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Giveaway: Floral Blocks to Knit and Crochet

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floral blocks to knit

Congratulations to Donna.

They say that April showers bring May flowers, but where I live the May flowers have been getting rained on quite a bit lately. So I thought it would be fun to share some flowers of the knit and crocheted variety this week.

75 Floral Blocks to Knit by Lesley Stanfield features pinwheels, hexagons, circles and squares with floral motifs in lace, colorwork and embroidery. Some flowers are applied to the blocks while others are integral to the block and still more are flower or leaf shaped themselves. These projects offer lots of ideas for afghan blocks, pillow fronts, washcloths and more.

Likewise 75 Floral Blocks to Crochet by Betty Barnden has a bunch of fun designs of different shapes, sizes and techniques using crochet. This book includes a directory of blocks showing collections of blocks in different colors that you might combine for a project.

The giveaway this week is for both books; there will be one winner.

For a chance to win leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, May 17. Why don’t you tell me what your favorite flower is? I usually say zinnias, but I love sunflowers, too. And roses.

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

Next Pattern:

Comments

  1. I’d be hard pressed to choose a favourite but red poppies and sunflowers are certainly at the top of my list.

  4. I adore just about all flowers! On Mother’s Day I was lucky enough to pick out some favorites from a local shop. I filled my pots with Lantana, a miniature petunia “million bells” (hummingbirds love them), marigolds, geraniums, and heliotrope.

  5. My favorite flower is so hard to say, they are all so beautiful. But I really do enjoy Azelas.

  7. Some of my favorites are lilacs, iris, orchid, roses, carnations, orange blossoms, okay I admit it I love all flowers!!!!!

  8. My favorite flower is the carnation. I’ve loved them since I was a little girl.

  13. My Favourite flower is a Gerbera …. I would love to make blocks and join them altogether to form a beautiful rug !! Imagine combining every flower .. merging them all into one massive rug …. how beautiful would this be ? And all because of these two gorgeous books…my needles and hooks are crossed that I am the winner 🙂

  14. Oh my– sometimes it’s tulips, sometimes it’s hyacinths, sometimes it’s peonies! They’re all so pretty!

Have you read?

Calcifer Knitting Pattern

I don’t know if you all know this about me, but I’m a huge fan of the Studio Ghibli movies and the books that inspired them. Calcifer, if you don’t already know, is an important character in the book and the movie Howl’s Moving Castle, which is one of my daughter’s favorites (though she did like the book better thanks to some changes that were made for the movie).

Whether you’ve got a Ghibli (or Diana Wynne Jones) fan in your house or you just want to knit a roaring fire to sit in your fireplace in the off season, the Calcifer Knitted Plushie from Kamila Hernandez Firl is here for you.

This irresistible pattern is super cute even if you aren’t familiar with the story (which I won’t spoil for you, but you should check it out!).

The pattern calls for DK weight yarn in eight different colors, for of which make the colors of the flame, two browns for the log and black and white for details. You’ll also need some black embroidery thread for finishing the details on the face. The project is worked in the round, with the flame and the log worked separately, stuffed and sewn together. The general instructions for the pattern are written, but the color changes (and some shaping on the flames) are shown in chart form, so you should have some familiarity with reading and following charts before you start this one.

It’s well worth learning how to do it if you know someone who loves Calcifer, or even just to make a pretend play “campfire” for your kiddos who aren’t old enough to know who Calcifer is yet. They’ll thank you later.

This pattern is free to download on Ravelry, so go check it out and get ready to stitch up some firey fun.

[Photo: Kamila Hernandez Firl]

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