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Shhhhh. Don’t Say the “C” Word….

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TreeBut it’s coming, you know. Christmas. The time when all of us (yes, I’m including myself) break into this little drama, it goes something like this:

Myself: I can knit. I can knit fast. See Terrye knit. See Terrye knit fast. See Terrye knit something for everyone on her gift list……… See Terrye throw yarn across room in frustration (yes, it has happened). Don’t be shocked, if Eunny can tie knots, I can throw yarn… just saying…tree_stocking

Reality: Dude! We go through this every year. You cannot do this. It is an unatainable goal. Just give it up already….

Every year. Just like Rudolph, Frosty and all of the other yearly dramas. We could actually probably sell the rights to that movie. But.. I digress. Being as “The Season” is rapidly approaching, Tina, from the Phoenix Knitting Examiner is here to bail us out.

Go here for the above patterns plus more! http://www.examiner.com/x-6976-Phoenix-Knitting-Examiner~y2009m11d5-Have-a-Merry-Little-Knitting-Christmas?cid=examiner-email

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Comments

  1. Great link… The panicky knitting season has begun.
    I have a number of “tween” nieces, nephews and cousins that I like to do a little holiday something for. This year I made some cute mini Christmas sweater ornaments out of leftover sock yarn. They’re the perfect size to hold a little gift card or a little cash for their favorite things. I ask the moms – usually the preference is coffee, juice, make-up and itunes. $5 or $10 goes pretty far for these kids and is easy!
    Oh, yes and I knit the ornaments this summer while waiting for my own kids at summer school!

Have you read?

A Blanket Knitting Pattern Where Yarn Selection is Everything

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]