Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

I am back after selecting the stitch pattern for square #5 for the Dream Catcher Baby Blanket. I am using Sweater in Watermelon for my fifth color. Now, if you don’t want pink in your blanket for whatever reason I have three other color options that will look gorgeous. I recommend Lake or Turtle or Ice Cream as substitutions. I love the pink as it adds to the citrus-y feel of the blanket but I know that pink puts a girlish twist on the project. So you decide what will work best for your needs!

I need to address another issue and I’d love to hear from any of you working on the blanket with me. The Grass square done in the Blackberry stitch has given a few people some trouble. I didn’t think it was too difficult but I am going to give an alternative to use instead of the Blackberry stitch. I want to keep things easy and fun so if something isn’t fun please stop and change it! If you want to keep the Blackberry stitch square in the blanket that’s great. If you didn’t enjoy the stitch pattern wait until I post another option which will be very soon. I have a couple of stitch patterns in mind, I just need to try them out first. How does that sound?

Here is my take on the Basket Stitch from Super Stitches Knitting (pg. 54):

Basket Stitch Square (make 5)

Spud & Chloë Sweater in Watermelon (2 skeins)

US size 7 needles or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch

Cast on 32 stitches.

Row 1 (right side): knit

Row 2: purl

Row 3: k1, *(k1, p4, k1), repeat from * to the last stitch, k1

Row 4: p1, *(p1, k4, p1), repeat from * to the last stitch, p1

Row 5: repeat row 3

Row 6: repeat row 4

Row 7: knit

Row 8: purl

Row 9: k1, *(p2, k2, p2), repeat from * to the last stitch, k1

Row 10: p1, *(k2, p2, k2), repeat from * to the last stitch, p1

Row 11: repeat row 9

Row 12: repeat row 10

Repeat these 12 rows until the square measures 6 1/4 inches from the cast on row. I repeated rows 1-12 three times and rows 1-6 one more time but this will vary so be sure to measure your square. Bind off. Cut the yarn leaving an 8 inch end and pull through the remaining stitch.

Here is my second Basket Stitch square in progress. This is a fun and fast stitch pattern. This is another stitch pattern that looks great on both sides and would make a terrific scarf if you just kept on working to a desired length. Just saying…

Have fun!

I have a couple of quick things to share before I go today.

A couple of weeks ago I asked what you are knitting with your Spud & Chloë. I got a great response and want to share a couple of things that came to me. First off, Kim Hamlin, who has done some designing for Spud & Chloë and Blue Sky Alpacas, sent me a photo of her leggings knit in Fine.

Here is her email:

Hi Susan!!

I just finished making a pair of knit dance pants! As a dancer, I’ve
always wanted a pair, but thought it would take forever! It turns
out… it doesn’t IF you’re determined and use big needles!!  I used
your sock yarn because I thought it would wear well for this type of
clothing. On a size 9 needle it worked up quickly and is the perfect
amount of warmth for dancing.  All the other dancers are jealous and
I’ve got orders for more!

I was quite thrifty and used leftover bits of yarn from my previous
Spud & Chloe designs! SO fun!!

This is a photo someone took at our community musical this weekend.
(Hello showgirl make up!!)
Not the best photo, but it shows them in action!!

Kim, those are fantastic and you are so cute with your showgirl make-up and Fine leggings! Thanks so much for sharing. Incredible and fun:) Kim has a fantastic blog, too. Click here for Kim’s blog, Inspired Living.

cloche

The other fun hat that showed up is a design by Laura Irwin. This is my Ravelry friend, Lucy (click on her name to see her blog). Lucy is an avid Spud & Chloë fan and has knit lots of the blog patterns from Spud says! It is fun to see her looking so sharp and beautiful in her new cloche style hat. Here is Lucy’s Ravelry page for more information on this hat made out of Sweater! I love it! You look gorgeous, Lucy. (Lucy just had a baby a few weeks ago! Congrats:)

Enough for today, I could go on forever, as always. Have a great Monday everyone!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 12th, 2010 at 10:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.