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It’s summertime! The sun is shining strong and insects are buzzing anywhere and everywhere. Lavender is the special plant of this season. It has so many functions in its fragrant life. When flowering, it is ideal for us humans, since it attracts pollinators such as bees while also repelling moths, fleas, flies and mosquitoes. And …
As any designer will tell you, sometimes you have to swatch, and swatches can be used to do many different things! Sometimes I swatch to test out a yarn, a stitch pattern, or a technique, and sometimes just to improve my knitting skills. Not all of them can be turned into a useful finished object …
Our annual tutorial issue! Enjoy 4 free patterns and 10 tutorials! Several are companions to the patterns to help you out with the more challenging bits.
Cozy Spot is a blanket featuring bands of garter stitch and mosaic patterning. The mosaic pattern is the Cross and Diamond motif from Barbara Walker’s Mosaic Knitting. Inspired by a need for a new blanket for my couch and a desire to play with mosaic knitting. Directions are written for two sizes but dimensions can …
Almost every crochet pattern uses slip stitch for fastening and binding off but that skinny little stitch takes center stage in this pattern to create the main body of the piece. A fabulous texture develops by working in short rows and doing the stitches in the Back Loop Only (blo). The super bulky single-ply yarn …
The texture in the Noelle Blanket is very unique and you can customize it for any time of the year but for the spring it would be a great lightweight blanket. Tutorials Chain (Ch) Double Crochet (dc) Size Baby (30X35”) and Throw (50X60”) Want a customized size? Foundation Double Crochet 14 (4”) times X for …
The three gifts of the Magi were gold, frankincense and myrrh. This trio of ornaments takes their inspiration from those gifts. Cables create gold ropes, chains and coins, gold and pewter texture imitate traditional censers of the Middle East, and stranded color work represents the myrrh plant. Each of these is quick to knit, and …
Crochet potholders make great gifts and they are art objects on their own. The Tulip Potholder is an endless square which can be grown into a baby blanket or even large square throw. You can use any yarn and any colors, and this project can also become a great stash buster. But if you would …
Inis Oírr, pronounced inish-eer, is the eastern-most and smallest of the Aran Islands of Ireland, located in Galway Bay. Traditional Aran sweaters hail from these Islands, and this wrap, named after this smallest island, was inspired by these designs. The Inis Oírr is designed to be multi-use – a blanket or an oversized shawl to …
A classic chain stitch is updated here as an off-white grid that lays over the rainbow of colors that move from yellow all the way through green. Working with only one color per row keeps the pattern simple and easy to memorize. The border is knitted as the blanket is worked so the finishing is …
Wine Dress up any wine bottle to create the perfect one-size-fits all gift this holiday season. Use up any of those lovely lone skeins in your stash to make a quick gift. The sample shown is knit in Jaeger Silk, which has been discontinued, but any dk weight yarn should give you great results. Money …
