Eye Candy

Look at this beautiful blanket, worked up in Noro Tennen. I love the unusual texture and the lovely colors. It's called Shadow Angles, and the pattern is in this great book. So many classic designs using textures, stripes, miters, intarsia, short rows...if you like to knit blankets, this book is a winner.

The Annual Blanket

We love being able to offer classes in our little shop. Classes offer us a way to help you all expand your skills, but it also reinforces the inclusive community that we have fostered over the years. One class that keeps bringing people back for more is Adrienne's Annual Blanket class.

For the last several years, the class has helped knitters of all skill levels complete a handknit blanket over the course of a year. We have adapted the class to make it easier to afford in installments, we have added multiple evenings a week, and we have offered advanced classes for folks who want to level up.

This year's 2020 Blanket class offers all of the good stuff! Adrienne is offering the class Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday evening from 6:30-8:30 PM, and you can sign up for 3 months at a time for added flexibility.

In addition to all of that, you will be able to choose from a variety of squares each month, depending on the technical level you'd like to try. Having a crazy month and need a mindless square? Choose an easier one! Want to challenge yourself one month? Choose the more difficult square like the cool designs below!

These blankets are really heirloom quality items. Adrienne will help you seam your finished squares to create a cozy blanket to keep for yourself or to give as a gift. I think we are on our fifth year for this wonderful class. It's the perfect time to join the blanket class community at Close Knit! Give us a call or stop in to sign up for the first session beginning in January.

Eye Candy

On this Monday morning, wishing I was back on my couch knitting away on this 1966 Blanket out of Cascade Magnum.

Advanced Blanket Class

Did you all see that Adrienne is teaching a new blanket class next year? The Advanced Blanket Class uses patterns from the Great North American Afghan book. 

This class meets once a month for all of 2019, and you'll learn a new square each month. Then you put it all together to make an amazing afghan by the end of the year!

As a class, you will all decide on the twelve squares you want to make. There are some really beautiful ones to chose from!

  

Adrienne can help you choose colors if you're feeling overwhelmed by all of your choices. This will be a really fun class, so give us a call or stop in to sign up. We will need to get colors ordered in December, so don't delay!

Eye Candy

Check out these adorable blankets worked up in Knitted Wit, the Bounce Blanket above and Lil' Austin's Blanket below. Both are squishy and cozy and fun to knit, especially in these gorgeous colors!

It's Time for Blankets!

Hey knitters! It's time to sign up for the 2018 Blanket Class!

In this class, you'll meet up once a month on Monday or Tuesday nights, depending on which sessions you choose. Each month, you'll work on a new square using an interesting stitch pattern that Adrienne will teach you. At the end of it all, she will show you how to put it all together into your new favorite blanket. And just like that, you have a blanket!

We are gearing up to order yarn for the class, which starts in January. This class is really fun, and your blanket will be awesome! If this sounds like fun to you, please give us a call or stop in to sign up and pre-order your yarn. You can use a solid color or mix it up with whatever you like. Sally needs to get the orders in soon, so please call or stop in this week.

Bounce Baby Blanket

We are not big kit people at the shop, but sometimes a really good one comes along. Like this Bounce Baby Blanket kit from Knitted Wit and tincanknits. 

These blankets kits use Knitted Wit Victory DK, a sproingy and bouncy machine-washable merino. We have a rainbow variegated kit called Happy Birthday. Look at all of those bright and fun colors!

We also have a more muted option for your hipster baby called So Hip it Hurts. Love that olive brown background colors. And all of the accent colors. This would be so cool!

They were difficult to photograph in the bags, and I was afraid I'd lose a wee skein if I started unpacking. So come on by and see the lovely colors for yourself!

P.S. There are several gorgeous examples of this knit up on Ravelry using these kits! Aghh, now I want one, too!

Eye Candy

Do you all know about our 2018 Blanket Class? It's a year-long extravaganza of blanket making that culminates in your own amazing finished treasure! Take a look at the class schedule and logistics and all the details of how to sign up. We will have Monday AND Tuesday night sessions to fit your busy lives. Come knit a blanket with Adrienne!

Eye Candy

New stuff is pouring in. This Noro Kureyon Air wants to be your next blanket.

Eye Candy

Pic borrowed from pattern Ravelry page.

I know fall is right around the corner. I would be a happy camper all wrapped up in this awesome blanket, Burgoo by Elizabeth Elliot. We have some good Harrisville options in the shop, including Highland and Watershed. Picking out the shades is half the fun!

Eye Candy

There's a basket of Blue Sky Fibers Organic Cotton in the shop. There's not a lot, but the colors are so good. You only need one of each shade to make a Purl Bee Chevron Baby Blanket. 

I've made two! The pattern is really fun, and the yarn is amazing. Need a baby gift? This could be your go-to.

Kureyon!

Three and a half years since we first talked about it on the blog, the Noromania Blanket is still a hot topic at Close Knit. This pattern is so easy and fun to knit. It's all garter stitch, two rows of one color and then two rows of another. It's also very adaptable to your personal taste. Some folks have made theirs with all neutral Kureyon, some use one unifying color and add in splashes of other shades, some use just two colorways throughout, and some crazy people just knit whatever pops out of the knitting basket next!

It seems like we talk with knitters daily who are anxiously awaiting our next shipment of Noro Kureyon. It's your lucky day! Our shelves are full of a lovely range of colors.

Come on in and get it while the selection is good. And if you're working on a blanket, consider adding some photos to the Ravelry pattern page to inspire other knitters!

Eye Candy

Free blanket pattern! This is a mash up of my 1966 Blanket and the Noromania blanket, worked up in Noro Kureyon Air. You'll need just six skeins and a US17 needle to make this awesome blanket.

Here's the free pattern. Enjoy, and stay warm!

1966 Blanket

It's a frosty morning here in Portland! And it looks like we might see even more snow in the next ten days. Let's knit a giant, warm blanket, shall we?

The 1966 Blanket is about as easy as it gets. You need some super bulky yarn (think two stitches per inch), a US19 24" circular needle, and 66 stitches.

I used five complimentary shades of yarn for an ombre effect. I knit every row, spit splicing the ends together to avoid the bulky weaving bits. My blanket ended up being about 40" wide and 54" long using the Borgo de' Pazzi Naturalia. You could easily made it wider or longer. Or both.

This is the warmest and coziest blanket I've ever experienced. It has such a nice weight to it, perfect for wrapping up on the couch or throwing over the bed covers for an extra woolly weight on these chilly nights.

You could use almost any super bulky for this. Cascade Magnum would be amazing. A friend is using Berroco Macro, and it's turning out just right.

This is some quick gratification. You could easily have this done by the weekend if you cast on tonight. The best part is that it will even keep you warm while you're knitting. Pop in the shop today, and you will be so toasty warm when (if) the snows hit!

1966 Blanket

by Leah Bandstra

Yarn: 5 skeins Naturalia (colors 0, 2, 3, 4, and 8)
Needles: US19 24" circular

Instructions:
CO 66 stitches.  
Knit every row, spit splicing the ends together.
Cast off with about 3 yards of yarn left.