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Book Review – One More Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit

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“One More Skein” by Leigh Radford is a must-have book for knitters who want to turn a little yarn into fun projects and gifts. The author, who is well-known for her alternative approach to knitting and felting in her previous books “AlterKnits” and “AlterKnits Felt”, presents 30 diverse projects that can be completed with one or two average-sized skeins of yarn or multiple bits of leftover yarn.

The book includes a wide range of projects that are perfect for knitters of all skill levels. From an earflap hat sized for the whole family to fingerless mitts, sweaters, britches, and capelets for baby, the projects are quick and relatively easy to make, without sacrificing beauty or ingenuity. The author also includes a hemp jewelry embellished with jump ring “beads”, a felted, pleated sleeve to dress up a vase and a multicolored blanket worked from assorted stash yarn.

One of the things that makes this book stand out is the author’s ability to meld her alternative approach to knitting and felting with the magic of working with a single skein of yarn, which she introduced in her bestselling book “One Skein”. The author’s fascination with the creative potential of these raw materials is evident throughout the book and will inspire knitters to think outside the box and create something truly unique.

Overall, “One More Skein” is a fantastic book for knitters who want to explore the creative potential of a little yarn and create beautiful and unique projects and gifts. The patterns are well-written, easy to follow and the finished results are beautiful and creative, making this book a must-have for any knitter’s library.

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Stacking Stars Knitting Pattern

There are so many things I love about the Stacking Stars pattern from Frankie Brown.

First, it looks like a kid’s toy, which it totally could be, though the intent is to stack the stars into a Christmas tree bit of decor.

I love the rainbow gradient, which makes it all the more cheerful, and serves as a reminder that, while you can plan out your colors beautifully, you can also use your stash for your own brilliant hodgepodge of a star tree.

It includes patterns for nine different sizes of stars, from 2 inch to 6 inch, which makes the perfect pile to look like a tree. What’s more, these stars are worked in garter stitch, so it’s a pretty easy pattern, even if you’re new to knitting. And the stars are solid, so not only can you use them to make your own amazing stack of a tree, you can make more to decorate packages, use as Christmas tree ornaments, make a darling garland, or all of the above.

The pattern calls for DK weight yarn but of course you could play with the yarn weight, too, to make stars that are even larger or smaller than the ones shown. And the bigger ones are made by just working more repeats, so you could continue to work as established to make larger ones to suit all your crafty purposes if you like.

Frankie’s patterns are free on Ravelry, but they ask that people who enjoy their patterns send a donation to the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation. Through the years they have raised more that £26,000 for the charity, which helps families of kids with liver disease. You can donate to Frankie’s fundraiser here. They have tons of great holiday projects and other designs you can check out on their designer page on Ravelry.

[Photo: Frankie Brown]

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