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Project Notebook: Boneyard Shawl

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boneyard shawl wipThere are certain knitting patterns that it seems like everyone has knit, that are classics even if they haven’t been around that long.

But because I spend a lot of my time designing knitting projects (and writing books), I haven’t had time to knit a lot of those projects that “everyone else” has done.

So over the weekend I decided to remedy that in some small way by casting on, finally, for a Boneyard.

If you don’t happen to know this pattern, it’s a super simple, really pretty, mostly Stockinette triangular shawl worked from the tip out. Designed by Stephen West, it’s a free pattern on Ravelry, where as of this writing there are 5,826 projects and it’s in 6,354 queues. (I haven’t added mine to that count yet.)

It’s easy to see why this is such a popular pattern, because it’s relatively mindless once you get going, and because the design is so simple you can use a lot of different kinds of yarn. Mine is Malabrigo Rios that I’ve had for a long time and am so glad to be using because it is luscious.

I couldn’t keep to my selfish knitting for long, but I hope to get at least one day a week where I feel like I can spend some time with it. It’s like a knitting holiday.

Have you ever knit a Boneyard? How did it go?

What’s on your needles? I’d love to hear about it! Or see it on Instagram.

 

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Looking for more amazing shawl patterns? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Comments

  3. Dangit. One more I gotta try. Currently working a super simple triangle shawl in navy. Just finished a simple “lacy” navy scarf. I recently discovered that while I have lots of bright and cute scarfs and hats I had no basics like navy, black and red.

Have you read?

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]