Knit Up a Botanical Beauty of a Shawl

If you’re looking for a showstopper project to knit this summer/winter (depending where you are in the world), take a peek at KC Knitting Co’s Stromanthe shawl.

This lovely leaf-covered design uses sportweight yarn and stranded colorwork to evoke the leaves of the tropical Stromanthe sanguinea plant. This intense colorwork is countered with a Garter Stitch edging.

The original yarn used was a blend of wool and linen, making it perfect for warmer weather, but you can make it with a 100 percent wool yarn, too, if you want something warmer.

Either way you can learn more and get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Anna-Lisa Miller via Ravelry.]

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Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]

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