Free Pattern Friday – Swift Current Scarf

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Swift Current Scarf in Classic Shades Frenzy.

I’m a sucker for blues and greens.  The beauty of multi-colored yarns is that I don’t have to pick between one or the other.  They’re both there, as in color 911 Stranded of Classic Shades Frenzy.  It reminds me of the rushing aquamarine waters of the  Soča river that runs through Slovenia and Italy.

I want to go to there.
Photo: Andreas Resch – Everyone grab a WIP and let’s go.

swift-current-scarf-detail-blogThe Swift Current Scarf uses crochet shells and open spaces – along with some aggressive blocking – to create an airy texture.  For symmetry, the scarf is worked from the middle out in two halves.  It’s a two-ball project- make one half with one ball, then go back to the first row to start the second half in the other direction.

We hope you have a glorious weekend, dreaming of beautiful places and making beautiful things.  As they say in Slovenian, se vidimo kasneje!

Wheeeeeee!

Just for you – Garden Metallic Lacy Knits

If you’re a good little crafter, you’re already busy making your holiday gifts.  Or you could be more like me and have the best intentions, but then somehow it’s the last minute and you’ve knocked out an emergency pair of Felted Scuffles and are frantically drying them with a hair dryer.

Somehow it seems that every year, one thing is true:  in all the confusion, I never wind up knitting for myself.

Not this year.

Kristin Hansen's Garden Metallic Lacy Knits

Ever since this gorgeous book of Kristin Hansen knitted lace for Garden Metallic came out, I’ve had my eye on… well, on all of the patterns.  I had the pleasure of helping prepare the garments for this photo shoot. Touching each delicate masterpiece was enough to make me fall in love.  The one that sets my pulse racing, though, is the Midnight Sun Shawl, perhaps because it shares a name with one of my favorite songs.

https://youtu.be/pr5x7ivORUU?t=2m50s

Fetch my wrap, dear. The night is young and so are we.

The printed book is now also an e-book, as well as individual patterns.  So this year, I’m going to myself something beautiful.  I’m telling myself there’s still time this season, although realistically, I know myself and it will probably be next year before this sees the light of day.  And I have nowhere to wear something this glamorous – but I have faith that if I make it, then the opportunity will present itself.  Or perhaps I’ll be more likely to make my own opportunity.

If you’d like a lovely length of lace to call your own, don’t wait until everything else is done.  It never will be.  Do it now, just for you.

You’re worth it.

Happy knitting!

Free Pattern Friday – Cozy Cardi

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Cozy Cardi in Major.

We’ve had a lot of fun with Major this week…

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Bad Amy! Bad!

…but our week of Major is drawing to a close.  Don’t worry, though – we’ve already got more designs in the works.  There’s a poncho that I’m just dying to try out, plus – well, you’ll see.  But for today, we share this sweet little 1-2 ball hooded baby cardi.

major-cozy-cardi-detail-blogWork the fronts and the hood in one piece side to side.  Then work the sleeves and attach, make the lower hem, and add a crochet edge and three little loops to accommodate your cutest buttons.  There’s an included schematic to show you how the whole thing folds together.  It’s a quick and cute pattern without a lot of frills.  Let the yarn do the work while you take the praise.

We’d love to hear – what kind of things would you like to see in this self-striping bulky yarn?  We’ve got some ideas in the works, but there’s always room for more!

Happy crafting!

Free Pattern – Woven Sky Throw

Our Week of Major Patterns continues!

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Today, the Woven Sky Throw in Major.

Entrelac is one of those techniques that seems tailor made for self-striping yarn like Major.  Here’s it’s taken one step further by using two complementary colors.

Variegated gray yarn swatch
Major 117 Graphite
Variegated gray and blue yarn swatch
Major 104 Pebbles

The gray tones blend beautifully, making the blue a subtle contrast against the background.  Is this a cloudy sky, or a clear night with the first bit of blue beginning to show?  That’s for the viewer to decide.

There are a lot of ways you could go with this.  Instead of gray and blue, how about gray and green for more of a stones-in-grass feel?

Variegated gray and green yarn swatch
Major 101 Verdant

It’s all up to you.  Happy crafting!

Closeup of light blue and gray entrelac Woven Sky Throw fabric.

Free Pattern – Stonefall Poncho

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What can make you look forward to hump day?  The promise of a free pattern!

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Today, the Stonefall Poncho in Major.
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that Major (200g/328yds) is a brand new big, bulky, beautiful yarn that we’re shipping to LYSes as we speak.  It’s great for both knit and crochet projects, like the one-ball crochet Zeppelin Scarf at right.

Today’s offering is a bulky weight lacy poncho knit on size 10 needles.  It’s worked flat in two pieces, then seamed at the shoulders.  Pick up around the neck to finish it off.

Major Color 118
Major Color 118

This poncho calls for three balls of color 118, Silver Blush.  It’s got a hint of pale peachy pink to set off the silver/gray of the darker bands.  It reminds me of stones that surprise you with bands of color.

Gneiss! (via sandatlas.org)
Gneiss! (via sandatlas.org)

We hope you have a great day, and find a little  inspiration in the world around you.  Happy crafting!

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Free Pattern – Inchworm Baby Blanket

The Week of Major Patterns continues!

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Today, the Inchworm Baby Blanket in Major.

We love this design for the way it uses Major’s self-striping qualities.  Two complementary colors, 103 Capri and 105 Aloe, are swapped every other row.  Crochet two rows with A, then two with B, etcetera.  There’s no need to cut colors, you can just carry them up the sides as you go.

This free pattern is written and charted.  It’s a six-row repeat that’s easy to memorize.  Pretty timely for those of us who need a jump start on making gifts!

Tune back in tomorrow for another Major pattern!  Happy crafting!

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A Week of Major Patterns!

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Yes!  Our new Major yarn (no pun intended) is here, and we’re shipping it off to LYSes as we speak!  We love this yarn.  It comes in a big, beautiful, squeezable skein.  How big?

Peekaboo!
Amy shows she’s behind Major 100%.

Big.  200g/328yds of bulky self-striping goodness.

We love this yarn.  We’ve already had a great time designing with it, as with the Pineapple Peacock Shawl at right.  Two balls of Major on aUS Size K-10½ (6.5 mm) hook makes a really dramatic and satisfying piece.

But to really celebrate, we’re sharing a new free pattern in Major every day this week!  Today: the Blue Heartstrings Pullover.

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Knitted in pieces and seamed, this sweater features crossed cables are repeated on the front and back (back view shown at right).

The yarn quantity given is enough to complete the project for that particular size.  However, if you want to be doubly sure to match the striping on the front/back and sleeves, you may wish to purchase an extra ball in order to start at the same place in the color patterning in the yarn ball.

Tune in tomorrow to see what’s next!

Happy crafting!

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Free Pattern Friday – Briar Rose Capelet

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Briar Rose Capelet in Deluxe Bulky Superwash.

db-briar-rose-capelet-side-detail-blogYou’re familiar with the story of Briar Rose, right?  She’s the girl who was pricked by a spindle and fell asleep for a hundred years.  I’m sure many of us who have been bitten by the crafting bug and lost countless hours to projects can relate.   Fortunately, this project goes more quickly than Briar Rose’s sleep.

Continue reading “Free Pattern Friday – Briar Rose Capelet”

Free Pattern Friday – Window Paint Throw

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

adore-squares-blanket-main-square-blogToday, the Window Paint Throw in Adore and Adore Colors.

Cute, right?  I love this creative use of self-striping yarn.  You start each square at the center, then work your way out to the edge.   It ensures that each square will coordinate, but still be different than its neighbor. Despite being a larger piece, this is a great carry-along knit because each square is worked separately and then pieced together.

The pattern calls for two of our newest yarns, Adore and its companion Adore Colors (273yds/100g), a DK-weight blend of soft superwash merino and acrylic that’s perfect for projects like this, that you’ll probably find yourself tossing in the washing machine sometime.

Beachcomber Blanket in Adore ColorsAlso on my list to try in Adore Colors: the Beachcomber Blanket pictured at right.  It makes such clever use of individual panels stitched together, to be sure those color repeats stay nice and long, rather than thinning out of the width of a blanket.

No matter your plans for the weekend, we hope you take some time to make something beautiful, just for you.

Happy knitting!

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Check out our knockers!

Greetings from Stitches Texas!  We’re having a blast in booth 517, talking to crafters and, okay, maybe doing a little shopping of our own.

However, we want to share something else with you.  While we’re at Stitches Texas, we’re showing our knockers to the world!

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We speak, of course, of knitted knockers, which we made to support knittedknockers.org.  It’s a great organization dedicated to providing knitted prostheses to women who have lost a breast to cancer.  For this contest, each vote is one dollar, with proceeds benefitting the organization.  It’s a creative way to help people in need.

We entered two pairs in the contest.

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First, Sparkle Nation!  Designed by Amy Gunderson, these use our 10th anniversary yarn, Universe.  There’s a “best branding” category, so we made sure to brand these knockers.

Not that kind of branding.
Not that kind of branding.

Sparkle Boobs!

Amy put a little “UY” at the base.  We love these fancy sparkly numbers.  Frankly, we’d put our knockers up against anybody else’s any day of the week.

But those aren’t the only pair we’ve got on display!

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Designer Tori Gurbisz is new to our team, but has instantly fit right in with the Universal family.  She designed a pair in Bamboo Pop, complete with frilly Whisper Lace lingerie.

Ooh La La!

Tori used her pair to make the point that every woman deserves to feel beautiful.  The ribboned lace is symbolic of that.

If you’re at Stitches Texas and feel like judging peoples’ knockers, go by the wall and see what’s front and center.  Our knockers could always use support, but however you vote, it’s all for a good cause. There are some truly bodacious entries and more than a handful really stand out and demand attention.

If you’re interested in helping, visit http://www.knittedknockers.org for patterns and more.

Happy knitting!