Fair Isle Pattern

• William Estep
• Knitting

On page 91 of Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, pages 88-89 is the “Fair Isle” pattern. It is nice stranded colorwork and a nice intro to Argyle patterns. It is an enjoyable knit, and for the swatches, I’m trying to keep a 2 stitch border on each side in garter for later seaming/joining into the larger blanket, but I ran into some challenges with this. I tried several different approaches early on (don’t look at the edges, they are a mess) but ultimately found that just holding both colors together for the first 2 and last 2 stitches worked the best and matched the thickness of the fabric. That’s what this project is all about…experimenting and learning.

Harlequin Pattern

• Knitting

My new favorite pattern from Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, pages 88-89 is the Harlequin Pattern. It doesn’t look like much from the accompanying picture in the book, but a) this is a fun knit, b) the resulting texture is robust, and c) the pattern is delightful! I am also delighted with my choice of colors using Berroco Vintage Chunky, colorway 6110 Fondant, and a lovely contrasting colorway 6151 Cardinal. Of course, it’s only my favorite till the next one. They are all fun. They all have tricks to learn and new skills to try.

Knotted Rib and Broad Spiral Rib

• William Estep
• Knitting

For this swatch/block in my crazy quilt project, I knit a combination of the Knotted Rib and Broad Spiral Rib from Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, page 49. This square is knit using Berroco Vintage Chunky in colorway 61194, Rhubarb.

I made no effort to compensate for the cable flare. Shame on me! I may need to redo this swatch before I add it to the Bulky Swatch Blanket.

Swiss Check Pattern

• William Estep
• Knitting

The next swatch in my crazy quilt project is the Swiss Check Pattern from Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, page 90. I knit this with Paintbox, colorway 300, Paper White, and colorway 329, Grass Green. It’s a fun color-change pattern. Note the caution about leaving the strand loose behind the three slipped stitches on rows 2 and 6. Also, slip as if to purl, and always slip with the yarn to the wrong side.

Squared Check Pattern

• William Estep
• Knitting

The Squared Check Pattern from Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, page 19 is a lovely geometric pattern of alternating knits and purls. The result is architectural but still has a nice drape, and the pattern looks good on the reverse. I knit this with Berroco Vintage Chunky, colorway 6100, Snow Day.

Enjoy!

Shadow Cable Pattern

• William Estep
• Knitting

The Shadow Cable pattern from Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, page 273 is the newest addition to the Crazy Quilt swatch stack. The swatch is knit with Berroco Vintage Chunky color 61192, Marmalade. It is a nice, easy-to-work cable pattern that creates an interesting result. As Barbara Walker points out, it’s similar to a Basket Cable, but the cables are staggered and do not cross. It is subtle but draws the eye.

Chevron Pattern

• William Estep
• Knitting

Check out the Chevron pattern from Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, page 26. This is the newest addition to the Crazy Quilt swatch stack. The swatch is knit using Paintbox color 339, Sailor Blue. This pattern looks great in this solid dark color. It’s an easy knit and relatively easy pattern to work.

Enjoy!

Double Basket Pattern

• bestep
• Knitting

Welcome to the next in the stack of Crazy Quilt swatches. This new addition to the stack is the Double Basket pattern from Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, page 18. I knit this beauty using Berroco Vintage Chunky in colorway 61193, Guava.

Another beautiful pattern! This one is very architectural and has a lot of texture. Love it!

Enjoy!

Basketweave

• William Estep
• Knitting

This installment of the Crazy Quilt swatches is the Basketweave from Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, page 16. Barbara opens this pattern, “This famous pattern is notable for its ease of working and handsome appearance.” So true! This pattern is easy to internalize and it looks beautiful in Paintbox Simply Chunky color 310, Coffee Bean.

It’s a lovely texture. I really want to try and this pattern with two colors, purls in one color and the knits in another. Or an intarsia diagonal across the square like the ‘Oscar‘ flag.

German Clustered Cable

• William Estep
• Knitting

Another Crazy Quilt swatch from Barbara Walker’s, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vol 1, page 274, the German Clustered Cable. Barbara describes the pattern as, “a simple German pattern consisting of knit-purl checks, with a single cable cross worked into each knit check.”

The finished result is delightful! It has texture and interest with wavy cables running over a sea of purl checks. My first thought was how fun this would be as a filler stitch on a sweater.