Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Keeping up with the Knitting Bloggers

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I wrote earlier in the week about podcasts and how you can listen to them on your PC or mobile device (Ipod, Zune, Zen or other) and keep up with events and issues surrounding the knitting community while you knit.

Today, I will tell you how you can keep up with all the blogs you like to read and how it can be done in one spot.

There are many stand-alone software programs used to collect, update, and display [tag]RSS feeds[/tag]. Many of these are free. Some work from within your [tag]web browser[/tag] or email client, while other work on your desktop. [tag]Yahoo[/tag] list many readers that you can try, some are application specific; that is just for outlook or just for blogs.

I use Google Reader. This is free software at the Google site and all you need to do is establish an account. The account and software are free.

After creating a Google account, adding your subscriptions is easy. You can click on the Add subscription field on the reader page, or you can go to your favorite blog and click on the orange RSS symbol next to the URL address. The click will take you to a page that will ask you Add to Google home page or Add to Google Reader. Click on add to reader and it will automatically add the blog to your reader. Each time you find another blog you wish to keep up with, just click the symbol.

Reading is easy as the blogs are all listed on the Google Reader page and you just click on the one you wish to read. If you click on the individual blog, it will list the posting from that blog.

This simple software helps you keep everything in one spot.You never need to worry about losing bookmarks to your favorite blogs or missing out on a new post due to time constraints.

Leaves more time to knit!

Have you read?

Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.