my Mosaic Afghan and Baby Blanket knitting pattern (available for FREE on my Hubpage!).  I really appreciate it!

I've had a number of people ask about how I chose my colors for the samples I created.  The mosaic pattern in these blankets are made up of three different colors.  While I think this pattern would look great in any color combination, I used a little color theory to create a soft semi-Impressionist look to my mosaic pattern.

Color Theory is the study of how colors appear when placed against or next to one another.  The color wheel below shows the three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) and their complementary colors (green, orange and purple).  And there are, of course, a variety of shades of each of these colors that fall somewhere on this wheel.  For instance, peach would fall between orange and yellow, turquoise would be between green and blue, etc.

image from www.jic.org

For my adult-sized afghan, I used two shades of yellow (a pale yellow and a medium warm brown/caramel color) and then a light shade of purple as the complementary color.  Because these two colors (yellow and purple) are across from each other on the color wheel, I knew they would work well together in my pattern.

I did something similar with my baby blanket.  I had some pale yellow and lavender left over from the larger afghan, so I used a darker purple to complete my color combination.  Again, my two purples (lavender and a darker plum color) are across the color wheel from my pale yellow color.

There are an endless number of color combinations to that will work together in the mosaic design using the color wheel.  Here are a few ideas:

two shades of green and a pretty color of coral red
two light to medium shades of blue and a brighter color of orange
two shades of pink and a teal-green color

Another option would be to use two shades of any color, and then use a neutral as your third color.  Neutral colors would include white, off-white, shades of gray, beige, black, and even brown.

I hope this has given you some ideas about colors to consider for all of your knitting patterns.  I look forward to seeing the colors that people use in their mosaic blankets!

Where Have I Been? Designing New Knitting Patterns!!

Fresh off the press is my latest knitting pattern:  The Colorful Mosaic Afghan or Throw and the Mosaic Baby Blanket, available on Ravelry (just follow the link).

I really love how this design came out, and it's a great way to incorporate a few colors into one beautiful blanket.  I think the design is delicate, yet interesting and eye-catching.  I've included the directions for both of these blankets in one pattern, so you can download either one and get both designs :)  

I'm definitely enjoying my afghan :)

Knitting Year in Review 2013

This is the time of year in the blogosphere where all bloggers do a post that looks back over the last year and makes some type of claim about the upcoming year.  And since I don't want to feel left out (or have you feel left out), here's my look back on my three favorite knitting projects from 2013:

1.  The Theresa Shawl by Nikki Wagner from the Fall 2013 Knitscene magazine:  I really love this shawl/scarf.  I've always been a little frightened of shawls, but there's an ease to this design that makes it so comfortable to just wrap around my neck and go.  I used stash yarn for this - I bought the green/yellow variegated yarn at Stitches South a few years ago.  I added the darker blue because I was afraid that I wouldn't have enough of the green color to finish this pattern.  The blue yarn is some Malabrigo Arroyo that I had leftover from my own shawl design, the Crossroads Textured Shawl.

2.  Norah Gaughan cardigan from my Summer Sweater Knit-a-Long:  I've talked at great length about how much I love this sweater.  The design is gorgeous, the color is wonderful, and I'm so happy with the modifications I made to the pattern.  It has become a staple of my wardrobe.  The yarn is Ella Rae Classic Wool.  Although this fiber is not particularly soft, it's only a little bit itchy at the neck and does wear well.  And I wear this sweater A LOT!

3.  Color Field Baby Blanket/Afghan by ME:  sorry, I just had to throw in one of my own designs :)  I do really love how this blanket came together.  I designed it for some friends who were expecting their first child.  I think the colors and design are both cheerful, yet modern.  And the new parents seem to love it!

So, there it is - my look back on 2013 in knitting.  And for 2014?  I have a few things up my sleeve:

1.  I have a couple of new designs that I will be posting on my Hubpages in the coming months.

2.  I want to make a fall jacket for myself.  I'm considering a pattern from Filati Handknitting, Issue 53 (lefthand side of page 12 - love it!).

3.  And I hope to have a few more surprises coming up!

Stay tuned!  Best wishes to all for a happy and bright 2014!!!

New FREE Knitting Pattern: Sweet Cables Baby Blanket

As part of my "recession knitting" plan to use up some of my stash yarn, I've posted a new free knitting pattern:  Sweet Cables Baby Blanket.

This blanket or afghan knits up quickly using bulky or chunky yarn.  The pattern features alternating cables with a little bit of lace - perfect for keeping that little one warm and cozy :)

This pattern is available on my Hubpage.  The directions include two separate cable charts, one for each cable.  These charts are included with the directions, but I've also posted the charts here, laid out on one page.

You should be able to click on this chart, save it, then re-size it for printing.  Let me know if you have any problems :)