Feather and Fan Knit A-Long

Jane Thornley. I first was introduced to Jane’s innovative “free knitting” techniques on Ravelry. She was knitting a beach! Yup! A beach. And not only that, there were lots of others knitting beaches too! Hmmm. Fascinating. That one I couldn’t stay away from.She takes different weights, types and colors of yarns, a free form knitting technique and a certain “anyone can do this” attitude, and jumps in with both feet! “If you can imagine it, you can knit it” Jane says!

So, after having seen all of these beaches that she and her followers have knit, I decided I had to play too, and guess what? She’s got the perfect “next” pattern on her site, and her next KAL starts on Sept 14th!!

I can do this! I only have 16 other projects on the needles, but who’s counting.

She calls this next one a “Ripenings Shrug” but there’s also a Mossy Roving Cardigan included in the same pattern/KAL. This is the one I will be doing.

BTW, her Knit A Beach pattern is still available and the designs are just mesmerizing! Check it out!

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Off to find a few more yarns for this next Must Do!

Next Pattern:

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Next Pattern:

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