Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Category: Sea Star Blanket

  • October Square and Fancy – Threads of Colour – A Year in Squares

    October Square and Fancy – Threads of Colour – A Year in Squares

    It is so hard to believe that after this month, there will be only three squares left to get to the planned sixteen squares. How fast this year has gone!

    It is fall here on the West Coast. The temperature has dropped, the leaves are turning and it has started to rain. And thank heavens for the rain! It was way too dry this summer.

    Fall almost always has me thinking of the past. The past year and the past years.

    Do you save up memories? You know, those moments that you experience that you want to be able to revisit, so you drink in every moment and try to preserve it in your mind’s eye. I have a few of those moments.

    One of them is a fall moment:

    I am 13. We have just moved back to the Okanagan and were living in a house on Mount Boucherie. My parents were looking for a house across the lake in Kelowna. While they looked, I still had to go to school.

    The school wasn’t too far away if you crossed through the orchards. Which I did.

    One morning, it was so frosty that the grasses crunched and the leaves and few apples left on the trees were sparkly. The air was thick and moist, foggy. And that orchard was magic. I walked through, taking it all in.

    I was in the habit of eating an apple as I crossed through the orchard. The pickers had missed a few and they tasted so good!

    This morning, the apple tasted even better. So good. I had never tasted an apple so sweet and so crisp.

    I learned later that certain fruit, like some apples and grapes, improve when they get frostbitten.

    This was my fall moment, and my inspiration for this month’s square.

    Autumn OrchardDownload

    Do you have a moment, a memory, that can take you back in time? I would love to hear about it – if you are willing to share.

    This month’s fancy is the companion piece to the August Fancy – the Grand Shell Collar.

    II was so pleased with the results I decided to add a hat to co-ordinate with the collar. So here is the Grand Shell Juliette Cap.

    October Fancy

    So if you like vintage looks — with or without beads — this set might tickle your fancy.

    Life here has been busy. I played hooky one weekend. I will tell you all about it in my next blog post.

    And I went down to Victoria to see my daughter and went to Gala Fabrics. I, umm, may have bought a few items. A very dangerous store.

    a bowl of buttons, three types, made of stone.

    Right beside the till, a very dangerous spot, was this innocent looking bowl of buttons. They were all made of stone. And there were enough to actually use on a project – as yet unknown. My button box thanks me!

    I am looking forward to a great start to autumn, aren’t you?

    Happy Knitting,

    Lynette

  • Knitting a Colorful Blanket: March Square Tips

    Knitting a Colorful Blanket: March Square Tips

    Year of Blanket Squares

    The old saying for March is:

    In like a Lion and out like a Lamb.

    I have often wondered if the opposite is true. I should pay more attention. Right now March is coming in like a Lamb. It is beautiful out there today in my neck of the woods. So clear, and a little warmer, it is really feeling like Spring.

    The March square consists of bold cables that are offset each other to create a very textured surface. The garter stitch background helps highlight the texture. The cables are wide and round and all twist the same way. One cable is traditional the other cable has a lace faggoting center. It looks complicated but is very easy to knit.

    March Square 2026Download

    The March Fancy is a tassel. Not an ordinary tassel but a dressed tassel. Tassels as embellishments have been around for a long time. They can be very simple, or not so simple. Why create a tassel that is covered like this? It keeps the tassels neater for the long hall. Wouldn’t it look great on our Blanket, or maybe a a cushion.

    All Dressed TasselDownload

    I hope that you enjoy the March square and Fancy Tassel.

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • Renovating Our New Home: A Yarn Lover’s Journey

    Renovating Our New Home: A Yarn Lover’s Journey

    The waiting is over.

    We moved in to our new place last May. We downsized from our home of 30 years to something a little less than half the size. But it had potential. Including extra space to turn into yarn storage and a very small bedroom for our grandson.

    We bought it for the main room. A large living area that covered the living, kitchen, dining and entry way, a Great Room. But the kitchen area needs major work. I am pretty sure that it is original to the home and about 50 years old. It is going to get a complete renovation. From the walls out.

    This is before it all started. You can see that I am not the tidiest of cooks. So I need a little space to play in. I can hardly wait.

    There will be a large pantry and a central Island with seating. A big fridge as I like to cook. And I work a lot with fresh fruit and vegetables. My last home had three fridges, main, beer and dads suite fridge. And I could and did use them all in a pinch. Especially around Christmas.

    Flooring, backsplash, counters and cupboards. Very neutral, because everything else is so colourful!

    And – this is so exciting for me – an induction stove – a new to me toy! Plus all the rest of the bells and whistles of a modern kitchen. Is a kitchen important to you? Or do you have other interests? I have to admit cooking and knitting sometimes vie for my attention. This happens when my focus is on one and not the other! There is only so much time in the day!

    We have been waiting for our contractors of choice, the MJ Chaley Construction Group. Their latest project had been taking longer than expected. They are finally free and the reno has started. The Chaley’s had done a lot of work on our old home. We trust them to do the job right!

    Tomorrow the kitchen will be demolished. I should have a new, usable kitchen in early March. So says the Calendar sheets with the timeline! We will be camping out in the dining room and eating out a lot!

    When I left Wednesday morning.
    When I got home.

    The kitchen area has a large skylight! Something that I love about this home. But it needs a little TLC. Which it is about to get. And luckily not as much as we thought it would need. Whew!

    Behind this new door, which is off of the office or back bedroom, something is brewing. This will be my new “Wool Room”. Right now it is an 8 foot x 8 foot shell of a former shed. It is waiting to be transformed with new walls, paint, flooring, and shelving! It will also have a platform bed for my Grandson with more storage underneath. I am so excited!

    I am not sure which I am more excited about the Wool room or my Kitchen! LOL!

    Please note the many mentions of wool storage. This is going to be a knitters home.

    The platform bed will double as a blocking board. The shelving will be almost all wool. The shelves may also contain a few knitting books.

    Under Construction

    My home is under construction, and so are my many knitting projects. The knitting helps me deal with the stress of the reno’s. No matter how much we want them you know there will be glitches!

    The next Blanket Square was just released this morning. The Hearts Ease Square. I have started knitting the March Square pattern and have ideas for the April and May Squares. I feel temporarily on top of that project.

    And the Granny Blanket pillow swatch is coming along. I believe it will take 12 or 13 wedges to make the circle. It won’t take the 16 I originally thought. This is wonderfully easy knitting, perfect for the evening or any tv watching. Because of this it is moving along faster than my other projects.

    I have also started a new project, one that has given me an idea for a new pattern.

    I am making some quick hats for the construction crew. Big needles and big yarn. It is an opportunity to play and I think something interesting has come out of it! A new pattern floating around my head. More to come later.

    Because of these projects, the knitting for the class projects has slowed down a wee bit. I hope to get back on track this week. There is another project, but I am not quite ready to share.

    Happy Knitting All! I hope that your blanket projects are progressing well. And if not knitting a blanket – then knitting of any style is better than not knitting at all! LOL!

    Lynette

  • Hearts Ease Stitch Pattern for February Square

    Hearts Ease Stitch Pattern for February Square

    Make-A-Blanket – February Square

    February is the month we celebrate Valentines. It calls for hearts and flowers and all things romantic.

    So I went looking for a heart pattern. I found a stitch pattern called Hearts Ease. I thought it would be perfect for the February Square. Mostly because I could use the stitch pattern to create rows of multiple hearts. Also, because the name of the pattern had special meaning for me.

    Hearts Ease, also known as Viola, are my favourite flower. Johnny Jump Ups is another name for them. That is what my mother-in-law called them. They are closely related to Pansy flowers, of all varieties, all of which were derived from Hearts Ease. My Wedding bouquet consisted of Daisies and Pansies. My friend baked my Wedding cake and collected and dried Pansies. She then used them to decorate my Wedding cake.

    This pattern is a knit and purl textured pattern of repeating heart motifs. Each heart is centered in a square shaped textured outline

    Hearts Ease Feb SquareDownload

    And of course we would need some dimensional hearts as well!

    Soft hearts knit with Malabrigo Worsted in Natural and Very Berry. Perfect for embellishing the blanket corners.
    Hearts Feb Fancy Feb squareDownload

    I am going to call the little extra download a “Fancy”. I intend to add something small and unique each month. This addition is something that we could choose to use to embellish our blanket. Perhaps on the corners or along the sides. Or maybe as extra embellishments on the squares themselves, like the Sea Star from last month.

    For those who can crochet, here is an extra link. It’s a pattern from Knit and Crochet Daily. It features a pretty little crocheted Pansy. A few of these might be a fun addition to our blankets.

    Happy Blanket Knitting

    Lynette

    If you are as fond of hearts as I am, check out my heart inspired patterns on Ravelry or Etsy.

    Smitten – knit in worsted weight yarns, Santa Cruz in Palladium or Malabrigo in Very Berry.

    Valentino – Knit in B.C. Garn Bio Shetland, a light fingering Shetland Style wool.

  • Why Knitting a Blanket Matters: Personal and Symbolic Value

    Why Knitting a Blanket Matters: Personal and Symbolic Value

    Why did I choose to knit a blanket this year? The simplest answer is that I need one. I am finding my new home cooler than my old one and I am not going to add to my bills by putting up the heat! But for some reason buying more yarn makes more sense! Go Figure!

    It is also a way of adding more of “me” to my home! It is a way of saying welcome, stay a while and be cozy at the same time.

    There is a lot of symbolism in a blanket. It is welcoming – what is the first thing we think of making for a new baby. Something warm, a physical representation of a hug, why a blanket of course. It fits everyone and will last a lifetime! Not only is a blanket welcoming, it offers protection from life, a cozy place to curl up in, reading or knitting in hand, and ignore the world.

    For example: my daughter was given a beautiful handmade quilt when she was born. When she was a baby she slept under it every night. When I new she was expecting I gave it to her. When her son was born my daughter used that blanket for her son and when he outgrew it and the crib she hung it on the wall above his bed. I have an Afghan that my grandmother made me over 50 years ago, and I treasure it!

    The 50 year old blanket my Grandmother made for me. It has seen the wars but it is still here and still used. Sophie, our beagle made it her blanket when she was a puppy, you can see a little of her work in spots. This is a simple crocheted piece. So simple that I have copied it a few times to make baby blankets for friends and family. It is only chain and single crochet and as you can see it can use up lots of of colours!

    I have quilts from my Aunty Evie and a gorgeous crochet coverlet that my Grandmother made. I will share some pictures when It comes out of storage! As well, I have my fathers Hudson Bay blanket, a little shrunken but still going strong. Blankets mean warmth, caring and love. And in Canada blankets have history.

    I am not saying that blankets don’t have history everywhere, but I am in Canada and I grew up with the Hudson’s Bay and the Hudson’s Bay Blanket!

    There is meaning attached to a Hudson’s Bay Blanket. There is more than 350 years of history. They were a cornerstone of trade for hundreds of years. They have been made into Voyageurs coats have covered the beds of many Canadians! They became a worldwide symbol of Canada. They were that iconic, instantly recognizable and valued highly by everyone who received one as a gift.

    1936 Catalogue Ad. Don’t you just love the style! It’s still a classic.

    Is my blanket going to be that iconic? Is yours? Highly doubtful, but will it be prized by the recipient? It certainly will, because it comes with your love knit into every square! Okay that might be a little flowery, but it is true. When you knit you are often thinking of the recipient, how much you care and how much they will love what you have created!

    Why Squares?

    For me they are a very personal choice. Squares allow me to me more creative, to try out different techniques and to play with colour. The design options are multiple. I also get bored easily. Knitting an Afghan in rows would bore me to tears. I also am a bit of a magpie, I love colour and texture! making a multiple of styles of squares will also allow me to pick and choose my squares for my blanket. Some of the squares may not make the blanket, I may relegate some of the squares to pillow covers of some type. Or maybe a great big bolster!

    Public domain photo – lots of pillows – don’t they look like fun!

    I just googled for an image of a bolster! They were so boring! So maybe a big bright bolster just jumped higher on my list!

    Blankets and afghans have purpose, they are useful. They warm up a room by simply being on a piece of furniture and they warm up a body when used! They can be stunningly beautiful or even a little raggety around the edges and that simple note of heavy use is also has a beauty of its’ own. I have always loved the William Morris quote:

    “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

    I try to keep that in mind when I look at things for my home. Now, I want a beautiful (to me), and useful blanket that I have made with my own hands on my couch. Something that I can see and use every day. I already have lots of beautiful dust collectors, mine, my mothers, and my grandmothers in my home, and blankets galore, but nothing made by me. Nothing for me to use or my daughter to keep.

    Are you knitting for yourself or for someone special? Think about it as it may help you choose your colours!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • Create a Colorful Knitted Blanket: Tips & Patterns – a year long exploration of squares

    Create a Colorful Knitted Blanket: Tips & Patterns – a year long exploration of squares

    Make-A-Blanket – January Square

    This month is set-up for the Blanket. Pick your colours, decide on the style and knit your first square. The instructions for each square will be both charted and written.

    I am working with Cascade 220 wool. So my basic gauge is 20 sts in 4inches worked with a 4.5mm US #7 needle. After knitting my first square I think that these (my) squares will be about 10 inches wide, approx. 22.5 cm. My current plan is to make 20 squares and lay them out in blanket form and attach them together (no plan for this yet).

    There are two styles of blanket options that I have considered. I will lay them both out for you so that you can think about it as you knit your first square. Within these two styles there are other considerations. Do you want your blanket to be a solid colour? Or do you want lots of colour? Do you want your squares to be random or laid out in a quilt style of pattern. I bet you can guess which way I am going! Yup, lots of colour and random squares!

    Blanket 1 – knit in strips, biggest advantage, less seams and less to connect. This blanket could be knit in 1 colour, or in strips of colours with a different colour connecting them. The strips could still consist of squares that change colour with each pattern, or each strip could be knit in one pattern that repeats up each strip. How you put your Blanket Squares together is all up to you.

    I do like the stripes and diamonds on this Jester! His motley costume hits all the fun notes.

    Blanket 2 – knit in squares, no advantage, more seams, more connections! But I like the look better. This blanket was my original idea, Lots of patterns and many differing colours; it has been pointed out to me that I am sometimes alone in my love of the motley. But how could that be – there are so many examples of it all around us!

    My sloth’s intarsia coat was a fun example of a motley coat.

    I did a little sketching with Samsung Note and AI. These are the possibilities my sketches suggested.

    This month the Square is a Diagonal Rib pattern. It is totally reversable. And I am really liking that feature. This may be the square that I knit the most. It could act almost like a back drop for the other squares. We will see what tickles my fancy as the year progresses. This square took me approx. 36 grs yarn to knit. With that information I am figuring that I will need at least 7 skeins of the Cascade plus more for the finishing.

    Notes on working with the Squares. I will try to provide both written and charted patterns for each square. When working with charts every square represents 1 st or if the square is grey the absence of a stitch. That square can be regarded as a space to be ignored on that row.

    • Read all flat chart odd rows – 1, 3, 5 etc from right to left and all flat chart even rows – 2, 4, 6 etc from left to right.
    • Read every round from a circular chart from right to left.
    January SquareDownload

    Also included in this months download is the Starfish pattern. I am going to knit a few of these to sprinkle randomly over my blanket. These Starfish will each take about 6 grs of yarn. I can see quite a few colourful starfish on my blanket.

    Blanket Sea StarDownload

    I hope that you will share your pictures and progress with me! I am trying to decide the best way. A group on Facebook and/or a thread on Ravelry. Have you got any other suggestions?

    I am having a lot of fun knitting up Sea Stars, this month’s add on! But I think that next month’s add on will be just as much fun! Now what could they be?

    Hint – what is the famous day in February that is celebrated with “?”‘s and flowers!

    Happy New Year!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • A Walk in the Sunshine

    A Walk in the Sunshine

    Wednesday in Nanaimo was gorgeous. The sun was shining, the skies were clear and it wasn’t even looking like rain. Rain which had been pretty continuous before Wednesday and again after Wednesday was nowhere in sight. This morning the skies were dark grey and the rain was pounding down and, at times the rain was a little chunky with bits of snow!

    So, in this wonderous sunny break my husband and I went for a walk around Buttertubs Marsh and it was beautiful!

    We saw basking Painted Turtles, a Grey Heron, well camouflaged by the marsh itself, loads of duck, mostly heard and not fully seen and and the Marsh itself, beautiful in tones of golden brown, deep brown and green with sharp notes of red Hawthorn Berries and soft notes of downy bullrushes. There is something percolating in my brain. There might be a pattern here.

    Do you walk in your local parks? What are your favourites? I hope that you get a chance to walk in the sunshine yourself. It is a wonderful way to relax, enjoy your surroundings and be inspired.

    This week I also saw the windup of the Winter session of Classes at Mad About Ewe. Last Saturday I taught the second workshop with the feather stitch. This is the Feather Slouch.

    The right hand hat was knit with Mecha in the Piedras and Rosalinda. The left hand hat was knit with two shades of Highland Alpaca Chunky.

    I also finished up the Top-Down Yoke Intensive. I have to do a little more work on the pattern to make it Ravelry ready. I will let you know when that happens. The pattern is called Ocean Legend.

    Ocean Legend was knit with 3 shades of Eco Scandinavian Chunky. A couple of years ago I designed a hat, Legend.  I loved the pattern on the hat and always wanted to turn it into a sweater yoke and so Ocean Legend came to be created.

    I have got a tentative plan for Winter/Spring Classes and have already started knitting some samples. And if you haven’t heard I am planning a blanket for next year. A square a month club, free from my blog. All you need to do in subscribe below.

    Have a Great Day and Happy Knitting.

    Lynette

  • Make-A-Long a Blanket

    Make-A-Long a Blanket

    2026 is going to be the Year of Making a Blanket.  I need a new blanket for my new living room with my new couch and my new carpet! Every month I am going to make a new square or two. Do you need a new blanket or Afghan? Do you want to join me? This will be free. With a Blog post every month with a new square. You will need to subscribe to get the emails regularly! Post it where ever you knit with the hashtags #newblanket and #letissierdesigns. I would love to see your progress.

    I am going to be working the squares in Cascade 220 wool. I just started my first one! You can choose any worsted weight yarn you like. Or a fingering weight yarn, or any yarn. These are just going to be some squares. Some will be simple, others maybe not, it sort of depends on the other designs I will be working on, I may be trying out some different stitches. Sort of pre-swatching!

    Most of these squares will be based on the blanket I did 11 years ago with The Buffalo Wool Co. I am going to remake the squares in the cascade 220, the originals were done in the Tracks Sock. These will be quite a bit bigger!

    Look for some purple Sea Stars here and there! It is going to be called the Sea Star Blanket! Or maybe the West Coast Blanket!

    I have already started my first square. This is the informal or soft start of the project. I will be adding it formally to Ravelry next month!

    • – Knit one square a month – there will be a lap blanket at the end of the project.
    • – Knit two squares a month – there will be a full size Afghan blanket at the end of the project.
    • – Knit three or more squares a month – there will be a large bed sized blanket at the end of the project.

    So pick out a yarn, and the appropriate needle size.

    Fingering 3.25mm US #3 – Double Knit 4.0mm US #6 – Worsted Weight 4.5mm US #7

    Diagonal Rib Square for January (Shush! I am starting early, so can you!)

    Cast-on 56 sts

    • Row 1 – *(K2, P2); repeat from * to the end of the row.
    • Row 2 – *(K2, P2); repeat from * to the end of the row.
    • Row 3 – K1, *(P2, K2); repeat from *. end the last repeat with K1.
    • Row 4 – P1, *(K2, P2); repeat from *, end the last repeat with P1.
    • Row 5 – *(P2, K2); repeat from * to the end of the row.
    • Row 6 – *(P2, K2); repeat from * to the end of the row.
    • Row 7 – P1, *(K2, P2); repeat from *, end the last repeat P1.
    • Row 8 – K1, *(P2, K2); repeat from *, end the last repeat K1.

    Repeat the 8 row pattern 9 times.  Cast-off evenly.  It should be close to 11-12 inches square! I don’t know the size yet! But I will add it here as soon as I finish the block! LOL!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette