While we’re in the middle of Covid-19 uncertainty and social distancing, charity blocks are an ideal knitting project. They’re easy and quick to finish, so that you feel like you’ve accomplished something. Knitting is great for relieving anxiety, and these blocks are perfect for restless knitting, when you can’t focus on anything complicated—simple rectangles, with […]
warm up america
Charity Block #12: Fishermans Rib
I started playing with the fisherman’s rib stitch because it looked like a nice, slightly different 1×1 rib. (I found the pattern on knittingstitchpatterns.com.) I didn’t realize until I actually started to knit that it’s a single-color brioche stitch. It’s not done at all like the two-color brioche that I used to make my color […]
Charity Block #11: Slipped Rib
I found this stitch pattern in a book I got for Christmas: 750 Knitting Stitches. I decided to try it out because I have two baby blankets to make this year, and it looked like a simple, cute, and cozy stitch pattern to use for one of them. (I ended up going a different way […]
Tunisian Double Seed Stitch Charity Block
After learning (and falling in love with) Tunisian simple stitch, I decided to try one of TL Yarn Crafts’ other video tutorials to learn a new stitch pattern. I followed the fourth video to learn the double seed stitch (the video is actually for making a coaster, but I adjusted the number of stitches, and […]
Tunisian Simple Stitch Charity Block
I’ve said a few times how much I’ve wanted to learn Tunisian crochet. I saw it in photos on Instagram a year or so ago and was mind-blown that this thing existed, something that looked like an incredible blend of knitting and crochet. I put it immediately on my to-learn list, but it took a […]
Charity Block #10: Mosaic
I love colorwork, but it’s really hard to knit with small children. I get about three stitches in before one of them sits on me and whatever I’m knitting. (I had to knit my brioche projects after they were in bed.) Enter mosaic knitting, which is a fun and easy method of colorwork and my […]
Charity Block #9: Granite Stitch
I’ve liked the look of the granite stitch ever since I first saw it on Pinterest, but I like it even more now. I knit this block as another swatch to see if it would work for a future design. It won’t work for the one I had in mind, but I love how simple […]
Charity Block #8: Ravenclaw Stripes
I finally got around to the last of the Hogwarts house blocks: Ravenclaw! (I’m a Ravenclaw, and my favorite color is blue, so I was looking forward to this one.) I wanted to do broad rugby-type stripes, but with a 9-inch long block, there’s not a lot of room to work with, so the stripes […]
Charity Block #7: Knotted Openwork
One of the reasons I like knitting blocks for Warm Up America is that about halfway through my big projects I get bored or frustrated and need a break, and these blocks are just the right size to knit quickly before going back to it. Another reason, though, is that sometimes I want to try […]
Charity Block #6: Pearl Brioche
Do you ever have small projects that turn into much-bigger-than-they-should-be projects? I love knitting these charity blocks because they’re a nice short break between (or in the middle of) big projects. But this one took longer than usual, and it’s mostly because I wasn’t paying attention. The first time I tried it, I got a […]
