Autumn Woodland Scarf

Temperatures are falling and the evenings drawing in. How time flies, autumn is here once again. 

I'm enjoying the colourful leaves and berries this season has to offer and inspired by the local landscape. This knitting pattern was inspired by woodlands in the highlands of Scotland and features leaf motifs in four autumnal colours.

Using the lovely Life DK by Stylecraft, I've enjoyed working with this yarn in shades, Fern, Copper, Mustard, Heather and Parchment. 

The scarf is knitted in the round with repeating leaf motifs on a neutral background. The pattern is suitable for knitters with some experience of stranded knitting where different colours of yarn are 'carried' across the back of the work. It also assumes an understanding of basic stitches and knitting terms including reading a colour chart.

Autumn Woodland Scarf is available to purchase and download from Ravelry and Etsy.

Stylecraft Blogstars Garden Party

 

Welcome! Thank you to Lucy at Attic 24 for the lovely introduction to the Stylecraft Blogstars Garden Party. If you haven’t seen Lucy’s blog post and her gorgeous Summertime Tins crochet design check it out here.

Gardens are special places, during recent lockdowns they have become so much more important. Many parties and gatherings have been held outside providing a place for socialising and wellbeing in all seasons. Even now when restrictions have lifted I enjoy afternoon tea with family and friends in the garden. 

The Blogstars have been busy designing a range of festive treats for knitters and crocheters. So, if you are planning a garden party this spring or summer, small or large, tea party for two or a Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration then checkout the designs. They will be revealed throughout the month of May, follow the link at the end of this post.

Inspired by garden trellis my design incorporates 9 pastel colours from the Stylecraft Special DK range which has a huge number of 100 fabulous colours to chose from. Keep reading to the end of this post to find out how to win the yarn used in this project.

Colours chosen (from left to right in the image below): 

Wisteria, Pale Rose, Spearmint, Duck Egg, Lincoln, Pistachio, Vintage Peach, Camel, Parchment.

The Trellis Tea Cosy is my contribution to the garden party. It’s knitted in the round using stranded colour work technique with added decorative tassels. Pastel colours punctuate the spearmint trellis. (The pattern is suitable for knitters with experience of stranded colour work and includes written instructions with a chart).

I think there's something a little bit retro about tea cosies as well as their practical use in the unreliable British summer weather. The dots of colour on this cosy remind me of those tiny biscuits with the swirls of coloured icing I loved so much as a child. Do you remember those biscuit treats?

There was ample yarn left over from the tea cosy to make some matching bunting. Adding some decorative bunting to a garden or outdoor area can make a familiar place feel festive.

A simple design, the bunting pattern is suitable for beginner knitters, a basic crochet stitch is used for joining the triangles, then finished off with a contrasting tassel. 

The Trellis Tea Cosy and Trellis Bunting 

are free to download from 

Ravelry 

(until the end of June 2022).

Trellis Tea Cosy

Trellis Bunting

Hoping you can enjoy an outside space for a party this spring and summer, whether it's a garden, a patio, a balcony or a local park.

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Win Some Yarn!

One lucky Stylecraft fan and their friend has the chance to win the yarn to make this project. Checkout the link to Stylecrafts Instagram account here to find out more. 

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Next to reveal her Garden Party design...

...is the lovely, talented Catherine Bligh.  Without giving too much away, Catherine's design is perfect for an afternoon tea in the garden. Her crochet pattern will walk you through the stages of how to make it with plenty of pictures throughout. 

Check out "Catherine's Crochet Corner" on Saturday 14th May for more garden party treats. 

Sven Scandinavian

 

First post in 2022 about my last completed project in 2021.

This is Sven Scandinavian. I loved knitting him! Sven was purchased as a knitting kit from the lovely Lucy Locket Land in the north east of England.

The pattern is by Carol Anderson of Cottage Creations and originally printed in 1983. Sven is knitted in the round and has no visible seams (the hat is knitted separately).

The yarn in the knitting kit was from New Lanark Spinning in the border area of Scotland and I used my 4mm double pointed needles throughout.

The little fellow has a backpack for his books and for going on picnics. The pattern was found on the blog, 'On the Needles' and is free to download.

This project was easier to knit than I thought and allows for lots of customisation on the jumper yoke and hat with options for easy and more complicated fair isle style designs.

The pattern also includes a female version called 'Solveig'. There's also enough yarn in the kit to make her, although I was short of time so she didn't make it onto my needles. 

Overall a great project to knit and very enjoyable pattern to follow with great instructions.