Welcome to our little bit of knitterly Heaven- I'm so glad you found your way here!
Our goal is to teach beginning knitters some tricks of the trade as well as to work enough swatches to have a finished afghan by the end of the year! Join along with us as we learn about patterns, cables, lace, and some other handy techniques! A new pattern will become available each month ranging from newbie to adventurous. So stop on by, pick your pattern and knit along with us!

All patterns can be found here as well as on Ravelry.com!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

June's Here!

Hello Knitters.
First off, deepest apologies for the mega flake out this month.  Everything's fine, I just had one of those months that absolutely flew by.  The good news is that I am back and ready to knit!
What's keeping me busy?
For the lovely month of June, I have two patterns for you.  A beautiful lace pattern and a fun motif (that was originally intended for Earth Day).  So without further delay, onto the knitting!

The Trees
Trees from the front
This simple pattern is reversible depending on your preference!

Cast on 46 stitches

Border Rows:
Rows 1, 3, 5: K1, P1 across
Rows 2, 4: P1, K1 across

Pattern Rows:
Odd Rows 1-17: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K8, P1, K8, P2, K8, P1, K8 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Even Rows 2-18: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P8, K1, P8, K2, P8, K1, P8 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 19: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K7, P3, K7, P2, K7, P3, K7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 20: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P7, K3, P7, K2, P7, K3, P7 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 21: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K6, P5, K6, P2, K6, P5, K6 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 22: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P6, K5, P6, K2, P6, K5, P6 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 23: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K5, P7, K5, P2, K5, P7, K5 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 24: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P5, K7, P5, K2, P5, K7, P5 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 25: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K4, P9, K4, P2, K4, P9, K4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 26: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P4, K9, P4, K2, P4, K9, P4 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 27: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K4, P9, K3, P4, K3, P9, K4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 28: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P5, K7, P4, K4, P4, K7, P5 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 29: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K5, P7, K3, P6, K3, P7, K5 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 30: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P6, K5, P4, K6, P4, K5, P6 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 31: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K6, P5, K3, P8, K3, P5, K6 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 32: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P7, K3, P4, K8, P4, K3, P7 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 33: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K13, P10, K13 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 34: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P13, K10, P13 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 35: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K12, P12, K12 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 36: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P12, K12, P12 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 37: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K13, P10, K13 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 38: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P13, K10, P13 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 39: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K14, P8, K14 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 40: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P14, K8, P14 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 41: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K15, P6, K15 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 42: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P15, K6, P15 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 43: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K16, P4, K16 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 44: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P16, K4, P16 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 45: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K36 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 46: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P36 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 47:  (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K36 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Border Rows
1, 3 5: K1, P1 across
2, 4: P1, K1 across

Bind off all stitches.
Reverse side!

Fern Lace
 This lovely lace motif is pretty easy, but keep an eye out for the YO* (found in Row 1)- it can be a bit tricky!  Make sure that after the YO* the yarn is in the proper placement to purl the next stitch.  If you need a refresher on lace check out this post (photo tutorial included)!

Cast on 46 stitches

Border Rows:
Rows 1, 3, 5: K1, P1 across
Rows 2, 4: P1, K1 across

Pattern Rows:
Row 1: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K4, (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K9, YO, K1, YO*, P2, YO, K1, YO, K9 (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Even Rows 2-10: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P17, K2, P17 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)

Row 3: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)K4, (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K8, YO, K1, YO, K1, P2, K1, YO, K1, YO, K8 (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 5: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K4 (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K7, YO, K1, YO, K2, P2, K2, YO, K1, YO, K7 (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 7: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K4 (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K6, YO, K1, YO, K3, P2, K3, YO, K1, YO, K6 (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 9: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K4 (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K5, YO, K1, YO, K4, P2, K4, YO, K1, YO, K5 (Sl 1, k2tog, psso) K4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
 
Repeat these 10 rows until square is approx 9 inches from cast on edge.
Knit Border Rows:
1, 3, 5: P1, K1 across
2, 4: K1, P1 across

Bind off all stitches.
Close Up
 I hope you enjoy these squares- happy knitting!