Review: Weekend Wraps

I loved Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre’s previous collaboration Weekend Hats, so I was happy to see them join forces again in a book with a similar concept but a bigger scale.

Weekend Wraps is all about shawls, cowls and wraps that you might want to wear on a stroll through the woods (or anywhere else) in the fall. But the projects are also made with worsted weight or bulkier yarn, so it’s possible you could knit many of these projects in a weekend, too.

And there are lots of them that I would like to try, such as Angela Tong’s Interlock Cowl, a twisty, bulky, brioche loop that’s almost more like a necklace than a cowl, and her Turkish Lace Shawl, a long, shallow triangle worked in a simple two-sided lace pattern.

From LaBarre I love the Hiker’s Shawl, a ribbed triangle that’s constructed in a really interesting way, and the Getaway Poncho, a super bulky warmer with a large Garter Stitch Cowl that’s simple, striking and super warm.

I also like the Gansey Shawl by Kate Gagnon Osborn, which uses traditional gansey designs in a warm, generously sized shawl that would be perfect for every day but is still pretty, and the giant cable and picot Caeryleus Wrap by Tanis Gray. Check out all the projects on Ravelry.

You can also get a free digital download of the Woodland Cowl, which didn’t make it into the book, when you order. Check out the details at Interweave.

About the Book: 128 pages, paperback, 18 patterns. Published by Interweave/F+W, August 2016. Suggested retail $24.99.

For the past few years I’ve taken part in a Christmas in July blog hop that encourages people to get a jump on their making for holiday gifts.

I love to use yarn I already have for these projects in the hope that people will consider what they already have that they can use to make projects for themselves or to give as gifts.

This year it was a couple of knit baskets made using partial balls of yarn left in my stash from other projects.

They use the same basic pattern but the first one is made with two colors of bulky yarn, and the second used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together, which made the gauge about the same, but I cast on fewer stitches to make a smaller version.

The bottom of the basket is square, though you can make them rectangular if you’d rather. Then I just knit up the sides in rounds until I was about to run out of yarn. This gave both baskets rather short sides — maybe more like a tray than a basket — but you can keep knitting as long as you like to make the sides of your basket as tall as you want.

They’re worked in seed stitch, which keeps the edges from curling and adds a nice texture to the baskets.

Of course this also allows you to use even more odd balls from your stash. I’d love to make a big one someday combining lots of different yarn. I mean, I’d probably use it to store more yarn, but that’s a fine thing to do.

As it is, these little trays are great for sitting on your desk or bedside table to hold little things that always seem to appear there. I like to use one to hold the supplies for whatever project I’m working on, things like little scissors, my tape measure, a crochet hook, etc.

And they would make good gifts on their own or as a container to hold some other goodies if you like.

You can find the free pattern for these stash busting baskets over at Our Daily Craft.

Have you read?