Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Free Knitting Patterns



My posting has been spotty because I've just been so busy with work.  I have high hopes for posting more regularly when the semester is over in May.

In the meantime, my needles have been busy with some free knitting patterns.  Free patterns are widely available on the web, and Ravelry allows us to see other people's project notes so we can separate the jewels from the duds.

I knit this pullover, Ink Flare by Black Dog Designs,  a simple a-line pattern in a bright cheerful pink.  I knit the pattern as written except for an added seed stitch border, though some other knitters made the neck opening smaller.  It's a comfy piece that I've been wearing a lot.


I wanted a new pair of fingerless mitts, so I adapted Quo Vadis by Spilly Jane Knits, a free mitten pattern.  The mitts are knitted in worsted weight wool, so they work up fast, and the color work is very easy because the repeats are the same across each row.  This would be a good entry-level project into stranded color work.

I hope everyone is well.  I hope to be around more in the near future.

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

Red


I've been MIA for awhile, but going back to work after having a semester off for sabbatical has meant a bit of an adjustment in my schedule.  Then, of course, working and being around a lot of people during the height of the cold and flu season meant that I got what was going around, which knocked me off my game for a few weeks.  I'm happy to be well again.

In the meantime, I made another rag rug on my rigid heddle loom.  I posted a tutorial in 2012, which still brings me lots of blog traffic.   I used a slightly longer 65" warp with this project, and I'll probably go even longer next time.



For this rug I used red cotton for the warp, and various red prints for the weft.


It's a yummy rug for the kitchen.


Off the needles, I finished a pair of socks.   I love knitting striped socks as I can measure my progress with the color changes.   It's hard to stop sometimes because I want to see what the next color will look like.


Economy Block and Large-Scale Fabrics

Recenlty I decided to take out and use the stash of Asian-themed fabrics I'd set aside.  Many of them are large scale, so I wanted to fe...