A year of stitches 2018 and other updates

Yes! I'm doing it again.  It's been a lot of fun in 2017.  We will be exploring laces, cables, colorwork,  texture.  More importantly,  we explore ideas for using the swatches we make.

My goal for this year's year in stitches series is one a week.  One post a week will be a stitch either written or charted for knit and crochet. One post each month will be ideas for using the swatches we make.   I'm unsure at this point if these will be ideas or actual patterns.

I will also give updates on my progress with level 1 of master crochet program.  As of Halloween 2017, I had the written answers done and about a dozen of the swatches.   It's been decided,  I have to redo some of my written work.   I have to check swatches and finish those needing to be done.

A Year of Stitches Week 51

Let's try something easy this week.  You see the charts to make a vest.  Instead, let's use the deer to make a pillow.  Use knit or crochet.  Use color or texture.  As a joke, present this to a hunter who didn't get his deer during hunting season.

A Year of Stitches Week 50

Holidays are coming.  What do you do to get ready?  Share your family traditions.

Here is a chart for your pleasure.  This can encompass the year if you choose or you can make them all be autumn/winter related.  Notes about this chart:  Each block shown by a dark grey line is really 10 small blocks.by 10 small blocks.  I have enlarged it as far as possible.  The background of some charts are not white.  You can choose to change them as you desire.

Weeks 17 to 33 of A Year in Stitches

I am going to offer a bunch of different charts and stitches in  this post to finish the catch up from the spring to mid summer weeks when I was working on a wedding and a carnival.

The charts will be for both knit and crochet.   There will be color work charts, cable charts, and lace charts. 

There will be written stitch patterns.   These are harder to use universally without a lot of creativity and thought behind them.  However, I'm sure everyone will have fun with at least some of these.

Week 17

For knitting, work in stockinette/reverse stockinette or colorwork.  For crochet, work in fair isle or tapestry.  If you choose color work, you can do bands of colors or keep it 2 colors throughout.

 Week 18

As for week 17, the same applies here.  Have fun with this.  Can you make it a lace?

Week 19

Enjoy the weather with some fun spring/summer motifs.  Color work is the way to go for these.  The brighter the better.

Week 20

This would be great as a pillow, purse, or in an afghan as panels.

Week 21
Lots of fun motifs here for gearing up for the colder weather that is sure to come or simpler items.  All these can be done in texture or color.  Use fingering weight yarns or lace weight and make these into bookmarks or book covers for those books that you read over and over.

 Week 22

Play with tapestry crochet and make change purses, make up bags, pencil pouches.  Play with texture and have even more fun now that you know the charts better.

 Week 23

Week 24

I can see the potential for coasters, mug rugs, cup cozies and napkin/flatware holders in these.  Who wouldn't love a picnic when these beauties are on the table with yummy food.  Don't forget to put the picnic table's feet in bowls of water to deter ants from joining you and hang a red ball covered in sweet smelling sticky in a tree away from you to deter flies and bees.  The bowls of water can be pie tins for wider feet and the balls can be washed off.

Week 25

This could be an early gift made up when we don't even want to dream of hot cocoa or fireplaces.  The markings on the side look like yarn color names.  However, I don't know which company this came from to give credit.  Anyone know?

Week 26

Here is a lovely little block from Japan.  It's Crochet, done in one of the join as you go methods.  For Knitting here's a lovely Russian lace stitch.

Week 27

Here is a granny type square.  Imagine this in the colors of the summer!  That would be one smart tote bag.  This knit stitch pattern on the other hand reminds me of roses in summer.  This could be a beautiful baby blanket or a made into a sweet dress for your little girl.

Week 28

Here are a bunch more square and hexagon motifs.  Mix and Match them unifying them by color choice or pick one or two and go crazy with the patterns.

Week 29

Here's a fun little crown for the prince or princess in your life.    It's crochet.  Try in worsted weight yarn and you can do fewer repeats.  Glue "gems" around the band for a really regal look.

The Knitting stitch reminds me more of a flower I see growing along roadsides, Queen Anne's Lace.  But this isn't the name of the stitch.

Week 30

Architecture has given us some beaurtiful knit and crochet patterns.    This arches pattern is crochet.  I can see it as a pillow cover, afghan, baby gift.... What can you see it as?  Meanwhile the seersucker knit stitch pattern just sounds like summer.  Done in a light weight cotton, linen, hemp or silk yarn it could be a beautiful shell.

Week 31

Interlocking crochet has fascinated me for quite a while.  It shows a different stitch to each side.

Meanwhile the knit stitch below it is a fake Entrelac stitch pattern.  This is done with a trick of the eye and is in a fair isle type of knitting.

Week 32

Mitered, Ribbed, handy as can be for dish cloths, hot pads, potholders.  Do them in cotton for good heat protection.  Chain an odd number of stitches plus 1 for turning or cast on an odd number of stitches.  Mark the center stitch.  Using Garter stitch or single crochet, work to the stitch before the marked one.  Dec3tog or k3tog.  Continue to the end.  Turn.  If you are crocheting, crochet in the back loop only. Work even to the stitch before the marked one.  dec3tog or k3tog.  Continue to 1 stitch.  Bind off.  Weave ends.  Can be done in 1 row stripes, 2 row stripes with unused color carried up the side or almost anything.

Week 33

One of my other loves is quilting.  I happen to live on the outskirts of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, which has a rich history in quilting and frugality.  This is the Trip Around the World Quilt Pattern Or Sunshine and Shadow Quilt Pattern.  It depends on what you do with it.  Trip Around the World uses a variety of colors, where the Sunshine and Shadow uses shades of one color similar to what is shown.  The trip around the world is symbolic of travel. something most Amish don't do.   However, the Colonials, way back when, would trade fabrics or sometimes piece a quilt top for a friend who was leaving to pioneer either in the New World or out West.  One ring of fabric or even just a quarter of a ring symbolized that friend.  

In Sunshine and Shadow, the colors are kept to 3-5, going from a very pale to very dark (black or as close to as you can get) and starting over or fading back to very pale.  It symbolized that we can't appreciate the sunshine without the shadows, just as we can't appreciate life without death or separation.

Choose to do these in granny squares, mitered squares, or something completely different.  Start at a corner and work one block. Working in the join as you go, continue adding blocks in the colors your choose.

If you don't like the color choice given below, get your own 4 squares to the inch graph paper and a box of crayons or colored pencils and draw out what you want yours to look like.  Just remember, the colors need to be in concentric rings for this pattern.

Colorwork - New Ways to Look at It

Previously I've discussed the basic colorwork technique of stripes. These are nice and easy. They can be any sized,  all the same or a specific pattern like Fibonacci, or completely random. Color blocking also falls in this level.  For beginners,  work each color section separately.  For more advanced people,  this is an Intarsia variation.

edit to add this important fact: Without having to purchase multitudes of colors, though who wouldn't, you can have a multiple color project by using variegated yarn, ombre yarn, tonal yarn.  These yarn are multi color either in a 1 color family or a many color family.  But this choice can add interest and variety.  The choices in this range are short color repeats to long color repeats.  This could be as short as an inch or many yards before subtle shifting into the next. 

Then I discussed the next level of colorwork techniques,  Fair Isle,  intarsia, mosaic, and In the case of crochet,  tapestry.  Intarsia can be styled like a coloring book for children with large sections.   Intarsia can be styled as a single Fair Isle pattern.  Fair isle is best done in only 2 colors per round or row.  Mosaic uses 1 color per 2 passes but can have 2 or more colors (usually 2).  Tapestry is essentially a variant of Fair Isle.

Now let's talk about the 3rd level of colorwork techniques.  Filet crochet is black and white.  Best part, the background can be any color you want as can the solid parts.  Entrelac in either crochet or knit can be a fantastic way to take a small stitch pattern or colorwork pattern and make it a much larger.  Each block in the chart equals one square of the entrelac but the entrelac square can be any size.  Finally there is the box stitch or c2c stitch pattern and mitered squares.  As with the entrelac each pattern block is equal to a blocked of c2c or mitered square.  

Let's see what you can do with a level 2 or 3 and the charts. 

A year of stitches week 35

For this week,  let's mix it up.

The knit sample is a fair isle pattern.

Fair isle is best done from a chart that is either color coded or, like some cross stitch charts, symbol based.  A few more complex charts are both color and symbols.  Depending on the quality of the printing,  the colors are too hard to tell apart and symbols can differentiate between them.  Fair isle is done in all stockinette stitch. It is easiest done in the round and then steeked.

The crochet sample is also a fair isle pattern.  Like the knit fair isle,  it is best done from a chart that is either color coded or symbol based.  Crochet fair isle charts follow the same color and symbol based rules of knit charts.  The yarn is always carried on the wrong side in either case.  Crochet fair isle is done in single crochet.  Again this looks best done in the round.

This chart is for both.  One repeat in knit and one repeat in crochet.

Try this pattern in both and see how they look the same or how different they look.  Choose one band and add it to a hat or mittens (around the hand).  Or go really crazy and add this whole panel to a sweater.  Choose different colors if you don't like these.

Another Sale!!!! And the new classes for October, November, December

Here's a shock for us all.  The Discover Knit and Crochet classes are on sale until Halloween for $20 each.  Those that are priced less than that stay the same.

And finally pictures of the new classes.  For Crochet the new offerings for project classes are

Crochet Cowl featuring woolspun from Lion Brand Yarn  A very warm garment that can be made larger or smaller or glammed up with a different yarn choice or ribbon choice.

Cross Stitch Potholder using Sugar and Creme  A great gift idea for the hunters in your life!  They can use this while cooking up their catch.

Fingerless Gloves using Vanna's Choice  A great gift idea for a lot.  Change them up by doing in different colors for each recipient!

Boot Cuffs using Red Heart Super Saver.  These are well loved by the twenty something women in my store!

And finally the strawberry cake scarf in color choice 1.  This is just fun and exciting.  Makes me hungry for cake.

 And now for the new Knit Classes......

This is the Knit baby hat and booties.  

These cup cozies are a quick knit and great for co workers presents! 

This slouchy hat is also a great gift idea for teens

And finally the new kids projects.

The mannequins are wearing the multi strand necklace and headband.
In front are the basketball necklace and bracelet.  Super easy and stylish for the kids!  

Kid Crochet 2 are cuff bracelets.  Individuality is gained by color choices and the buttons chosen.

The animal pouches are #3 even though they use the same stitch as the cuff bracelets but there is more to do for these.

New Classes!!! New Schedule!!! SALE!!!

There's a sale!!!  Classes are on sale!!!  
Here are the details.  They will look a bit familiar.  Any class that is $25 or more is now on sale for $20 on June 7 only.  Sign up online here or in the store.  For those who come into the store, there is a $20 voucher good for class supplies!!  Please take some time out from the Good Samaritan Hospital Street Fair to come to the store to sign up.  The sale is good all day.

Now onto the new classes.  Some classes are retired.  Some classes are new.  Please note, most classes (Wilton may be the exception and need more.  I don't know.) will need 2 paying students.  Consider bringing a friend if you want to be sure of a class.

These are the new crochet offerings.  Small enough to not make you hot just thinking about yarn in summer but large enough to be useful and fun.

Child's Purse

Crochet Basket

Tunisian tablet cover

Colorful  Creatures

 These are the new knit class offerings.  Again small enough to not make you too hot in summer with yarn but some useful and fashionable things.

Simple Knit Scarf

Jersey Pillow

Twisted Headband

Baby Hat

 We also have a new pompom class.  This would be a nice, decorative item to decorate a dorm room in the fall for the grad who is heading off to college or for any teen's room in school colors or their favorite team.

Pompom Wreath

 We haven't forgotten the children either.  New for the kids is weaving with weaving sticks.  This is a very old technique but still has some modern and fashionable and fun applications.

Monsters

Monster Scarf 

Headband with bow

Now for the new schedules.

Beginner Crochet Classes

All Classes are Mondays 6pm – 8:30pm

Crochet Beginner 1 – Skinny Scarf or Phone Cover                     June 16

Crochet Beginner 2 – Pillow or Scarf                                             June 18

Crochet Advanced Beginner – Cloche or Scarf                             June 9  retired after this date but if you started it and need more help, let me know or come to a yarn night.

 

New Classes

Tunisian Crochet Table Cover                 July 2                   September 3        

    Crochet Child’s Purse                               July 23        September 15           

    Crochet Colorful Creatures                      August 4     September 29

     Crochet Basket                                                    August 18

Advanced Crochet Classes

All Classes are Wednesdays 6pm – 8:30pm, unless noted otherwise

Discover Time to Crochet Classes

Crocodile Stitch June 11

Ornaments for Summer and Winter August 20

Hairpin Lace Sept. 3

Broomstick Lace September 17

Filet Crochet    October 1      

 Last Chance for these classes

       Discover Crochet – Coasters                                             June 4

         Discover Crochet – Flower Scarf                                          June 24

         Discover Crochet – Flower Beanie                                        June 23

         Discover Crochet -  Spring Bunny                                            June 25

NEW ** Pom Pom Wreath Class               July 26 9:30am – 12 pm  **  NEW

Beginner Knit Classes

All Classes are Thursdays 6 – 8:30 pm

Knit Beginner 1 – Hat or Wristwarmers       June 19

Knit Beginner 2 – Neckwarmer or Tassel Hat      June 20

Knit Advanced Beginner – Cable Scarf or Fingerless Gloves            June 12 retired after this date

 

New Classes

Simple Scarf                 July 3                   September 4

Jersey Pillow                  July 24        September 18

Baby Hat                                          August 7

Twisted Headband with Bow                           August 21      

Arm Knitting                August 8    6 – 7 pm

Advanced Knit Classes

  All Classes are Fridays 6 – 8:30 pm, unless otherwise noted

Discover Time to Knit Classes

Intarsia            June 13

Socks              July 25            

Entrelac  August 22               

Ornaments September 5         

Fair Isle September 19

 

Last Chance for these Classes

Discover Knit – Head Wrap            June 26

Discover Knit -   Phone Cover                   June 27      

          Discover Knit - PomPom Hat           June 6

          Discover Knit – Scarf                          June 30

                   

PomPom Wreath           July 26  9:30am – 12pm

 

Arm Knitting                  August 8  6 – 7pm

KIDS CLASSES

Discover Kids Classes

All crochet classes are Saturday mornings 9:30 – 11AM unless noted

Discover Kids Crochet 1 (Necklace and Bracelet) 

August 9

September 20

Discover Kids Crochet 2 (Zipper Pull)

August 23

Discover Kids Crochet 3 (Monsters)

September 6

****NEW FOR KIDS****WEAVING****

     All weaving classes are Saturdays 11 – 12:30 unless noted

                    Discover Kids Weaving (Monster Scarf)

                          August 9          September 20

                       Discover Kids Weaving (Monsters)     August 23

                     Discover Kids Weaving (Headband and bow)       September 6

The extras -- Here are the dates for the yarn nights and when I will start Warm Up America joining parties again.  I know you will all join me in a sigh of relief that there won't be any in the summer.  I can't think of anything to make me feel hotter than an afghan in my lap.

 Yarn Nights are times for you to get a question answered about a stitch, yarn or pattern question that doesn’t require a full class.  You can also sit and stitch with me at this time.  Time is 1pm – 4 pm unless noted.

June 14          June 21        July 5 (1-2) July 26        August 9     August 23   September 6                   September 20

 

Warm Up America Joining Parties are times to help join afghans blocks to help the homeless here in Lebanon with the donation of warm afghans.

Joining party time is 2pm - 5pm unless noted.

                                                            September 21