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Giveaway: Color Wheel Knits

by 38 Comments

color wheel knits

Congratulations to Susan!

How many of you have knit a Color Affection shawl? Or at least know what I’m talking about? This gorgeous stripey Garter Stitch shawl was a huge hit on Ravelry, and is still super popular, with more than 13,000 people having knit it. (I haven’t yet, but it is definitely on my list.)

The designer, Veera Välimäki, recently released (in English, it had been out in Finnish for a while) a whole book of similarly simple but really beautiful designs in Color Wheel Knits: Knits for Hand Dyed Yarns.

The sections of the book focus on different colors and include garments and accessories for men, women and children, all using tonal hand-dyed yarns.

The book is lovely, the knits are inspiring and I’m sure you’ll want to knit some of them, too, if you’re the winner of this giveaway!

The prize here is an ebook copy of the book (not print), and if you’d like a chance to win leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Sunday, July 20. I’d love to know what your favorite color is. And go ahead and tell me if you’ve knit a Color Affection, too (or more than one, no judging here).

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  1. Hi everyone! I’ve never knit a color affection shawl before but I am itching to try it! My favorite colors are warm tones so I really love yellows and reds especially!

  2. I have not knitted one of these yet but when I do I will start with blue my favorite color.

  3. I would love to knit a Color Affection shawl. I am a ”cherries and berries” girl – my favourite colour is rasberry red / pink

  4. I have not knit a Color Affection; I spend too much time knitting for little ones. Favorite color (at the moment!) is green.

  8. I have been gravitating more toward blues lately. I knit a Color Affection shawl a few years ago. My father-in-law went to a yarn store when on a business trip and the staff helped pick the pattern and colors. It is very striking with orange, purple and turquoise. I might never have put those colors together, but it has made me more experimental with colors and putting them together.

  10. .I have not knitted the shawl, as I have still not recovered from knitting a christening shawl for my daughter (34 years ago) to have a go. Favourite colour has to be purple like amethyst.

  11. I don’t have a favorite color but I tend to gravitate more towards bright or bold colors! I haven’t made the Color Affection Shawl yet, but it’s on my list!!

  13. I haven’t knit the shawl yet but when I do it’ll be in shades of grey and black 🙂

  14. Who hasn’t knit a Color Affection!?!? I made a summery version with light blue, off white and pale yellow…very beach-y…and still one of my favorite knits. I LOVE Veera’s patterns and didn’t know the English translation of her book had been released. Yay!!!

  16. I have not made a color affection shawl yet but recently made four shawlsfor the ladies at the symphony. I can’t afford to renew my subscription, so it was my good-bye gift to the ladies I had talked to for the past decade.
    Blue has been my favorite color since the day I was born. Thank you for the chance to win.

  18. Such a pretty shawl, I have not knit this. It would look good in so many colors, I’d have to really think about that….typically I choose earthy greens, grays, blues, etc. Thanks for the chance to win.

  19. Hello.
    My favorite color is purple.
    An I have not yet knit a Color Affection Shawl….

  21. I’ve always admired Veera’s unusual design. Never knitted anything of hers just yet, but would like to make a child & adult sweaters and a shawl. I love all the earth tone colors. No purple please, as I am blond! 🙂 Thank you for the giveaway

  24. This shawl is in my RAV queue and I can just imagine it in all the shades of grey that are my fav… starting with a lighter greyish cream color, on down to a deep charcoal. It is a beautiful design and I would love to win it, so I can make it as a gift for my sister in law.

  25. The Color Affection shawl has been in my queue for a while now. I’d love to knit one in grey and purple!
    lindarumsey on Ravelry.

  26. I did not knit a Color Affection because I had the impression that it would have been a long knit. But I did a Different Lines and I loved it! I follow Vera and her work on revelry. My favorite color at the moment is green. Emerald green!
    patmom on Rav

  27. I haven’t knitted a Color Affection shawl yet but do have the pattern. Current fave color is Raspberry!
    OrangeSmoothie on Ravelry

  28. What a beautiful shawl! I love blue but could see this pattern in soft browns and greys. I’ve actually spent the past few weeks looking for a new book of patterns and haven’t had any luck. This looks right up my alley!

  29. I’ve started a Color Affection twice but got distracted both times. Maybe one of these days I’ll get it done!

  30. I haven’t knit it yet, but have done a similar with some yarn in colors that I wouldn’t have chose myself. But they went well together- I enjoyed seeing the results, and it was a good stretch. I do enjoy colorplay, and gravitate to jewel colors.

  34. So many colors to choose! All time favorite though is red. I have not knit one yet.

  35. I’ve bookmarked many of her designs on ravelry. Favorite color – in yarn anyway….would be all the shades of grey.

Have you read?

Book Review: Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit & Crochet Blankets

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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