Walker Treasury Project

A group of knitters have banded together to show all of Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting stitch patterns in color. The hope is to offer knitters a visual aid when knitting these stitch patterns.

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Barbara G. Walker is the author of several time-honored knitting books that most knitters find indispensable to their knitting book library. The purpose of The Walker Treasury Project is to display knitted swatches of these patterns and post them in full color because, although the books are a great resource of knitting stitch patterns, the small pictures in the books are in black and white and do not give justice to the true beauty of the stitch patterns.

The project will not post the actual instructions for creating the stitch patterns as they are copyright protected and are available in The Treasury of Knitting books. But now high quality color photos can be used as reference too.

The Walker Treasury Project is asking knitters to contribute to the project by selecting a stitch pattern from any of the books and knitting a big swatch in a light colored yarn using that knitting stitch pattern. A color photo of the swatch along with the stitch pattern name, the book and page number where the stitch pattern is explain, along with other information will be posted on the blog.

In return a link to the contributor's website is included in the posting. And of course all knitters will have a continually expanding resource for knitting stitch patterns from Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting book series which include:

• A Treasury of Knitting Patterns
• A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns
• Charted Knitting Designs: A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns
• A Fourth Treasury of Knitting Patterns

Get more information and see the collection of color swatch photos at The Walker Treasury Project.

Knitty.com Winter Bonus Patterns

Knitty.com today released new knitting patterns and knitting articles as a bonus to its Winter 2006 issue.

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Thermal by Laura Chau is a longjohn inspired top knit with a fine guage yarn.
Dragonfly by Laura Zukaite is a flirty knitted sweater with a dragonfly inspired neckline.
Elbac by by Laura is a knitted scarf that uses ribbing stitches for a reversible scarf.
Mad River Mittens by by Symeon North are great looking felted mittens with buttons.

It's not a stash...it's a collection by Kate Antonova covers collecting vintage yarn.
Cheating at color theory by Julie Theaker covers using Hue, Intensity, and Value when selecting yarns colors for knitted projects.

Getting Started Knitting

Getting Started Knitting by Jennifer Worick, review columnist for Yarn Market News, is a great resource for the beginning knitter. In this article, I review this book.

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Getting Started Knitting is a beginning knitting book but takes knitters well past the usual first knitted scarf project. I especially like the section "A Tour of The Yarn Shop" in the first chapter. It can be overwhelming the first time we enter a yarn store. There are so many types of yarns and knitting notions. It is often hard to make sense out of it all. But Jennifer walks you through what you will find in a typical one and explains all this.

I also like the "Fiber Facts" section in the first chapter. She covers some of the major fibers used in yarn such as wool, mohair, cotton, and acrylic. She tells you about characteristics of each fiber type as well how to wash the finished knitted item that uses them.

The second chapter goes over the basics of knitting including casting on, the knit stitch, the purl stitch, gauge, ribbing, binding off, joining a new ball of yarn, and blocking. She even has a section on setting up your knitting space and storing your yarn stash.

The second chapter has basic patterns such as the garter stitch scarf, a novelty yarn scarf, a poncho, wrist warmers, and leg warmers. All of these are great, easy patterns to get the beginning knitter started.

The following three chapters introduce progressively challenging knitting techniques along with patterns that use these techniques. In the third chapter there is a cute baby blanket in the shape of a stop sign that uses increase and decrease explained in the chapter.

What I really like about the patterns in this book is a section in them called "Need to Know". This part of the pattern lists all the techniques along with the page number where they are explained so you can successfully knit the pattern.

If you are a beginning knitter that wants a book that walks you through more and more challenging projects while giving you explicit directions, Getting Started Knitting by Jennifer Worick, is a good choice. It not only covers the basics in an easy to reading style, it also helps the knitter learn more advanced knitting techniques with some great looking and fun patterns.

Super Bowl Charity Knitting

Knitty Gritty is hosting a knit in on Super Bowl Sunday in order to encourage knitting for charity.

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On February 4th, 2007, Knitty Gritty, the DIY Network's knitting show hosted by Vickie Howell, is running a matharon of episodes from 5 P.M. to 11 P.M. EST. During the matharon, Vickie and DIY network are encouraging the knitting of 7"x9" squares for Warm Up America!, a charitable organization dedicated to the creation of handmade blankets, clothing and accessories to help those in need.

The 7"x9" squares knit and donated by DIY viewers will be sewn together into blankets, and distributed to women's shelters, nursing homes and daycare centers.

For more information on how to participate in DIY's year-long initiative, including a pattern for the square, log on to www.DIYnetwork.com/knit.

Vickie Howell will also have a live blog during the event which is being dubbed "Super Knit Sunday".

For more information see, Knitty Gritty Knit In on Super Bowl Sunday!

Knitting News Cast - Episode 18 Now Available

The lastest episode of the Knitting News Cast, a podcast for knitters, is available.

Download Knitting News Cast Episode 18 on the Knitting News Cast website. You can also Subscribe to The Knitting News Cast Podcast.

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This episode includes:
Jane Thornley Free Range Knitting and KAL
Alpaca - Winter 2007
Yarn Play
YNotKnit
Knitty Gritty Book
Arctic Lace
Friday Night Knitting Club
Knitty.com Winter 2006
MagKnits January 2007
Spindlicity Winter Issue
How To Knit Cable Purses
Wrist Warmer Pattern
Wrist Warmer Pattern Generator
Free Charity Knitting Pattern
Vickie Howell Yarn Collection
Brenda Dayne on BBC

MagKnits January 2007

The online knitting magazine MagKnits has a great assortment of free knitting patterns in their January 2007 issue.

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The issue includes:
Holey Cable! by Amy King - a sweater with cables running down the sleeves.
New York Hat by Marina Bekkerman - a great looking warm, quick, and well-fitting hat.
R31 by Emily Schneider - a form-fitting laptop cozy with a pocket for cables.
Waders Socks by Jennifer Young - lace sock pattern
Indian Summer Collar by Ildiko Szabo - colorful collar or wrap to spruce up a coat or a top.

How To Knit Cable Purses

Knit cable purses make an ordinary knitted bag extraordinary. By adding a cable to a simple purse pattern, the bag goes from plain to chic.

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Knit cables are often found on knitted garments such as sweaters or scarves. They offer rich texture in a way that looks complicated but isn't once you master the basics of knitting cables.

There are many cable stitch patterns that can be used on a knit purse to jazz it up. Just find a basic knit purse pattern or make up your own and then add some cables to it.

Free Knit Cable Purse Patterns

Or if you want a knit cable purse pattern, check out these two free knit cable purses:

• Yarniverse has a knit cable purse pattern with two cables. The purse is whip stitched to handles when it is complete.
• Knit Picks also has a free chunky cable purse pattern on its website. The purse has two types of cables on it.

Books With Knit Cable Purse Patterns

There are a couple of great cable-oriented knitting books with each having a pattern for a knit cable bag.

• Inspired Cable Knits: 20 Creative Designs For Making Sweaters and Accessories by Fiona Ellis has a knit cable yoga bag. This book has some incredible cable knits including sweaters and blankets and scarves that will keep you knitting cables for time to come.
• Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting by Melissa Leapman has a little bag with handles. The bag is knit with Classic Elite Yarns's Bazic which is auperwash wool worsed weight yarn. This book also has a great cable stitch pattern dictionary divided into cabled ribs stitch patterns, cabled panels, and allover cable patterns.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club 2007

Due to a bank's stupid, stupid decision, members of the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club 2007 have been refunded their money for their memberships in the company's year long sock knitting club.

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In a crazy decision by Blue Moon Fiber Arts' bank, who thinks that sock knitting yarn clubs must be illegitimate, the bank has refunded the money paid for the Rockin' Sock Club 2007 memberships.

Knitters around the world are outraged at this blatant discrimination against knitters everywhere. Thousands of knitters knit socks every day and sock yarn is one of the most popular types of yarn that they use.

There are tons of Sock Knitting Books out on the market and even more sock yarn available. How could this bank be so stupid to think a sock knitting club could be anything but legitimate?!?!

You can read the letter sent to Blue Moon Fibers Arts Rocking' Sock Club 2007 customers and the outrage expressed by knitters everywhere on the Yarn Harlot website.

Wrist Warmer Pattern

Wrist warmers and fingerless knitted gloves are a great way to keep your hands warm while leaving your fingers free. Here is a easy free wrist warmer pattern that knits up quick and is really fun.

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Finished Size
6 inches in circumference and 8 inches long

Materials
Yarn: 1 skein Buckwheat Bridge Angoras Yarn (50% Kid Mohair, 50% wool, Corpus Cristi)
Needles: Size #3 Double Pointed Needles (DPNs)
Notions: Stitch Marker, Tapestry needle

Gauge
40 sts = 4 inches in K2P2 stitch pattern

Directions
Cast on 60 stitches on size 3 DPNs. Divide stitches between needles and join to begin working in the round, being careful not to twist stitches. Place stitch marker to indicate beginning of round.

Work in K2P2 stitch pattern until work measures 6 inches.

Next Round: Bind off 7 stitches. Knit to end of round.
Following Round: Cast on 7 stitches. Knit to end of round.
Thumb hole created.

Continue work in K2P2 until work measures 8 inches.
Bind off. Using tapestry needle, weave in yarn.

This wrist warmer pattern can be modified to use any yarn for any wrist size. Check out the free wrist warmer pattern generator to make a custom wrist warmer pattern.

Free Range Knitting

Jane Thornley, knitwear and jewelry designer, is offering a free virtual knitting class on Free Range Knitting.

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Free Range Knitting, according to Jane Thornley, is "using any fiber, any weight, and combining the elements in fresh new ways." In Free Range Knitting, you explore knitting as art. By using various knitting techniques such as intarsia, short-rows, openwork along with surface embroidering and buttons as embellishments, knitting becomes an artistic expression.

Jane creates beautiful knitted designs using bold, vibrant colors in some designs and earthy colors in others. Her designs mix various yarn types and yarn weights to create uniquely beautiful knitted art.

Jane has a free scarf pattern on her website to get you started knitting in the Free Range Knitting style.

Or if you are feeling more adventurous, Jane is offering a free virtual knitting class on her blog for an asymmetrical design called Ocean Currents Not-a-poncho.

You can also purchase some of Jane's knitting patterns on her website. She has knitting patterns for tops, wraps, scarves, vests, caplets, and shrugs.

For more information on the Ocean Currents Not-a-poncho virtual knitting class goto:
SURFACE DESIGN AND FREE RANGE-KNITALONG
on Jane's website.

Free Charity Knitting Pattern

Interweave press has a Free Charity Knitting Pattern available on their website in support of the Red Scarf Project 2007.

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The Red Scarf Project, a project of Orphan Foundation of America, collects handmade knitted and crocheted scarves, which they then send to college students who don't have parents. The scarves are included in a Valentines Care Package that each youth receives in February.

During the month of January, the Orphan Foundation of America collects the scarves from knitters and crocheters so that the scarves can be distributed in February.

If you would like to knit a scarf or crochet a scarf for the Red Scarf Project, just follow these guidelines:

• Scarves can be knitted or crocheted.
• Scarves should be knit or crocheted from red hued yarn. Otherwise, you can use a neutral color yarn such as white, black, or gray.
• Scarves shoul be about 60 inches long and 5 inches to 8 inches wide
• Send the knitted or crocheted scarves to the Orphan Foundation of America during January 2007

Don't have a scarf pattern? Interweave Press's Ann Budd has designed a free charity knitting pattern for the Red Scarf Project. It is a free scarf pattern called Ribbed Scarf with a Twist and is available on the Interweave Press website.

Send completed scarves to:
Orphan Foundation of America
Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry Drive, Unit 130
Sterling, VA 20166

For more information on Orphan Foundation of America or the Red Scarf Project, go to:
http://www.orphan.org

Tags: Knitting, Free Knitting Patterns, Knitting Charity, Scarf

Knitty Gritty

Knitty Gritty: 25 Fun & Fabulous Projects by Vickie Howell contains projects from the DIY Network's Knitty Gritty television show.

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This is a fresh and fun knitting book. From the clear photos and diagrams to the funky and fashionable knitting patterns, Knitty Gritty: 25 Fun & Fabulous Projects is a great tribute to the popular knitting show hosted by Vickie Howell.

The first part of the book covers knitting basics including yarn, tools and supplies, and how to knit the basic knitting stitches. This section has clear and easy to understand pictures, diagrams, and instructions.

The second part of the books is split into two sections of knitting projects.

Wearable Knits includes some great knitting patterns. I especially like the Rock Star Bag, which is knit and then embellished with duplicate stitch. The bag is then felted for durability.

The Lace Sampler Shrug is a great way to learn different lace stitches while creating a great garment to wear.

The Garter Pocket is a fun and easy knitting project. This garter is meant to hold lipsticks and other essentials when you don't want to carry a purse.

The Great Gauntlets are knitted with cables and go up past the elbow to keep arms warm.

Home Decor and Knitting Gifts is the second knitting pattern section.

The Backgammon Board is felted and uses i-cord wound up into spirals for the games pieces.

The Sampler Afghan is a great way to learn new knitting stitches while knitting a fun and funky throw.

For the more advanced knitter, the Teddy Sweater includes fair isle and steeking in an adorable garment for a teddy bear.

The last section of the book covers dyeing your own yarn. It gives directions and the materials needed to make your own unique yarn.

If you enjoy Knitty Gritty, the television show, you will be happy to own Knitty Gritty, the book.