Rowenta Steam Iron – Steam Kicks it for Blocking!

Just got my hands on this beauty and I couldn’t wait to try it out. Course, being a knitter, I needed something “knitty” to use it on. And this one really came through.

I love the cord reel. Very handy, nix the messy cord tangles. It’s easy to hold, and while a bit heavy, it’s very well balanced, even with my old arthritic hands and arms.

It has multiple temperature settings, as you would expect, but what really rocks is the burst of steam. And this is perfect for blocking. The fine tip point makes smoothing out those lace edges super easy. Of course you don’t want to directly iron your knits, I never do anyway, seems to crush them, but the burst of steam makes it so you don’t have to. There are multiple steam settings also, from a bit of steam to a full blown explosion. Startled me at first but I love that feature.

I didn’t like the 8 minute shut off feature, but I suppose that’s necessary, for safety. Heats up quickly too. We’ll see how fast it cools down. Oh, it has an auto clean feature, important when you run over bits and pieces of interfacing, not speaking from experience or anything….

I’d highly recommend this iron to any crafter or even just for ironing shirts I suppose. And we’re doing a giveaway!

Check it out here: http://craftgossip.com/blog/giveaway-celebrate-national-craft-month-by-winning-the-rowenta-focus/2011/03/22/

Next Pattern:

A Simple Sweater Knitting Pattern to Play with Color…

Once you get past the rush of the holidays, it’s time to focus on yourself and your home and what’s going to make you feel good for the rest of winter. For me, that’s having a homemade blanket in every room. I’m currently working on a granny stitch crochet blanket, but I wanted to share some cozy knit blanket patterns with you in case you’re on the lookout for something great to knit yourself or someone you love.

I have really been enjoying log cabin projects lately because they’re a great way to use stash and I love the connections between knitting and quilting. This log cabin scrap blanket pattern is free from Very Pink, and it includes a video tutorial if you haven’t done log cabin knitting before. It’s worked in garter stitch and has blocks that are connected by borders in a single color.

Speaking of scrap busting (since that’s on my mind all the time, but particularly when New Year’s resolution time rolls around), the Hue Shift Afghan by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence is worked in a huge array of colors in garter stitch mitered squares. The pattern has options for working with sport weight or worsted weight yarn, and the blanket is worked in quarters and then sewn together, but the individual squares in each section are worked off each other for minimal finishing. Get the pattern from Knit Picks.

If you’re looking for an easy pattern that has a lot of texture, this quilted knit throw from Mama in a Stitch is a great choice. It uses chunky yarn in a single color to make a simple knit and purl pattern that looks like diamonds. The designer notes that a lighter colored yarn is helpful for making the stitch pattern stand out, but you can try whatever color you like.

Or go even simpler with the Bella Vita blanket from Christaco Design. This one uses super bulky yarn (or make it a stash buster by holding two strands of worsted weight yarn together). The pattern has a seed stitch border and allover knit and purl pattern, and includes sizes from baby blanket to California king.

If instead you want a project that will challenge you and occupy your mind as well as your needles, try the Aran texture cable afghan knitting pattern from Pattern Professionals. This gorgeous design features panels of cables and other textured stitches, and the pattern is originally form the 1970s. It uses worsted weight yarn and each pattern strip is worked individually and sewn together (though you could combine them into one big panel if you’d rather).

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