Baby Blanket

Courtesy of Lion Brand Yarn

Lately, I've worked on three baby blankets with one to go.  This one is an easy pattern for knitting and just as easy for crochet.  You start with one stitch and increase one stitch each row until you get to the diagonal width you want.  It's pretty easy to measure in crochet.  You might have to multiply your stitches per inch in your head if you're a knitter.  If you have the needles and yarn to work four stitches per inch, then multiply four times the number of inches you want for the DIAGONAL measurement. 

I worked on larger needles with two strands of yarn.  As I worked I would measure the edge, not the length I was working across.  When I had almost four feet from my hook to the point where I'd started, then I knew it was big enough, and I could start decreasing one stitch per row.




Courtesy of Lion Brand Yarn

Happy crafting,

Kathi

Knitted and Crocheted Foods

After seeing the yarn bombing images yesterday, I tried another fun idea and looked up "Knitted Food" followed by "Crocheted Food".  Please go to Google Images, www.ravelry.com, www.knitpatterncentral.com , or www.crochetpatterncentral.com and see what I found.

There are free patterns for such knit and crocheted foods as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheeseburgers with lettuce and tomato, corn on the cob, or fried eggs with bacon slices and toast.

For dessert, you can whip up  a slice of cherry pie, cookies, an ice cream sandwich, cupcakes or doughnuts.

Maybe the one that most impressed me was a pattern for knitted popcorn.  Each little white kernel was about the size of a penny complete with the bumps and irregularities that popcorn has.  I can't even imagine...

Happy crafting.

Kathi

Yarn Bombing

We just missed International Yarn Bombing Day.  It was on June 11th.  Darn!!!

Also called guerrilla knitting, yarnstorming and graffitti knitting, it's quite an eye-catching art form.
Yarn artists knit or crochet covers for almost anything in public places.  The Wall Street bull statue has been covered.  Buses, trees, bike racks, park benches, parking meters, and lamp posts have all been transformed in colorful displays of yarn art.  I found pictures of lacework on a chain link fence, leg warmers on a statue in Paris, and stone angels wearing pink and green crocheted dresses. 

If you go to Google images and put "Yarn bombing" in the search bar, you will find a spectacle of worldwide guerrilla knitting.

This is just for fun, but if you want to mark your calendar for next year, I'll keep an eye out for your work.

Happy crafting,

Kathi

Summer Knitting

  

I did a quick search for a summer wrap and found this quick pattern on Lion Brand Yarn.  It's called "Knit Sweetheart Shawl".   It looks to be just about right for a cooler evening, or if you should want a little something to cover your shoulders.  The back comes to a point approximately at the waistline. 
http://cache.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patternFinder.fcgi?language=&store=%2Fstores%2Flionbrand&search=1&searchText=knit+sweetheart+shawl

There are some really pretty summer tops and wraps in http://www.knitpatterncentral.com/, http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/, and http://www.ravelry.com/. Or maybe you have a favorite yarn-craft website.

Come and share your knitting or crocheting with our Thursday evening groups.  Knitters meet at 6:30 on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.  Crochets meet on the third Thursday.  The groups are very friendly and welcoming.  If you don't know how to knit or crochet, there are seasoned veterans who can help you get started.

Happy crafting.

Kathi

Getting Ahead of the Game

This fall (I don't have the exact dates) will be the eighth annual "60 Scarves in 60 Days" challenge. Last year (2010) it started in September. The point of the challenge is to knit or crochet 60 scarves and donate them to the local charity of your choice. No postage or distance hauling required. Any color, any pattern will do.

Now maybe this is cheating, but maybe we can save some people from getting carpal tunnel or crocheter's elbow. Summer is a good time to work on smaller projects. Scarves make easy carry-along items. And you could be working toward a worthwhile goal. Maybe we could call this version "60 Scarves by November".

Are you inclined to send your work out of town? Here are some ideas:
Knits from the Heart by Kristin Spurkland includes a list of charities that accept donations.
http://bevscountrycottager.com/charity-links.html has links to charities on more than one continent. Another way to locate a charity after your own heart is to put your favorite charity into a search engine and see what comes up. It would be wise to find out if that charity still needs donations, if it is still in operation, or if there are complaints against it.

Happy crafting,

Kathi

Crochet in Warmer Weather

Lion Brand Yarn gave us permission to copy their pictures into our blog.  I'm thankful because pictures add so much. 

It's warming up nicely (finally), so I'm looking for crochet ideas that won't make me sweat as I'm working on them.  One possibilty is to make a few baby items.  Well - maybe the fact that I have a couple of pregnant friends might have something to do with it.

Anyway, these pictures put me in mind of some very young people who would enjoy them.  I hope they trigger your imagination too.

Happy crafting

Kathi

  

Knit and Crocheted Rugs

It's May and I was under the impression that it should be warming up some.  Instead, when my feet hit the floor this morning, they got chilly quickly.  So I'm think about rugs of some sort.  Just a little something to keep my tootsies warm. 

I checked out http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/rugs.php  and found 89 crocheted rug patterns.

The sister site http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/rugs.php had 25 knitted rug patterns.

Ravelry.com is another huge website for several kinds of crafts. You have to sign up to get a screen name and password, but then have access to patterns, ideas, community chat, etc.  When I went to http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/  and put "rugs" into the search bar, I found 20 pages of patterns.  I loved some of the crocheted "quilt rugs".  The piecework was beautiful.

The Lion Brand yarn website has 9 knit patterns and 7 for crocheted rugs including this spiral one which rather intrigues me.  If I were to make this rug, I might extend the last taper a little more to smooth out the edge.  If you wish to look at this pattern, it is called "Shaker-Inspired Rug".


Happy crafting,

Kathi