Manos del Uruguay Fino Minis

Square to the power of two! Yes, squaring the square should actually be quite simple, but making a hat out of a square requires a clever pattern. Square² – that’s “Square squared” – does that for you! It starts very relaxed by with knitting in the round, can be adjusted to the wearer’s head size during the knitting and will be extra warm at the ears as the fabric will be doubled there. All of that happens seamlessly and (almost) without purl stitches. The hat comes off the needles completely finished as soon as the knitting is done and ends are woven in. How many depends on your choice of yarn: Pick a pretty bundle of mini skeins (Fino Minis from Manos del Uruguay) or a ball of self-striping yarn. If you wish, you can opt to add a reflecting yarn for safety in the light stripes.

I just love the “We’re Different”-Grab Bags from Rohrspatz & Wollmeise: Depending on which kind you choose, you will get a combination of a multicolor and a matching semisolid, hand-picked by the dyemaster herself, who has an unmatched sense of color. What shall I say? I was really surprised when I saw that she teamed up a softly variegated brown-grey with a bold and warm red. I just had to give it a try and get my knitting needles moving! So here’s “Match & Move”, a shawl designed to show off the perfect Wollmeise color combination and use up (almost!) an entire grab bag of yarn. My shawl weighs 286 grams. The unusual construction results in kinked stripes that look really interesting when you wear it. The knitting is plain garter stitch and very relaxing, and the shawl is so big and comfy, it is just a dream to wear. Definitely my favorite shawl so far – and I am determined to order another grab bag, be surprised and knit myself one more. Size of the shawl in the pictures: 200 x 50 cm (80 x 20 inches) 286 g of yarn (140 g of color A and 146 g of color B) Wollmeise Colors: Resi and Zimtapfel (both WD)The pattern "Match & Move" is part of Martina Behm´s book "Strickmich! Knitting Inventions".

I like my knitting mindless and simple, preferably without any purl stitches. But I also want the excitement of vibrant colors – and a useful, versatile result! If you are like me, you will love “Tubularity”: It is a long tube (3-dimensional) that you can either pull over your head and wear as very warm and cozy neckwarmer (and hood, if you like). Alternatively, you can sling it around and fasten it with a button. The color combination is hand-picked by Miss Babs, who offers her ultrasoft “Yummy Toes” fingering weight yarn in kits with seven matching mini-skein. Each skein has 133 yards, and you use up each color until you join the next one at the beginning of a round. Measurements: Length 115 cm (46 in), width 32 cm (13 in). The many different ways to wear Tubularity are shown in this video: TubularityEnglish

This is the third pattern of Strickmich! Club 2017. Dark alleys, intense colors, unforgettable melodies and a tragic love story – “West Side Story” is one of the biggest music movies of all time, and great to watch while knitting. Preferably something that goes well with the colors and theme of the film, like “Spiral Escape”: A cowl made from a gradient yarn whose colors resemble those of the backgrounds in the movie. The spiraled construction mirrors the iconic fire escape stairs that are a visual theme of the musical and New York City. And this cowl is really easy to knit! Start with a little square and go on in garter stitch, knitting back and forth while forming the spiraled shape on the go by simply knitting two stitches together. No seaming! The last finishing touches are done with a crochet hook. The result is a warm and beautiful cowl in fascinating dark and intense colors, perfect to wear during fall. In this video I talk about the pattern and the yarn: Cast-On-Event-3-2017 from Martina Behm.The pattern "Spiral Escape" is part of Martina Behm´s book "Strickmich! Knitting Inventions".