Take on an Afghan for 2014

Back in January I started a giant stash busting garter stitch strip afghan (man, that’s a lot of adjectives!) that’s still not finished because I only pick it up when I’m not working on anything else and I’m pretty much always working on something else. But it’s like the comfort food of knitting because I don’t have to think about what I’m doing at all. Just knit, join as you go, change colors when you run out of yarn. Repeat and repeat and repeat.

A stash-busting afghan, whether on regular or giant needles, is a great way to start if you’re resolved to use more of your stash in 2014. This ripple chevron pattern from Mosier Farms is another great choice for stash-busting, or you can choose colors consciously and change them regularly, whichever you prefer. Or check out the Psychedelic Squares Afghan from Knitting-and, which makes crazy stash busting look really cool.

Or, if you’d rather, here are some afghan patterns with a more traditional look.

I have a moss stitch lap afghan over at About that I knit ages ago but is a really nice, easy project for keeping one person warm.

This easy striped garter stitch afghan from JoAnn is a great choice for using team colors or whatever colors you like.

Speaking of chevrons, the Farmhouse Afghan from Classic Elite Yarns uses contrasting stripes to make a mostly solid project a lot more interesting and beautiful.

The Block Afghan from Coats & Clark uses two yarns held together for lots of texture and a quick knitting sort of basketweave pattern.

Bernat’s Textured Afghan uses two colors in blocks and box stitch for a bold afghan with lots of texture.

Lion Brand has a beautiful Slip Stitch Afghan that shows beautifully the cool things you can do with slipped stitches and multicolored yarn.

Lois S. Young’s Guernsey Afghan is mostly a really simple ridged pattern with columns of easy cables. It would be a great first cable project.

Do you have a favorite afghan pattern? Please share!

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It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.

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