Knitting

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A Year of Afghan

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afghan squares ros made meI haven’t written much about it yet, but I’m working on a massive stash-busting project this year that I expect will take me on and off all year to knit: a gigantic (6 foot square, I’m hoping!) strip afghan worked all in Garter Stitch. I’m hoping this will basically eliminate the odd balls in my stash and make me feel a lot better about the amount of yarn in my house. Also, I’ll be really warm next winter.

I’m not the only one with big projects in mind this year. Ros over at RosMadeMe has embarked on a year-long afghan knitting project, too, but she’s knitting individual blocks and sharing them on her blog.

She’s made good progress so far, even though she had a little trouble getting some of her yarn.

Do you have any big projects planned for this year? I’d love to hear about them!

[Photo via RosMadeMe.]

Comments

  1. First – I am trying so very, very hard to avoid sales cause I “need” more yarn. 😉

    Second – Oh help – Do I have projects!? I am trying to finish some I started a year (or more) ago.

    An afghan – keep losing the actual pattern so it has many different bands of stitches! All knitted in dreamy blues and greens of Homespun.

    A skirt – my second and in a reasonable color to wear. Why on earth did i knit the first one in Carolina Blue!?

    A top to match said skirt.

    and two Spring shrugs to finish! one white and one in lavender.

    Whew – now I’m tired…

Have you read?

Knits for the Table for Thanksgiving and Beyond

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long. 

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders. 

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well. 

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn. 

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions. 

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table. 

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter. 

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.