Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

It Itches! So Knit A Snowflake!

by

It Itches, by Franklin Habit

Ingredients:
1 batch of humorous cartoons about knitting and everyday life.
3 shakes of the inevitable boo boos
and a generous helping of short essays.
Bake until it’s green and you’ll have the cutest little knitting book ever. One of the funniest knitting books I think I’ve ever read.

This particular cartoon, taken from the book, is entitled “Free Range Knitters”. Loved it!

And there are way more cartoons and essays in there that I can relate to than I’d like to admit. And it’s cute! And little! A perfect stocking stuffer! Hint!

Is your stash out of control? This book will tell you how to take it from behind the couch to where it belongs, occupying every inch of space available. If you haven’t been treated to Franklin’s blog, go here:
http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/

Interweave publishes his book and they say this:
Franklin Habit is known for his witty writing and his New Yorker-style cartoons about knitting and life. His cartoons address the undeniable urge to purchase yarn, the (mostly) friendly rivalry between knitters, the expression of love through yarn and needles, and more!
The book includes seventy-five cartoons, deftly rendered in pen and ink with watercolor wash, in addition to humorous short essays on various themes of the knitting life.

You’ll find yourself in this fun collection of essays and cartoons. It Itches is also a great gift idea for knitters who speak the same knitting language.

Go to page 20 to read about Monsters in the Closet
Man vs. Skein pg 40 (this was my personal favorite!)
Immortality pg 50
The Underpants Knitters of Great Fussing-on-the-Wold pg 58
Advice from a Poncho pg 68
The Knit Stitch: Theme and Variations pg 82
Knittin’ with a Whip pg 90
It’s a Guy Thing pg 102
And there are more!
Is your book pile already too big? Don’t fret, this one’s a quick read, and will definitely keep you laughing all the way through it. Go here to order this wonderful book, or second thought, order 6 or 7 for all your knitting peeps! http://www.interweave.com/knit/books/it-itches/toc.asp (remember the stocking stuffer thing?)

And now for your free snowflake pattern:

Ok, so technically this one is crocheted, but I loved it’s simplicity. It would be gorgeous with a strand of silvery stuff (technical term for the lame that I tore apart to spin in with some of my yarn).

Try it! The free pattern is here:

http://www.theknittingparlour.co.uk/doc/christmas%20snowflake%20pattern.pdf

 

Next Pattern:

Comments

  1. I actually DID knit a snowflake! It is on Holiday Mystery Gift Along (a yahoo group that’s growing by leaps and bounds).
    I love your beautiful crocheted snowflake and will grab it after submitting this here comment!
    Visiting your site kept me busy for an hour!

Have you read?

Knits with Sheep

It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.