Too Good To Miss….

Vogue has done it again! Their latest Stitch Dictionary, called Lace Knitting, is #5 in their Stitchionary 5 arsenol. With this book, anyone, and I do mean ANYONE can knit lace. I know what you’re thinking, that maybe anyone can do lace but you can’t. But think of it this way. It’s just a series of yarn overs and decreases strategically placed to make intentional holes!

There are several sections in the book, the first being Easy/Mesh designs.

The next section, Edgings, gives lots of designs to dress up anything you can think of.

Chevron designs are easy too, again, with charts and row by row instructions for all of these designs. All over designs such as sweet violets and field of daisies, perfect for your summer sweaters, and leaf designs for your cooler weather items. Panels patterns are perfect for afghans. Combos section shows how to combine these awesome designs into 2 or more per item. Come up with your own unique designs! And finally Motifs, such as sea star and medallions finish out the book.

Included, of course, is a glossary, complete index and technique section to help you on your way to knitted lace. While this isn’t a project book, it’s a technique manual, if you’re interested in dressing up your standard patterns or creating your own designs, this one is a must have. From, none other than Vogue!

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Have you read?