February's Squares

Hello friends!  I hope you enjoyed January's square.  I thought it was a nice and simple way to ease you into 2012.  This month we'll have two squares to knit.  Pick your favorite or knit 'em both, it's up to you!

Waffle Stitch

This is a really easy pattern that is striking on both sides!  There are four rows in this pattern, and it is a 3 stitch repeat. 

Cast on 43 stitches
Border Rows 1-5: K1, P1 across

Pattern rows:
Row 1: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) *K2, P1 repeat from * to last 5 sts (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 2: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) *K1, P2 repeat from * to last 5 sts (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 3: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) *K2, P1 repeat from * to last 5 sts (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row4: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) Knit across to last 5 sts (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Repeat these 4 rows until square is approx 9 inches then repeat Border Rows 1-5.  Bind off all stitches.

Waffle Stitch Close-up

Reversible Heart

Here's a sweet heart just in time for Valentine's Day!  Both sides look good, so either can be the ''right side''.  Not interested in making this part of your blanket?  Knit it in cotton to make a sweet dishcloth!  Please note that row numbers in bold are repeated.

Cast on 44 stitches

Row 1, 3, 5: K1, P1 across
Row 2, 4: P1, K1 across
Row 6, 8: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) Knit to last 5 sts (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 7: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) Purl to last 6 sts (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 9: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P16, K2, P16 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 10: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K15, P4, K15 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 11: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P14, K6, P14 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 12: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K13, P8, K13 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 13: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P12, K10, P12 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 14: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K11, P12, K11 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 15: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P10, K14, P10 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 16: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K9, P16, K9 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 17: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P8, K18, P8 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 18: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K8, P18, K8 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 19: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P7, K20, P7 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 20: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K6, P22, K6 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 21: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P6, K22, P6 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 22: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K5, P24, K5 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 23: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P5, K24, P5 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 24: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K4, P26, K4 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 25: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P4, K26, P4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 26: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K3, P28, K3 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 27: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P3, K28, P3 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 28: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K2, P30, K2 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 29: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P2, K30, P2 (K1, P1, K1, P1, 1K)
Rows 30, 32, 34, 36: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K1, P32, K1 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Rows 31, 33, 35, 37: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P1, K30, P1 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 38: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K2, P30, K2 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 39: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P1, K15, P2, K15, P1 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 40: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K3, P11, K6, P11, K3 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 41: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) P5, K7, P10, K7, P5 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 42: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K7, P3, K14, P3, K7 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 43, 45: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) purl across (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 44: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) knit across (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 46, 48, 50: K1, P1 across
Rows 47, 49: P1, K1 across

Love on the flip-side!

 Special thanks to my Valentine, as he helped me type out that behemoth of a square :)

Even

After

All this time

The sun never says

To the earth

"You owe me."

Look

What happens

With love like that.

It lights the

Whole

Sky.

-Hafiz (fourteenth century poet)

 

A Tale of Two Cities

February's book is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of dispair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way-- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being recieved, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
Introduction to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

No doubt you've heard it before, perhaps you've even read it (I did, in high school).  Never has a statement more captured hope, realism, cynicism or tragedy.  A Tale of Two Cities was written in 1859 as a series of 31 weekly installments by Charles Dickens.  It is a story set in London and Paris during the French Revolution.  Over 200 million copies of this story have been sold.

Here's a bit about the book (from the book's widipedia page):


"The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period. It follows the lives of several protagonists through these events. The most notable are Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Darnay is a French once-aristocrat who falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution despite his virtuous nature, and Carton is a dissipated British barrister who endeavours to redeem his ill-spent life out of his unrequited love for Darnay's wife, Lucie Manette."
 
If you follow this link you can download a free copy of the book to either your computer or e-reader from Google Books .  I hope you enjoy A Tale of Two Cities.

Only  three days left to vote on our knitted sampler.  What strikes your fancy- lace, cables, or texture? February's patterns will be released on Wednesday the 15th... see ya then!