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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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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