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. 

Christmas In July

It's that time of year again.  Time to think of what, if anything will I make for family and friends.  Even though the temps are 90+* for most of us and the last thing we want to contemplate is holding all that nice warm wool, we can think of what to make and gather patterns and materials.  Even I don't do much knitting or crocheting in summer.

Will you do sweaters?  Those do need time to complete.  Depending on how you work and what you do, a lot of time is required to finish a sweater.

Will you do quick and easy projects for more people?  Things like hats and mittens are quick and easy.  Slippers fall into this category.  

Are shawls and afghans on your hit list for gift giving?  Perhaps you have wee ones on your list who might like toys.  Possibly you and your recipients are of a practical nature and gift giving is of the use it up variety.

During this month, I will be linking to things of all types that might be on your gift recipients lists.  Some sites will require you to register to access the pattern.  All are free.  Most will want no more than your user name and a password.

To get us started and stay cool for now, try these ideas.  Pair them up with new cooking utensils or a set of pans.  Add these personal touches to a dinner basket that has all the fixings for a favorite meal for the cook in the family.  

Crocheted potholder  Knit potholder  Don't like these?  Try these links for more options.  One thing to keep in mind for this type of project of to use either wool or cotton.  Acrylic will  melt. 

More crocheted potholders   More knitted potholders

As always, if you need help with a project, either directions in the pattern or a specific technique, check with your local Michaels to see when your Knit or Crochet Instructor is available.

Getting ready for Open House

Open House  September 9

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Come meet the instructors!

As the knitting and crochet instructor, I know I will be there all 4 hours to talk to anyone and everyone who wants to discuss classes.  I know someone will be available to discuss the Wilton Cake Decorating, Grumbacher Art Painting classes, Bead Corner Design Academy classes, Paper Ed classes, Spotted Canary School, Martha Stewart classes, kid classes, birthday parties, and more.  Come check out what we have available.

My display will include projects from all available classes.  I start with the basics of knit and crochet and offer classes in some of the advanced techniques, such as loom knitting, sock knitting, double knitting, broomstick lace, intarsia, mosiac crochet, filet crochet, beaded crochet and knitting, and how to work with some of the newer novelty yarns.  If there is something you want to learn and don't see an offering for that class, let me know and I can tailor a class for you and any interested friends.  

My classes include individual attention and learning the basics of the stitches and pattern reading.  There is also a yarn department tour where a quick discussion about the variety of yarns and tools available take place.  We will also cover gauge and gauge swatches and their uses during classes.

Crochet Classes start with the basics of chaining and how to do the foundation stitches that all crochet is built on up to and including the common shells, clusters and granny square.  More advanced Crochet classes are available after the basics are learned and textural stitches, working in the round, natural folds, construction, reading charts and lace are tackled.  

Knit classes start with the basics of casting on and how to knit and purl and move through patterning and cables in the beginner classes.  The more advanced classes include learning more about shaping, working in the round, touching on fair isle, charted knitting and mitered knitting.

I even offer ideas to get you started on how to take the most basic pattern and change it so you have something completely different looking but still stay within your skill level.  Discussions can take place about trying new techniques you want to learn and how to incorporate them into something smaller to test.

February Class Schedule

February 2012
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1	2 Discover Knit	3 Discover Baby Knit	4
5	6 Discover Tall Stitches	7	8 Discover Throws & Wraps Crochet	9 Discover Purl	10 Discover Throws & Wraps Knit	11 Demo 11 - 1
12	13 Discover Texture Stitches	14 Happy Valentine’s Day	15 Discover Gifts Crochet	16 Discover Pattern Stitches	17 Discover Gifts Knit	18
19	20 Discover Granny Squares	21	22 Discover Time to Crochet Filet Crochet	23 Discover Cables	24 Discover Time to Knit Socks Pt. 2 Toes	25
26	27 Discover Single Crochet	28	29