Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

You’ve Got to See Japan’s Awesome Stamp Story, 12 Years in the Making

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Check out these awesome stamps from Japan -- the sheep finished her project 12 years later!As you probably know, Japan traditionally uses a zodiac calendar in which each year is represented by an animal, and the animals repeat every 12 years. One of the traditions that goes with marking the new year is sending new year’s cards, or nengajo, which include a stamp that commemorates the animal of the year, according to the blog Spoon & Tamago.

This coming year happens to be the year of the sheep, and the designer of this year’s stamp, Ayaka Hoshino, also happens to be the person who designed the stamp 12 years ago. Whether it’s coincidence or serendipity I don’t really care, because the results are awesome.

Back in 2003 the sheep was working on a knitting project, and now it’s done!

I know we’ve all felt like we had projects that lasted 12 years. Maybe there’s a UFO in your pile that old.

Perhaps in honor of the sheep, 2015 should be the year of finishing projects. What do you think?

[Photo via Spoon & Tamago.]

 

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Knits for the Table for Thanksgiving and Beyond

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long. 

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders. 

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well. 

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn. 

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions. 

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table. 

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter. 

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.