Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Tag: blanket knitting

  • Progress Update on Home Renovation and Knitting

    Progress Update on Home Renovation and Knitting

    This is going to be a short post. I am not sure when the dry walling team are arriving. Most of the tradesmen arrive around 8:00 am – which is when I like to work on the computer.

    The work on the house is progressing. They are about to drywall the kitchen and bathroom. After that paint, then cabinets and finishing. I am told that things are progressing quite well. The possible finishing date is March 7th or 8th.

    My yarn room has hit a snag, they are sorting it. But nothing to report there as yet! There are always glitches when doing a renovation. On the other hand…

    Now for the Knitting news. No glitch here.

    Isn’t it looking great! I am loving the colours and texture. I wonder what fulling will do to the garter st texture?

    … the Granny Blanket swatch is almost done. The swatch and blanket are going to be built with 13 wedges. That is official. The swatch is just about there. I will finish it tonight (or maybe tomorrow night!) LOL!. I won’t be able to full the piece for the next 3 weeks. It will take that long before I get a laundry back!

    And how beautiful is the world we live in.

    Sunday was glorious so we took the opportunity to get out. We went for a walk at Piper’s Lagoon.

    LOOK! at the texture. It all started with a wood bug, add time, water and then weather. A somber kind of beauty is the result. Could I recreate it somehow?

    I hope that you get the opportunity to go for a walk wherever you live. It is good for anything that ails you, including a renovation.

    Happy Knitting

    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.

  • Make-A-Blanket – Modular Square

    Make-A-Blanket – Modular Square

    I am working on a year long Blanket Project. It is supposed to comprise of one blanket square per month with tip and advice on how to put the squares together. I think that the project is definitely going to be bigger than I anticipated…

    An Extra Square idea came to mind and I just had to try it out!

    Greta posted a note on Ravelry about a yarn she was contemplating for her blanket, a pretty tweed, she was working with it in a modular pattern. So my brain went instantly to this blanket and a new square!

    Modular, Domino or Mitred knitting is a method of creating square, or other shapes by using interior (usually) decreases to shape the outsides of the square. It was made popular here a few years ago by Vivian Hoxbro and her book Domino Knitting. There are other publications by other designers as well! But I am most familliar with this book! Once learned the technique is incredibly easy and a lot of fun.

    Have you ever tried Modular Knitting? It is a technique for creating a fabric that is built piece by piece from a base piece or cast-on. Well, the mitred square that I created for the blanket could also be the base of a whole blanket starting from that square. A project for another day.

    Entrelac or Swedish basketweave is a style of modular knitting. The tam below is entrelac and the close up of a glove cuff is also entrelac.

    So, new modular square, what do you think?

    I think it has a lot of punch. I went with the two most contrasting colours in my blanket, navy and natural. I wonder what it would look like in two close colours? I need to knit a second one anyway. This one is a little on the large size and I made sure to fix that in the pattern below.

    Please note – the actual pattern is four ridges shorter than the square shown (just in case you count the stripes). My first attempt was a little big. The fix is already in the pattern.

    Mitre squareDownload

    If you want to try something a little more interesting with modular knitting – The Mitered Modular Cowl is one of my earlier patterns. I was playing with hand-dyed yarns and trying to move colours around differently as I knit. I was really pleased with the effect.

    It is knit flat and then is seamed together. It only takes about 400m.

    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