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Your Chance to Own a Barabara Walker Original

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barbara walker mosaic skirtI meant to post about this the last round but I completely forgot about it, but Schoolhouse Press has been running a series of online auctions (the one happening now is the second of three) in which they are auctioning off original knits designed and hand-knit by Barbara Walker (of the Treasuries of Knitting Patterns fame, among other excellent books).

Most of the garments were made for her book Knitting from the Top and use motifs from the treasuries. They’re beautiful just to look at, but it would also be amazing to own one of these bits of knitting history.

They were knit by Barbara for herself, so most of the sweaters range from 30 to 40 chest circumference and the skirts are about 25 inches as the waist. But even if you couldn’t wear the garment, it would be great for a collector!

I hope even if you don’t want to bid on them (starting bids are $50; the most spectacular pieces were already up to $200 plus with five days to go last time I checked) it’s certainly worth giving the look book (PDF) a look!

[Photo via Schoolhouse Press.]

Comments

  2. I would love to have this skirt. It would be simply smashing with a coordinated blouse and jacket. I would be pleased and honored to add this lovely garment to my wardrobe. Thanx for the chance to win this collector’s item.

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Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns. 

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn. 

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options. 

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners. 

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set. 

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn. 

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers. 

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.