Happy Knitty Surprise Day

Today is Knitty surprise day, which means a couple more patterns have been released to get you stitching this season. (Note, if you are reading this on Wednesday, their servers may be a bit slow to load because the patterns are new, but be patient and you’ll get there.)

The Fifteen Love Pullover by Brittany Wilson is a pretty three-color top worked from the top down with a kind of slim, retro fit. There are times when you’ll be fiddling lots of strands of yarn, but the effect is well worth it, I think.

In addition to that one, there’s a new sock pattern, Neldoreth by Rich Esnor. These dramatic cabled socks look to me like what Tolkien’s elves would wear if they wore socks; the designer says the name actually comes from “the beech forest on the banks of the River Esgalduin that formed the northern and lesser part of the Kingdom of Doriath in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.” So I was pretty close.

Do either of these catch your eye or are you knitting anything special to celebrate spring? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo by Brian Wilson via Knitty.]

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

Looking for pullover and sweater patterns? Check these books out.

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Have you read?