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Knits to Celebrate the Olympics

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olympic knitting patternsThe Winter Olympics are right around the corner, and if you’d like to celebrate with knitting there are lots of options available, from knitting the Olympic rings on a project to using your knitting to cheer on your favorite team.

DeAnza Jig knit a fun Olympic ring washcloth for the 2012 Games, but you could easily change the date or leave it off. Bolette J. Ohms also has a washcloth with the Olympic torch on it. So cute!

The Homemade Mama whipped up some adorable knit medals that are perfect for kids who want to pretend they’ve won the gold. And Kathy Murray’s Olympic Ring Necklace would be great for kids or adults who want to show their Olympic spirit.

For a slightly more subtle version of the rings, try the Olympic Bracelet from Yarn Birdy. It uses a fun sparkly yarn to evoke gold medals.

Searching on Ravelry I found lots of knits in support of Team USA and Team Canada but not much else. If you’re from another country you could use these patterns in different colors without the national symbols to make a project that will support whatever team you fancy.

Check out Marlene’s Patriotic Earflap Hat, the USA 2014 Hat by Ann Schneider or Jenni Propst’s Team USA Sochi Hat to support Team USA. The Go USA Hat by Heidi Rosin could easily be altered for another country, as could the Mitts for Medals by Jean Anderson. Oh, and there’s my USA Hat, too, which is ripe for alteration.

Canadian patterns include the O Canada Mittens from Vicky Taylor-Hood and the O Canada Toque by Candise Wilde.

Do you plan any Olympic knitting? I’d love to hear what you’re working on!

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Knit a Log Cabin Blanket with All Your Scraps

I guess I must have had this pattern on my mind, because I had chosen this log cabin blanket recipe to write about, promptly forgot about it and a couple of weeks later started knitting a log cabin blanket using all my pink yarn. 

It might stay pink if it makes it to baby blanket sized, or I might add in some pastel green and blue, too, to make a bigger blanket. We’ll see. I’m also holding several strands of yarn together to make a kind of bulky yarn, which means it’s deeply satisfying how much yarn is used even as the project is still relatively small. 

In Kristen Finlay’s version, DK weight yarn scraps (or fingering/sock yarn held double) are used to make a simple scrappy log cabin blanket that’s lighter weight than my version. Log cabin is a great technique for knitters of any skill level because it’s worked in garter stitch. The only not completely basic technique you need for log cabin knitting is picking up stitches. 

If you’ve never worked a log cabin knitting project before, this is a good introduction, and it is really nice to use all your yarn scraps in one big project you’ll use for years to come. 

If you use a lot of DK weight yarn you can keep building on it whenever you finish a project, or if you use more worsted weight you can do the same thing with it, it will just be a little bigger starting out than the pattern calls for. How big it gets is totally up to you. 

I have really been enjoying working on my log cabin project, and it’s my current sitting at my desk and need a break knit (do you have one of those or is it just me?). 

Ready to start your own log cabin blanket knitting project? You can grab the free pattern from Kristen Finlay on Ravelry. 

Need more log cabin inspiration? Check out more log cabin knitting patterns. 

[Photo: Kristen Finlay]