The hardest part of knitting any colorblock project is choosing the colorways of yarn.

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This easy free shawl pattern is one of my favorites and also a favorite finished scarf to wear all winter long, or in summer, depending on the yarn you choose. I knit this triangle scarf pattern from some leftover Schoppel Zauberball Starke 6 sock yarn, lavender marl is from Fibre Company, and the darker purple is Manos del Uruguay “Serena,” all dk weight yarns.

long summer shawl scarf knitting free pattern

The pattern is “Magic Spring Shawl” by Katerina Bobkova and the free pattern link with even more information is here.

summer knitting shawl pattern

Thank you for reading.

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copyright 2012 Sharon Watterson

I have always been amazed by crochet and knitted amigurumi toys and dolls, but have never ventured in that direction. This little Easter chick and egg knitting pattern caught my eye this week, and I thought it would be the perfect Easter basket keepsake for our twelve-year-old granddaughter… something she would cherish forever, since her mother is a lover of all things Easter, too.

copyright 2012 Sharon Watterson

It’s an Alan Dart free pattern from his website. Dart is a UK maven for amigurumi patterns. He has every sort of knitting pattern imaginable in story-telling props for children.  And none of his patterns are more than $5.00. This little chick and egg pattern is free, even better.

Knit tightly on US size 3 needles with DK gauge yarn, the pattern works up really quickly with Dart’s well-written pattern and photos. One mistake I made initially was in sewing the head to the tail, realizing later that the head belongs across the top of the body, exposing the cute little duck’s tail.

copyright 2012 Sharon Watterson

Nothing is difficult about this pattern which uses knit front and back in the same stitch (KFB) as “Inc1.” After you are finished, you can “decorate” your egg, if you wish, with a bit of Easter embroidery. This was quickly done, but I should have taken the time to search for some thinner embroidery floss; but alas, it stands as is. The two eggshells are sewn together in the back, which I haven’t done yet in these photos.

copyright 2012 Sharon Watterson

The chick and the egg knitting pattern is here, a free download on Alan Dart’s website. Enjoy and Happy Easter!

It’s a new year, and for me, it has meant, thankfully, new followers here on WordPress, many thank you’s. Also, I’m  returning to some enjoyable knitting projects of long ago when knitting for our children as teenagers and young adults and just finished this Fair Isle pullover or jumper. It’s a free pattern and was the sweater Scarlett Johansson wore in the film, “We Bought a Zoo” with Matt Damon.

fair isle 007

Sharon Watterson

Fair Isle design gets a once every 20-year push and is all the craze again this year as it was in the 60’s and 80’s.  (more…)

You probably thought I’d forgotten, frogged, or fallen off the edge of the earth after my post, “two free shawl patterns”, re: the Holden Shawlette free knitting pattern, at the end of July. What with an earthquake, a hospitalization, a wedding and a hurricane, it’s a near wonder, not one of those “3 f’s” failed to happen.  Please read more…
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I have spent this week writing about new styles and new patterns for Fall Fashion 2011. Find out what’s new, get free patterns for big yarn, and oh, so stylish easy floofy or straight knitted skirt patterns for little or big girls and women. Lace is big, but so are slouchy chic sweaters knit with bulky weight yarn. New scarf patterns, as well as shawls and shrugs and jackets to knit or crochet up to size 3X.

Enjoy these free pattern links, all with pictures:

Slouchy chic pullover patterns

Knitted skirt patterns

Jackets and shrugs to knit and crochet with big yarn

Fall Fashion 2011: Vogue Knitting

The felted tote bag I told you about recently is finished. You can find the link for a felted bag pattern I made earlier, below. The free knitting pattern works well with KnitPicks 100% wool yarn. Always heave a sigh of relief to get one of these handbags finished, more or less 30-35 hours of work. These handbags are great for carrying all year round, but especially fall, winter, and spring. This one is posted on Etsy now,  the “Chicken or the egg felted cross-body tote bag.” Eclectic and one-of-a-kind!


For free pattern felted tote bag, please read more (more…)

I’ve always been a sucker for bonnets and when I saw Larissa Brown’s new bonnet eBook, Love Bonnet, I wanted to knit them all. Problem is, I don’t have many infants to knit for these days, and needed a larger size.

So, I have created a larger bonnet pattern, based on Larissa’s “Juniper Bonnet”, which is a free pattern.  Hoping that the bonnet for older kids and toddlers in bigger sizes will be the new trend, so I can knit some more….. a natural transition from the earflap hat and sock monkey hat fads this past fall and winter.

Call me “crazy,” but the bonnet is so practical…great hat to wear with ponytails. In the Nordic countries, all ages wear ski bonnets…just because it’s called a bonnet, doesn’t mean it’s for babies.

This one is trimmed in a little dove gray cotton and knit with about one skein of soft grape wool and alpaca for Easter, which is rarely a warm time in New England. The bonnet doesn’t have to be tied, but the ties can hang down, like the older children usually prefer to wear them.

There are five repeats of the feather and fan in this larger bonnet pattern. The finished size of this one is about 17 inches around and will fit up to a six year old.

If you are interested in this larger size feather and fan bonnet for toddlers, kids, and older heads, please subscribe to this blog and let me know by leaving a comment. I also plan to write a larger bonnet pattern for a plain stripe design.

For Larissa’s Juniper Bonnet pattern, written for infants, click here.

Have decided to knit a few more large hobo handbags for felting. They are really fun to do, and the results are always a surprise. Getting more than one ready for felting at the same time, saves hot water when it’s time to felt. I’ve finished the knitting and crocheting for the first one . It’s called: “The chicken or the egg?”…It’s a favorite saying of a certain pragmatist I know, and I found all the theme ingredients for this recipe in my fabric and yarn stash. Follow this blog for a free pattern for a felted tote bag.

chicken or the egg felted hobo bag

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Have just included a schematic for stitches for the 3 button shawl, and wanted to include the free knitting pattern here. It’s a similar one to a very popular 3 button shawl as featured on the Today Show with Hoda and Kathy Lee long ago.

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A very easy knitting pattern, great for beginning knitters,  just a rectangle you can add your own creativity to. Very versatile in the different looks you can get by buttoning the shawl differently, and a most practical knitting project for spring and fall.
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This is a great free  baby hat pattern for beginning knitters, it’s quick and easy. Also a terrific free pattern to knit lots of baby hats for charity. With so many charities in need of infant hats: hospital maternity wards, women’s shelters, the homeless shelters, for those of you who do charity knitting, here’s an easy, quick baby hat pattern, it’s free and I’d better get to work myself. Winter’s coming again!

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