British Women Knit for Animals

A couple of really sweet knitting stories have come out of the UK in recent days.

First there was Nicola Congden and her mum Ann, from Cornwall, who estimate they’ve knit 150 sweaters for chickens oven the past six months. The project was prompted by Nicola seeing a story about battery hens, who often lose or pluck out their feathers in the cramped and stressed living conditions they are under. When they’re rescued they can’t acclimate to the cold.

Nicola says she also uses the jumpers on her own chickens, and they love them, but she doesn’t leave them in them long if she’s not around. She says their behavior is the same when they have the sweaters on.

She says she’s had requests for jumpers from locals and as far away as Canada. They’re happy to share, and ask for people who want jumpers to donate to Project Primrose, a charity that gives money and support to an orphanage in Africa for kids affected by AIDS.

And Jan Brown of Sunderland says she’s spent about 4,000 hours making sweaters for abandoned dogs. She’s come up with about 300 different designs for different kinds of dogs, and she donates the sweaters — as well as hats, snoods, scarves and antler hats — to shelters around the country.

She also sells knit items for dogs and uses the proceeds to buy supplies to make more items to give away.

I just love these stories! It’s so great when people find a way to use their creativity to help others, even when those others aren’t human!

[Photo via Yahoo News UK.]

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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