I just started knitting Frankie Brown’s Ten Stitch Twist Blanket. She has the neatest charity concept – she’s selected a charity close to her heart – the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, and offers her patterns free on Ravelry, hoping that those who use her patterns will donate to the charity. This is a great way to support a charity when you select a pattern, then you can also give the finished product away to another charity if you like.
I’m using Palette yarn double stranded, two colors at a time. And, I’m alternating when the colors switch so it has a somewhat gradated look. I’m going to keep knitting until the blanket is 60″ across. Alison commented that this construction technique is as close to crochet as knitting will ever get because you only have 10 stitches on your needles at any one time.

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We have released the Montavilla Market Tote as a free pattern on the Knit Picks website. This was a very popular pattern, and I hope that more people knit this bag! I have knit several totes, and they are very handy to carry groceries, but they are small enough to fit several inside a pocket on my messenger bag.
Here is a gallery of finished Montavilla Market Totes from Ravelry users. I have credited each knitter by including their Ravelry user name underneath their photo. I hope that this inspires you to knit a tote of your own!

And here’s a picture of alexck filling her Montavilla tote up with apples.

MissRancher’s tote is strong enough to carry three bottles.


JLP knit both bags from the kit!

lategrape filled her bag up with yarn

Great minds think alike! …

It’s almost the end of the summer, and we need to clear out a little room in our warehouse for the heavier winter yarns, so we’re having a one-week-only lace yarn sale! Lots and lots of colors are on sale in all of our lace yarn lines – Shimmer, Alpaca Cloud, Shadow, Shadow Kettle Dyed and Gloss Lace.
Do you knit lace in the fall and winter? I do – year round! I love knitting lace because it is very interesting – you can choose a pattern that is relatively easy or very intricate. And, lace knitting takes up hardly any room. I have a vacation including a plane flight coming up, and I’m already planning which lace project to take because I know the lace will keep me occupied during the long flight, but it’s compact enough that I can knit away without annoying my seat neighbors …

We’ve made putting together a complete knitting project easier than ever.
First – select a size so we know how much yarn you’ll need.

If you like the colors we’ve knit with, click “Order recommended colors” and we’ll calculate you how much of each you’ll need. Feel free to add more if you want to make two or make a lot of mistakes (like me!).

Don’t like the colors we’ve picked? No problem. Click “Choose your own colors” instead and browse our recommended Knit Picks yarns to find the look that’s right for you.

Finally, tell us how you’d like to receive the pattern and hit “Add to Cart“.

Everything you need is added with one click!

Happy Shopping! <

Have you seen the new Tidings of Joy kit yet? When we had the first staff meeting about Nina’s holiday ornament kit, I was surprised to see a knitted pickle included as one of the patterns. Tina explained that it’s a tradition for some families to hide a pickle ornament on their Christmas trees, and the first person to find the pickle is supposed to have good luck for a year. I’m not sure about the luck-pickle connection, but I do know that I laughed out loud when I first saw the knitted sample.
We’re offering the pickle pattern as a free download as a little holiday treat, a sort of early Christmas present for knitters who think squishy pickles are hilarious. It’s the only one we’re releasing for free from the Tidings of Joy ornament kit, but we’ll have some other exclusive freebie patterns coming up …

If you haven’t checked out the new fall issue of Knitty, here is the link. It’s OK, I’ll wait until you’re done.
Now that you’ve looked at everything, let’s talk about the patterns!

These are the Zozo toys which were knit out of Swish Superwash.
There have been so many good sweater patterns released this fall. I’ve queued up several things from Knit Scene, but I was waiting for the fall Knitty to arrive before I figured out what I was going to knit next. And I’m glad that I waited, because I really love the patterns that Amy Singer selected.

My absolute favorite sweater is Girl Friday, designed by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark. I enjoy knitting lace, but most lace patterns don’t fit my style, they’re just too fancy for me! This folding diamond lace pattern is bold, geometric, and full of texture. Also, I love cardigans and shawl …

We have sold out of our Little Bubbles kits, but now the pattern is for sale on our website for $4.99.
169 people have knit the Little Bubbles Kit and put pictures of their projects on Ravelry. Here is a sample of some really cute Little Bubbles baby sets. The Ravelry name of each knitter is listed under their photo.
Pink kit

Mombos
Neutral kit

DeniseCT
Blue kit

badknitter

kmunson779

100percentLana
Twin Bubble Jackets

NoKnitSherlock
I like NoKnitSherlock’s new interpretation of the kit colors. Now that the pattern is sold separately, what colors will you use for your Little Bubbles sweater? <

Have you seen the free pattern for the pickle ornament? Well, I love the entire kit of ornaments and while I don’t actually like pickles….I had to make this one.
Meet Fredrick, the Giant Pickle

I happened to have a small amount of Swish on hand so I decided to just make a giant pickle. I went up to size 4 needles & whipped him up in an evening. I decided to give him some eyes…and he has some accessories that he’ll show off at a later date. 🙂

I’ll probably make a smaller one to hide in my family’s Christmas tree…but Fredrick is going to keep watch over my desk.
Now I really need to get back on to working on the Calluna Cardigan…I put it off because it got so hot here, but now that it’s cooled off, I’m excited to get this finished for the …

Have you seen the free pattern for the pickle ornament? Well, I love the entire kit of ornaments and while I don’t actually like pickles….I had to make this one.
Meet Fredrick, the Giant Pickle

I happened to have a small amount of Swish on hand so I decided to just make a giant pickle. I went up to size 4 needles & whipped him up in an evening. I decided to give him some eyes…and he has some accessories that he’ll show off at a later date. 🙂

I’ll probably make a smaller one to hide in my family’s Christmas tree…but Fredrick is going to keep watch over my desk.
Now I really need to get back on to working on the Calluna Cardigan…I put it off because it got so hot here, but now that it’s cooled off, I’m excited to get this finished for the …