More Amigurami Critters, and Hand’s Free Reading!

Found this today for all of you Amigurami buffs. It’s a nativity set, just in time for the holidays. It’s crocheted, not knitted, but I’m sure some of you can get past that, and besides, they’re just soooo darn cute!

Now, where are my hooks???

You know what would go perfectly with knitting or crocheting these little cuties? A hot cup of cider or tea, a warm fire (yes, up here in N. Mich I’ve already had the wood stove going) and an audio book to listen to.

I’ve had the priveledge of listening to two such audio books now, both on CD. One is called Knitting Lessons, read in a soothing, yet engaging manner and is very interesting. The other, Knit Knit is the story of knitters, some familiar, others not, from all over the globe who have added their own inspirations to knitting and knitters everywhere. These are both available from Knitting Out Loud as are several others. I will be listening to any and all I can get my hands on this winter. Such inspiration, sitting in my living room, knitting with the likes of Teva Durham, Annie Modesitt, Wenlan Chia, Norah Gaughn, and many, many others.

These audio books are must haves for me, I know you’ll love them too!

Next Pattern:

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?