Free Pattern Friday

Edison by Lynn Di Cristina is a newer free pattern that has a lot of positive elements.  It's an easy knit, perfect for visiting or tv watching. 

It also allows you you use three 50 gram balls of fingering or sock yarn in different colors, and I don't know about you, but I have a selection to choose from in my stash.

 

I used less than a ball of Pace Step (220 yds) in purple, an odd ball of thrift store wool in pink, and about 3/4 of a ball of Nature Spun Fingering in navy.  Because the navy comes in a larger 310-yard skein, I knew I'd have enough for a picot bind off.  This detail is not specified in the pattern, but  I like the addition.

The shawl is large and crescent-shaped which makes for versatile wearing. 

Blues by the Bay (60 x70)

I finished piecing the blocks and sewing up this quilt top.  I'm calling it Blues by the Bay after a local music festival.  The colors remind me of a summer day near the water: lots of blues and greens and sunny accents.  I think I'll skip the border on this one and send it to Debra for some simple modern quilting.  It'll make for a nice sofa quilt come fall.

Free Pattern Friday

The Age of Brass and Steam is a very popular free pattern on Ravelry.  Over 8,000 projects have been knitted from this pattern, probably because it's a very straight-forward and flexible pattern.  I knit mine from 3 different colored skeins of dk weight alpaca, and the white trim is a bit of angora.  All of these yarns were thrift store finds bought at different times, but the common fiber and weight made me want to use them together in a project.  Instead of counting rows before each eyelet section, I knitted each stockinette portion until the yarn ran out, then I changed colors and did the eyelets.

The pattern is excellent TV knitting as it takes little attention.  It can also be knit in any weight yarn and you can make it as small or large as your yarn allows. 

Free Pattern Friday

Here's another spotlight on a free knitting pattern I've used.  Arcadian Shawl is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses 520 yards of worsted weight yarn.  It's a relaxing knit: the stockinette portion is knit at the same time as the simple edging pattern, so it'll keep your interest without testing your concentration too much.   I knit my shawl with four balls of Stitch Nation Alpaca Love, a discontinued yarn I picked up at Tuesday Morning.  You never know what you'll find there, but they often have some good quality yarns at about half off their retail price.  The alpaca makes this shawl especially warm and soft.  This pattern is a keeper.  I like it's classic, elegant design.

Scrap Quilt Progress Report

I'm almost done piecing the blocks for this scrap quilt.  I'm at the fun stage where, when I add a new block, I play with the composition of the overall quilt.  I'm thinking about borders, but at 60 x 70 inches, I'm not sure I want to make this quilt much bigger.  I'm loving playing in the scrap pile and I'm seriously thinking about making another one of these Four Square block quilts in another colorway. 

Free Pattern Friday

I've got a weak spot for a good free knitting pattern, so I've decided to feature a few in a weekly post.  Although I knit a lot, I've begun to think more about knitting things that are wearable, and Azzu's Shawl by Emma Fassio, knits up into a very versatile wardrobe staple.  It's a long lightweight triangular shawl that is easily scrunched up into scarf.

I knit mine with two balls of Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi, a very soft fingering weight yarn with beautiful long color repeats.  This shawl could easily be knit up with cotton or linen for summer in a warmer climate, but I wear wool almost year round.  It would also look great in a bright solid color.

I love the pop of color this scarf gives my everyday wardrobe, which runs long on dark neutrals like the navy pullover I'm wearing in the photo.  I will certainly knit this pattern again.

Scrap Diving

While sorting through my supplies, I realized that I have a lot of scraps.  The scrap drawer was getting hard to close because it was so full.  I looked through various books and magazines, searching for the right pattern, and found Four Squares on the Quilter's Cache website.   The instructions are precise and clear, and I took a cue from the pattern and used up some of my blue and green scraps for the bigger pieces, and yellow, white and gold for the smaller pieces.

I've made a lot of headway so far.  Each block is 12" finished, which is a nice size for other projects as well.  I've been thinking these would make nice hot pads.  I actually had to go buy more yellow fabric for this project, but I'm using up lots of blues and greens and I like the scrappy look.  I think this will keep me busy for awhile.