Autumnal Enthusiasm

Colour Block Mitts

There's a chill in the air and a distinct spring in my step - and I'm happy to report that my knitting mojo is now out of the summer doldrums and officially back in action.

There's nothing like a morning chill (and the fact that you have Raynauds syndrome) for kick starting that hunt through drawers and last years coat pockets for fingerless mitts.

As ever, I always seem to come up short of a mitt or two but luckily these colour block mitts don't take long to knit, even though they are knit in leftover sock weight yarn.

The matching cowl takes a little longer but as my old one was 'borrowed' by a friend I might be knitting myself another one of those too.

Flash Sale - 20% off patterns

If your knitting mojo has returned with a bang too, you'll want to take advantage of my flash sale - just until tomorrow I'll be offering 20% off all of my patterns.

So you can treat yourself to an autumnal themed pattern or two - or get ahead and start lining up those Christmas knits.

Use code AUTUMNLOVE at checkout for 20%

Be quick though - code expires at midnight on Oct 4th.

How to knit a log cabin blanket

A basic log cabin blanket block knit with leftover DK weight yarn on 4mm needles.

One of the things I love most about log cabin blankets is that you really are free to knit them however you like. Once you have the basics of the construction sorted out you can freestyle to your hearts content. They can be used to stashbust and use up scraps or you can purchase to fit a particular design -  the choice is yours. This tutorial will show you how to knit a square log-cabin block which is the building block for most types of log cabin blanket construction.

To start with you need to knit a central patch - garter stitch is by far my preferred stitch for this as the squares lie flat and don't roll. I have seen spectacular log cabin blankets knit in seed stitch but that's a a level of commitment I'm really not prepared for.

BLOCK 1

Cast on 15 stitches and knit 30 rows and then cast off - you will have 15 garter ridges. If it helps, stick a bulb or safety pin into the right side to help you although technically at this stage but sides are the same. If you get into the habit of slipping the first stitch purlwise (with the yarn in front) this creates a neat slipped stitch edge and will make the job of picking up stitches later so much easier.

Starting block 2 - with stitches picked up along the side of block 1

BLOCK 2

With colour 2 (green, here) align block 1 with the right side up and the cast on edge towards you. Pick up and knit 15 stitches along the left hand side of block 1. Knit 29 rows - the pick up and knit row counts as 1 row - until you have 15 garter ridges. Cast off.

Starting block 3 - with stitches picked up along the side of block 2 and the cast on edge of block 1

BLOCK 3

With right side facing and colour 3 (light brown), pick up and knit 15 stitches along the left hand side of block 2 and then 15 stitches along the cast on edge of block 1 (30 stitches in total). Knit 29 rows - 15 garter ridges then cast off.

BLOCK 4

With right side facing and colour 4 (pale green), pick up and knit 15 stitches along the left hand side of block 3, and the other side of block 1. Knit 29 rows, Cast off. Spotting a pattern yet?

BLOCK 5

With colour 5 (gold), pick up and knit 15 stitches along the left hand side of block 4, 15 stitches along the cast off edge of block 1 and 15 stitches across the other side of block 2 (45 stitches in total). Knit 29 rows. Cast off.

This completes your first full block and you’ll see that block 1 is fully enclosed by the surrounding 4 blocks.

You can now continue in the same manner, always remembering to turn the work 90 degrees clockwise. You pick up stitches along the side of the block just worked and across to the end of the piece, adding more blocks as you go. You can keep going until the blanket is the desired size or you run out of yarn.

PIN FOR LATER

The Comfort Blanket KAL is back for 2024

The Comfort Blanket KAL 2024

Back by popular demand - the Comfort Blanket knitalong returns for what I think is the fifth year running. We started in 2019 and although we may have lost a year somewhere in the pandemic we are still going strong.

For the unitiated this is a KAL for those who have bought my e-book 'How to knit a mitered square blanket'.

On purchasing the e-book you get a link to a new-for-2024 dedicated Facebook group. The link to the Facebook group is on the back page of the e-book. The e-book also contains the pre-KAL information on yarn choices and blanket square sizes so that you have a little time for plotting and planning before we get started on May 13.

The KAL originally ran over a 4 week period but don't worry, I'm not expecting you to knit a blanket in a month. Instead each week we focus on a different aspect of knitting a mitered square blanket, giving you time to experiment and plan what will hopefully be a long-lived and much loved project.

If you are new to the joys of mitered square blankets allow me to pursuade you of some of the benefits:

• perfect for stashbusting

• allow you to play with colour

• squishy garter stitch

• no need for seaming - squares are joined as you go

• endlessly adaptable - go as large as you like or make a small lap blanket

Convinced yet?

If you have any questions please just email me or pop a comment below and I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as possible

Returning KAL’ers

If you took part in a previous years KAL or if you’ve bought the e-book before and are yet to get started, you are more than welcome to join the group too. Just keep an eye on your emails (the email you used when you purchased the e-book) and I’ll let you know as soon as the Facebook group is open for business.

Winter Footstep Socks

Winter Footstep Socks

This isn’t quite how I planned my triumphant return to blogging after something of a hiatus.

I had a lovely post all planned out celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Winter Footstep Socks, my oldest design and the first one that I ever listed for sale.

It was a fabulous piece, all about 10th birthdays and how far we’ve come.

Then I checked my notes and realised that the design is actually 11 years old - not 10. Ooops!

At the tail end of this year I decided that I would reknit these socks in a contemporary yarn - the original socks have long since vanished (I have no recollection of where to) and I fancied a new pair of socks for me.

I had some gorgeous sock yarn from Dystopic Fibre in his fabulous Teal Woodcap colourway which I knew would make for a perfect winter sock, and I’d forgotten how addictive and how quick this lace pattern is to knit up.

A lot has happened in 10 (11) years and my life looked very different in January 2013 when these socks were released. On the one hand it feels as though it has passed in the blink of an eye, but on the other hand so much has happened that when I sat down to write it, it honestly felt a little overwhelming.

So I’m going to save you the emotional part and just wish my Winter Footstep socks a happy 11th birthday. There’s a link below in case you’d like to knit a pair of your very own.

How to knit a mitered square blanket - updated for 2023

If your list of autumn/winter knitting plans includes a Mitered Square blanket then you might be interested to hear about my e-book: How to Knit a Mitered Square.

Re-written and expanded for 2023, this 10-page e-book takes you through how to start and build a Mitered Square blanket of your very own.

It includes written directions and photos to help you on your way as well as the approximate yarn amounts needed for squares of various sizes - and in different weights (sock weight, DK, and sock yarn held double).

Not all mitered square blankets need to be knit with sock yarn of course, but it isn't always easy to judge the size of squares and the amount of yarn needed to knit them.

This e-book aims to remove some the guesswork and provide you with a solid set of suggestions on how to create a truly unique mitered square blanket.

The FML Shawl

The Find My Light Shawl (FML)

I’ve been noodling around with this idea for a shawl for some time now. I really love super long, wrappable shawls that are more of a scarf. The ones that you can wrap twice around your neck, or even fold in half and pull a loop through as you can do with thinner chiffon scarves.

However achieving such a long shawl can be tricky when you only have one skein of sockweight yarn to play with.

So I decided to try creating a long, wedge-shaped shawl with a picot edge which is knit as you go, and I was absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. I was less than thrilled when I came to photograph it though as it’s length makes it almost impossible to capture in a single image.

And the name? If you've followed me for a while you'll know that I love a shawl with a cheeky acronym. There's the FFFS (Fuss Free Festival Shawl) and the WTF (Worth the Fuss Shawl). So it was only a matter of time before I added the FML to my library.

The Find My Light Shawl was knit during a period of real reflection and change for me. I've made no secret of the fact that the menopause transition has been difficult for me and part of that has been accepting that my body is different to how it was before. Not worse, just different. While I was knitting on this I was reflecting on the fact after a period of difficulty I feel as though I am enjoying my daily activities more and finding joy in small things again - finding my light as it were.

And so it seemed a good name for the shawl - and the slightly cheeky acronym was of course an added bonus. Although given my difficulties in photographing it, I did consider naming it the TTP (terrible to photograph).