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Giveaway: Winter Knitting Magazines

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knitting magazines giveaway

Linda is the winner!

Every now and then I go through my magazine stack and pull out some things that I think would interest you if you don’t subscribe to all the knitting magazines (I’m actually cutting back on subscriptions because I never seem to actually knit anything out of magazines, but for now I still have quite a stockpile).

With winter coming on, I thought it would be good to offer a couple of winter-themed magazines, so I have the winter 2015 issue of Creative Knitting magazine and the Holiday 2015 issue of knitsimple for this week’s giveaway.

Check out Creative Knitting and knitsimple on Ravelry to get a look at all the patterns. There are 21 in the Creative Knitting issue and 35 in knitsimple (though Ravelry only shows 32). There’s lots of great gift ideas here as well as things to make for yourself.

For a chance to win these, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, September 18. I’d love to know if you’re thinking about holiday and winter knitting yet and if so, what you’ve made or what you’re planning. I have no idea so maybe you will inspire me.

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

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Comments

  1. I have started knitting scarves and shawls for holiday gifts. I have to go slow as I have had tendonitis in my hands this summer and I have so missed knitting .

  2. I love winter! Every late summer, I plan to knit decorations for the holidays. I’ve created tree ornaments, a tree skirt and several blankets so far. I was thinking about making some decorative pillows for my couch this year and something decorative for me to wear.

  5. I just ordered the materials for a large shawl knit with super bulky yarn. Should be very useful for the long New England winter!

  11. I am so behind, but busy moving means I only get a few pages a day in. I want to start a blog for diy tutorials for people with big families like us. 10 kids n #11 due Dec. 28th 2016. So I knit a lot of blankets, baby stuff, scarves, hats, gloves, cocoons, shawls n cowls etc. I am really interested in trying to knit some apparel like sweater dresses (which I love) and lace dresses, lingerie, bathing suits, socks, coats, tops n sweaters of course plus baby dresses. So I am always looking for good magazines and patterns. I tend to reinvent most patterns to my desired look, but found it can be problematic for me without a basic pattern. I tend to forget what I was working on or which part etc. I hope I get a chance later.

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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