Welcome Winter with Knitty

It’s new Knitty day! The winter issue is full of delights you’ll want to snuggle up with, not the least of which is the Hibernate Blanket that graces the “cover” of the issue. This giant intarsia snowflake blanket is worked in merino wool, so it will keep you warm even on the coldest of winter nights.

Other patterns that stand out to me include the Idunn Cardigan, a pretty yoked cardi worked from the top down in Lopi yarn; the cabled Kittiwake Cardigan that has an almost cowl-like neckline; the Chinmaera Socks, which use slip stitches to show off a pretty hand-painted yarn and have a cool cable pattern that runs down the side of the leg and foot; and the Sallah Cowl, another project for hand-painted sock yarn, it uses twisted stitches to show off the colors to full effect and is actually a pretty quick and easy project.

Remember that because this issue was just released, these pages may be loading slowly. Check it out and let me know what you’re itching to cast on. Oh, and don’t forget to check out Franklin Habit’s Templeton Square project — it involves a design contest.

[Photo via Knitty.com.]

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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