Happy 2013!

Hi Friends and welcome to another year of knitting!

I knew it had been a while since I had written, but I really didn't realize how long it had been- apparently I really got lost in the "holiday hurricane" (feel free to use that term as needed)!

I am so excited for this new year of knitting.  I can hardly believe that this will be our third year- the time has flown by!

NUMBER 1: The Books
I have the book list for the upcoming year.  There are some great (I hope) books on this list that I am looking forward to reading.  You'll be able to find this list, as well as the last two years' book lists, under the "Book List" Tab at the top of the page.  Books will be announced at the beginning of each month and I'll update links as we go through the year.

January- Giant George: Life With The World's Biggest Dog by Dave Nasser
February- The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
March- Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

April- Postmistress by Sarah Blake

May- Buddah In The Attic by Julie Otsuka

June- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simpson

July- Defending Jacob by William Landay

August- Follow The River by James Alexander Thom

September- In the Garden of Beasts- Erik Larson

October- TBA

November- Wild: From Lost To Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

December- Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Suggested Alternate: The Faith Club by Warner, Oliver, Idliby


January's book is Giant George: Life With The World's Biggest Dog by Dave Nasser

 

With his big blue eyes and soulful expression, George was the irresistible runt of the litter. But Dave and Christie Nasser's "baby" ended up being almost five feet tall, seven feet long, and 245 pounds. Eager to play, and boisterous to the point of causing chaos, this big Great Dane was scared of water, scared of dogs a fraction of his size and, most of all, scared of being alone.

GIANT GEORGE is the charming story of how this precocious puppy won Dave and Christie's hearts and along the way became a doggie superstar. In 2010, George was named by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Dog in the World-ever. He appeared on Oprah, and even has his own global fan club. But to Dave and Christie, this extraordinary animal is still their beloved pet, the one who has made them laugh, made them cry, and continues to make them incredibly happy.
-From Amazon's Book Store

NUMBER 2: The Knitting
2013 is going to be a little bit different than the last couple of years.  There has been a bunch of requests for patterns incorporating color, and I am planning on doing that along with a couple of texture/ cable/ lace patterns thrown in.  There is a bit of a caveat though.  Some color-work lends itself better to knitting in the round.  So, while there will be some squares, there will also be some other projects sprinkled in along the way.  While my blogging and square-knitting has gone on a bit of a knitting hiatus these past few months, my design brain has been going nuts coming up with some great ideas for you.  I won't guarantee that you'll get one pattern each month, but know that I am planning on offering up plenty for you to work on- and I hope you'll enjoy it!

NUMBER 3: Our First Project
On that note, I have been working away on our very first project for 2013 for some time now.  I've designed a MYSTERY KNIT-A-LONG to kick off the new year.  The first clue will be up on January 16th (my birthday!) and will carry on for about 3 weeks (or so).  There will be more information including what yarn to pick, needles to use, and gauge to knit on the blog around the 9th.  So come back and join us for our MYSTERY KNIT-A-LONG!

Hello knitters- welcome to 2012!  I am really looking forward to another great year of knitting with you.  As I said in a previous post, the patterns will be coming out around the middle of the month and there will usually only be one pattern (some months will have a bonus pattern).  As always, the patterns are available on Ravelry, so you can start a project page and share your work :)  I've also started a new group called "Year of Swatches."  If you search that under the groups page, you should be able to find it.  I'd like to build a community around these patterns, hopefully so I can get to know you better as well as answer any questions you might have about the patterns. 
Well on to what you've really come here for... the knitting!
I've started the year off with a really simple pattern.  Like last year, I am using US7 needles as well as worsted weight yarn (a soft acrylic to make it washable friendly- I have two little one's in the house so its gotta go in the washing machine). 

January Swatch:

Diagonal Stripes
Cast on 42 stitches

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

Pattern Rows:

The borders for the left and right sides are in parenthesis.

Row 1: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) *P1 K3 repeat from * until 5 stitches remain (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 2: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P2 *K1, P3 repeat from * until 7 stitches remain K1, P1 (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)
Row 3: (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1) K2, *P1, K3 repeat from * until 7 stitches remain P1, K1 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)
Row 4: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) *K1, P3 repeat from * until 5 stitches remain (P1, K1, P1, K1, P1)


Repeat these four rows until square is approx 9 inches from cast on edge.

Top border rows:
1, 3, 5: P1, K1 across
2, 4: K1, P1 across
Bind off all stitches

Happy knitting!

Happy New Year!

Hello fellow knitters and welcome to the first installment to this year's Year of Swatches! Each month's patterns will be posted on (or around) the first of each month. There will be three patterns for each month; beginner, easy and intermediate. Take a look at each pattern, they will be similar in technique and pick the one that suits you best. Even if you like a more advanced pattern, give it a shot! This is designed to inspire you to try new and maybe even challenging things!

This month's patterns are knit purl patterns, meaning that the design comes from a series of knits and purls rather than from a technique. With each pattern I am assuming you can cast-on (I prefer long tail), knit, purl, and bind-off. If you are still learning, or need a refresher, here are some links to help you get started. If you can't find something here you can always ''google'' the topic or search it on "youtube."

Casting-On
Knit Stitch
Purl Stitch
Binding-Off

If you have any questions, please leave a comment on the blog post. That way, if there are others with the same or similar questions, we can all help each other by looking there first. If your questions are more personal you may email me at yearofswatches@gmail.com and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible! Also remember if you are a member of By the Book Knitters (meets the third Tuesday of each month at the Richland Public Library at 6pm) the first 30 minutes of each meeting will be devoted to helping those who have had challenges with the patterns, or knitting in general. If you have finished your swatch by the meeting time, bring it and I'll take a picture and share it on the world wide web (ie this blog)!

One last piece of ''business'' and then we can get on to the fun part! By the Book Knitters is not only a knitting group, we are a book group as well. I have been asked to share the book titles for 2011 on here too. At the end of this post there will be a full list of the books for the year, but I will also put up a reminder each month of the book we are currently reading (January's book is Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen).

Now for the knitting!

BEGINNER: Garter Stitch Square


Cast on 45 stitches

Border Rows 1-5: K1, P1 across row (these first five rows will create what is known as a seed stitch border)

Row 6: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) knit to last 5 stitches (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Repeat Row 6 until square measures 9 inches from cast on edge (approx 64 rows).

Repeat Border Rows 1-5 to finish border.

Bind off (try to do this loosely so your edge isn't too tight).


EASY: Garter Steps

Cast on 45 stitches

Border Rows 1-5: K1, P1 across row (these first five rows will create what is known as a seed stitch border).

Pattern:
Row 1 and all right side rows (1, 3, 5, etc): Knit

Row 2 and 4: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) *K4, P4* repeat from * to last 8 stitches K3 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 6 and 8: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K2 *P4, K4* repeat from * to last 6 stitches, P1 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 10 and 12: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) *P4, K4* repeat from * to last 8 stitches, P3 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 14 and 16: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P2 *K4, P4* repeat from * to last 6 stitches, K1 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Repeat these 16 rows until square measures 9 inches from cast on edge (approx 64 rows).

Repeat Border Rows 1-5

Bind off (try to do this loosely so your edge isn't too tight).


INTERMEDIATE: Diamond Pattern


Cast on 43 stitches

Border Rows 1-5: K1, P1 across row (these first five rows will create what is known as a seed stitch border).

Pattern:
Row 1 (rs): (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P1 *K7, P1* repeat from * to last 5 stitches (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 2: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K2, P5 *K3, P5* repeat from * to last 7 stitches K2 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 3: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K1 *P2, K3, P2, K1* repeat from * to last 5 stitches (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 4: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P2, K2, P1, K2 *P3, K2, P1, K2* repeat from * to last 7 stitches P2 (K1,P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 5: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) K3, P3 *K5, P3* repeat from * to last 8 stitches K3 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 6: (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1) P4, K1 *P7, K1* repeat from * to last 9 stitches P4 (K1, P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 7: Repeat Row 5

Row 8: Repeat Row 4

Row 9: Repeat Row 3

Row 10: Repeat Row 2

Repeat rows 1-10 until square measures approx 9 inches from cast on edge (approx 64 rows)

Repeat border rows 1-5

Bind off (try to do this loosely so your edge isn't too tight).

Book List
January- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
February- Falling Leaves by Adeline Mah
March- Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by C. Alan Bradley
April- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
May- Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
June- Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
July- Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
August- The Day the World Came to Town by Jim deFede
September- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
October- Richland Reads! or Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
November- Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously by Adrienne Martini
December- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith