Check out this Fun Knitalong to Start the Year

Actually, it doesn’t start until Feb. 1, which is maybe even better than starting at the beginning of the year, but this new knitalong from Berroco looks like a lot of fun and a great way to build some skills if you’re not already comfortable with colorwork and short rows.

The knitalong is for Mrs. Watson, a fun two-color Garter Stitch shawl designed by Martina Behm. It uses two colors of Ultra Alpaca Light, which is a lovely yarn and comes in a lot of different colors.

To be an official part of the knitalong, though, you can use any Berroco or partner yarns (that’s LANGYARNS, Amano Yarn, James C. Brett or Ístex Lopi). Knitalongs are a fun way to learn new techniques and be part of a virtual knitting group where everyone is making the same thing but the results are always different.

Have you ever taken part in a knitalong? I’d love to hear what you made and how it was.

[Photo by Martina Behm, via Berroco.]

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Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]

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