Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

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

 

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 for the Table for Thanksgiving and Beyond

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long. 

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders. 

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well. 

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn. 

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions. 

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table. 

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter. 

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.