July Correction

There is a correction that needs to be made to the Horseshoe Lace Pattern on Row #8.  It should read:

Row 8: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P1, K3, yo, sl1 k2tog psso, yo, K3, P1, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Hope this clears up any confusion :)

Happy Knitting!

July's Book

July's book choice is Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.

Here's a review found on Barnes & Noble's website.  If you follow the link above, there's also a short video of the author discussing her grandmother Lily, the main character of the book.  Hope you enjoy it!

Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly). Now she brings us the story of her grandmother — told in a voice so authentic and compelling that the book is destined to become an instant classic.
"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls's magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town — riding five hundred miles on her pony, all alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane, and, with her husband, ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle.
Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds — against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. It will transfix readers everywhere.

July Swatches

This is our last month of lace, have you enjoyed it?  I think this month's patterns are great, because they take a look at some familiar patterns (the Horseshoe lace, for example, is a classic pattern that can be commonly found in lace motifs).  Later this month I will post a tutorial on blocking, so you'll really be able to see these patterns in their full glory.

In August we'll be taking a look at another technique, so enjoy this month and have your ''thinking caps'' ready!

As always, if you have any questions or want to share pictures my email is yearofswatches@gmail.com and all the patterns can be found on Ravelry.com so please make a pattern page and share your work! 
Just so you know, we've welcomed a new little knitter to the fold so if I am slow in responding, please be patient with me :)

Happy Knitting!

Beginner: Lacy Zigzag

Cast on 35 stitches.
Border Rows 1-5: K1, P1 across

Pattern Rows
Rows 1, 3, 5: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) *sl1 k1 psso, K2, yo, K2 repeat from * across to last 6 sts K1 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 2 and all even rows: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) Purl (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Rows 7, 9, 11: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K3 *yo, K2, k2tog, K2 repeat from * across ending with a k2tog (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 12: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) Purl (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)


Repeat these 12 rows until square measures between 8 and 8.5 inches (the lace squares should be slightly smaller than the others so there is room to stretch with blocking).

Repeat Border Rows 1-5.

Bind off all stitches. 

Easy: Floral Rib

Cast on 35 stitches.
Border Rows 1-5: K1, P1 across

Pattern Rows
Row 1: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P2, k2tog, K1, yo, K1, yo, K1, sl1 k1 psso, P2, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 2 and all even rows: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P7, K2, P7, K2, P7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 3: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P2, k2tog, yo, K3, yo, sl1 k1 psso, P2, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 5: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P2, K1, yo, sl1 k1 psso, K1, k2tog, yo, K1, P2, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 7: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P2, K2, yo, sl1 k2tog psso, yo, K2, P2, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 8: Repeat row 2
 
Repeat these 8 rows until square measures 8 to 8.5 inches (the lace squares should be slightly smaller than the others so there is room to stretch with blocking).

Repeat border rows 1-5.

Bind off all stitches.

Intermediate: Horseshoe Lace

This pattern offers a slight challenge, as patterning is done on both the wrong side and right side of the work!
Cast on 35 stitches.

Border Rows 1-5: K1, P1 across

Pattern Rows:
Row 1: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) purl across (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 2: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K8, yo, K3, sl1 k2tog psso, K3, yo, K8 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 3: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) purl across (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 4: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P1, K1, yo, K2, sl1 k2tog psso, K2, yo, K1, P1, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 5: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) purl across (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 6: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P1, K2, yo, K1, sl1 k2tog psso, K1, yo, K2, P1, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 7: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) purl across (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 8: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P1, K3, yo, sl1 k2tog psso, yo, K3, P1, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Repeat these 8 rows until square measures 8 to 8.5 inches (the lace squares should be slightly smaller than the others so there is room to stretch with blocking).

Repeat border rows 1-5.

Bind off all stitches.