Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Giveaway: Summer Knitting Book and Yarn

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knitting in the sunI know it’s hard for a lot of people to want to knit when it’s hot outside. I have air conditioning and it’s still a struggle just knowing that it’s 100 degrees outside (though we finally got rain yesterday and it’s supposed to be cooler — 80s and 90s — for the next few days!).

Blogger Lime Riot is the same way, and she’s trying to motivate herself to do more summer knitting by hosting a summer knitting giveaway.

All you have to do is comment on her blog about how you’re incorporating crafting into your summer. Up for grabs are a copy of Kristi Porter’s Knitting in the Sun (that link is to my review on About) and two balls of Jo Sharp Soho Summer, a lovely, light cotton yarn. The contest is open through Saturday, June 21.

I’d love to hear how (or if) you’re crafting in the heat, too. Spill it!

[Photo by Wiley.]

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Comments

  1. I sit in the shade on a little patio off my bedroom & knit – mostly hats. Seems all I want to do lately is knit. I resent having to do any housework because it takes me away from my knitting.

  2. I sit on my porch and knit, yes its hot our but when one has a 6 month kitten..Right now I working on a baby blanket, baby due soon!

  4. So far I have sat on my front porch and crocheted a wrap and slippers while watching the smoke of a 1200 arce fire which started 1/2 a mile away. It was a way to use nervous energy and keep an eye on the ball.

  5. I sit on the couch in front of a box fan (no AC) and knit/crochet scarves, socks, hats, and whatever doesn’t cover my lap.

  7. I knit dish cloths by the dozen, work on smaller christmas presents (fingerless gloves, scarves), and gather the materials for cozy winter knitting.

  8. I knit regardless of the weather, but I am grateful for my AC. I’m mostly making smaller projects like pillows and afghan squares.

  9. I am in a knitting club once a week and a guild once a month and in-between I knit love new patterns and the opportunity to win yhis lovely book louise

Have you read?

Knit a Stunning Bestiary Scarf

I don’t even know what to say about this amazing knitting pattern. The Bestiary Scarf from Monstra & Mirabilia is so full of details it’s a little intimidating to talk about. 

It features, as the designer describes it, an “artistic encyclopaedia of Western mythical creatures.”

The pattern includes a dragon, harpy, Medusa, chimaera, centauress, phoneix, kraken, mermaid, sew serpent, cyclops, wyvern, Pegasus, amphiptere and amphibaena. (It’s a good thing there’s a photo of the proejct with everything labelled because I definitely didn’t know the names for everything.) It’s also designed like a landscape, with water and land creatures toward the bottom ends and sky creatures toward the top. 

The dragon is at the center and is worked sideways so it will show as upright when you wear it. 

The scarf is worked in double knitting, so the colorwork appears in the opposite colors on the other side. 

It’s worked in light fingering weight yarn (on size 0 US or 2mm knitting needles) and the colorwork is shown in charts. The pattern also includes some video tutorials and written instructions to help you along. The designer says the pattern is for intermediate knitters, and “advanced beginners may succeed with patience and the help of the video tutorials.”

When I was an advanced beginner this kind of a pattern would have brought me to tears, but if you love a challenge, and a project that you’ll wear and get tons of astonished reactions every time, this is the project for you. And of course if you have a few double knitting projects under your belt and are comfortable reading charts, this project shouldn’t be hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s fast. But lots of great things take time, and that’s never stopped us before, right? 

You can get a copy of this pattern from Monstra & Mirabilia on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Monstra & Mirabilia ]