Take it Easy with the Oscillate Knit Shawl

The end of the year, for me, is all about looking back and looking ahead. It’s about comfort knitting, and comfort living. Simple projects that don’t require too much thinking, so I can use my mind to reflect on the year past and what I want for the year to come.

That may be why I decided last week I needed to cast on a simple top down raglan V-neck sweater. Like, right now.

If you don’t share that same urge to knit a sweater, might I suggest Oscillate by Vincent Williams?

This pretty shawl is worked in worsted weight yarn, and you’ll want to choose a pretty hand-dyed yarn if you have access to one, because part of the oscillation mentioned in the pattern’s name has to do with the subtle shifting of colors as you work through different stitch patterns and textures through the shawl.

It’s a simple boomerang shape that alternates between garter stitch and stockinette stitch for easy stitching but fun textures when you wear it. Because the stitches and the shape are easy you can also customize it to however much yarn you have or how large a shawl you want. If you know me, you know I want a huge one. As written it’s already good sized, though; the longest side is 75 inches (1.9 meters) and it is 17.75 inches (45 cm) deep.

You can wear it in all sorts of ways, from wrapping like a traditional shawl to curling around your neck like a cowl, or even wrapped around your head on chilly days.

The designer notes this one would be great for gift giving as well, which I’m sure is true, but I would knit one for myself first. It’s called pattern testing.

You can get your copy of this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Vincent Williams]

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.

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