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Knittingnews
February 25th Issue
In This Issue:
Free Knitting Pattern: Square Pattern #7
History of Knitting
Free Knitting Pattern: Square Pattern # 8
Sites to Visit
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Hello everyone. Hello everyone. Yes, I am back! Thank you for waiting so long. My friends at www.craftfinder.com have brought this
newsletter back by request. I hope you are ready for this edition, here it goes..
First off I have wonderful news for everyone in regards to my mom. The new chemo she is on is shrinking the tumors
in her lung. The doctors are optimistic she will be around for a little longer than they originally expected. We are very happy and amazed! This Thanksgiving we will have a lot to be thankful
for. I wish all of our readers (even those who are not of the US) a very happy Thanksgiving. This is a special holiday where we gather and reflect on all the good that occurs in our lives. I know that
I am sometimes too busy to stop and look around at all the good. It is way too easy to notice the bad news, the wars, and evil. Good is sometimes forgotten. Look around for the good in life; it will
brighten your day.
My littlest baby, Lauren, is already 7 months old and it is breaking my heart to pack away all her outfits as she outgrows them. I know she is going to be the last one, so it is hard
to move on to the next stage. Soon I will be planning her 1st birthday. It just seems that time marches on so fast. It seems as if just yesterday I sent out those birth announcements. Her older
sister, Elizabeth, and brother, Michael, enjoy playing with her a lot. They love to help with bath time and feeding. It is so funny to watch them beaming with pride as they help the baby. They love
the fact that Lauren is trying to play with them. Just wait till she starts crawling and getting into their things! I'm sure they will change their minds then! In the meantime I will just laugh
along!
Free Knitting Pattern:
7th Square in Series
The following 2 squares are made in worsted weight yarn on a size 8(5mm) needle.
These will be joined with the previous 6 squares to create a patchwork quilt. There will be 12 squares in the series. Photos of the squares may be viewed at: http://craftfinder.com/html/freepatterns.html
Key: CO=cast on, BO=bind off, K=knit, P=purl, K2TG=knit 2 stitches together, P2TG=purl 2 stitches together, YO=yarn over needle, ST (S)=stitch (es), * repeat pattern between the
*'s, S1= Slip next ST as if to purl, PSSO= pass slipped stitch over previously worked stitch and off needle.
Seed St:
Row 1: * K1, P1 * RPT to end
Row 2 and all following rows: K the P STS, P the K STS
CO 43 STS, work in Seed St for 4 rows.
Continue the first and last 3 STS in this pattern throughout piece for a border.
Row 1: K1, * P3, K1* RPT to end
Row 2: P1, * K3, P1* RPT to end
Row 3: same as row 1
Row 4: same as row 2
Row 5: K1, * P2TG, YO, P1, K1 * RPT to end
Row 6: same as row 2
Repeat these 6 rows, keeping the first 3 and the last 3 STS in Seed ST. Work till piece measures 11 1/2" from CO edge. Pull the square at sides to 12" wide get an accurate measure.
Work 4 more full rows of Seed ST then BO all STS.
Knitting History and the Present Collide
As you know all our lives changed drastically on September 11. In past newsletters I wrote of the beautiful items knit by Native South Americans, have felt the brunt of the World Trade Center
disaster. The knitting cooperatives in Peru were severely affected when The Peruvian Trading Company was destroyed in the disaster. This one store is about 8 to 10% of the cooperatives
business. There are many other setbacks for other cooperatives as tourism and spending has declined. The good news is you can still be inspired by their intricate designs that have
changed little in hundreds of years. Men and women both work hard at multi-colored sweaters and hats, which are the most popular for export. A knitter will only produce 5 to 10 pieces a
year during the peak knitting season there, from April to November. The yarns are made from wild cottons and alpaca and dyed using native plant materials.
To see the beautiful work, go to any site below.
Free Knitting Pattern:
8th Square in Series
Work with the same yarn type and needle from square 7.
CO 43 STS
Work 4 rows of Seed ST. Continue Seed St on first 3 and last 3 STS of the row to create a border.
 Row 1: K1, * YO, K3, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, K2TG, K3, YO, K1 * RPT to end
Row 2: P2, K9, * P3, K9 * RPT to last 2 STS, P2
Row 3: K2, YO, K2, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, K2TG, K2, YO, * K3, YO, K2, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, K2TG, K2, YO * RPT to last 2 STS, K2
Row 4: P3, K7, * P5, K7 * RPT to last 3 STS, P3
Row 5: K3, YO, K1, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, K2TG, K1, YO, * K5, YO, K1, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, K2TG, K1, YO * RPT to last 3 STS, K3.
Row 6: P4, K5, * P7, K5 * RPT to last 4 STS, P4
Row 7: K4, YO, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, K2TG, YO, * K7, YO, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, K2TG, YO, * RPT to last 4 STS, K4
Row 8: P5, K3, * P9, K3, * Rpt to last 5 STS, K5
Row 9: K5, YO, S1, K2TG, PSSO, YO, * K9, YO, S1, K2TG, PSSO, YO, * RPT to last 5 STS, K5
Row 10: P6, K1, * P11, K1 * RPT to end
Row 11: K1, * K2TG, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, * RPT to end
Row 12: same as row 8
Row 13: K1, * K2TG, K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, * RPT to end
Row 14: same as row 6
Row 15: K1, * K2TG, K1, YO, K5, YO, K1, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, * RPT to end
Row 16: same as row 4
Row 17: K1, * K2TG, YO, K7, YO, S1, K1, PSSO, K1, * RPT to end
Row 18: same as row 2
Row 19: K2TG, YO, K9, * YO, S1, K2TG, PSSO, YO, K9, * RPT to last 2 STS, YO, S1, K1, PSSO
Row 20: P1, * K11, P1, * RPT to end
Repeat rows 1 to 20 once more, and then repeat rows 1 to 10.
Work 4 rows of Seed ST, Then BO all STS
Preparing your squares for a quilt:
I like to give my projects a professional finish. This is very important when size matter, such as
a sweater or a set of quilt squares. It would be a shame to work on a special project for a long time and have it not fit together properly. Since this quilt is made up of different types of
stitches, you may have noticed that some designs pull the piece in a strange shape. Blocking your work will make each square, well, square! For blocking you will need a couple of things, a
good iron, a water mister, an ironing pad, a thick towel, non-staining pins, and a good ruler. Of course if you do not have some of these things, you can substitute (I will provide hints).
Wet (or mist) your square and place on a flat heatproof surface (ironing pad). Take your pins and ruler start pinning your square down. I prefer to use a whole lot of T-pins, Start on the
bottom, place 1 pin, then go to the top. Measure 12" then pin in place. Go to the side place a pin, then measure across 12" and place another pin. Continue in this fashion and you will get a
perfect square. I then steam it lightly with the iron (note: Do not place iron on square or you will lose the wonderful bumpy textures). I then let it dry overnight with a towel over it. The towel
helps blot out the rest of the moisture, as well as keeping my 2 curious cats off my project. The next day or 2 (if you used a lot of water), you will unpin a perfect square. This will help a lot in
fitting the quilt together; you won't have to fudge the sides to fit.
Sites to Visit:
To see beautiful sweaters:
www.peruvianconnection.com
To see Beautiful chullos (hats):
www.personal.smartt.com/~brianp/llamaHat.html
www.Flor.freeservers.com/chullo.htm
This next one is a PDF file:
www.Klaam.com/sheknits/PDF%20files/FlapCap.PDF
These sites are woven South American patterns:
www.arrierrorugs.com/
www.Celerina.com/tapetes.html
Please forward any comments or questions to me directly at:
kathleengallagher@ivillage.com
If you need any customer service with the Craftfinder
site, please contact customer service directly at
customerservice@craftfinder.com as Kathy can't help you
directly!
Thank you for supporting this newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!
Kathy
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