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Pam Haschke of Halos of Hope

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Pam Haschke of Halos of Hope was the AWESOME Guest of the Day on the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Halos of Hope logoBird. Pamela Haschke is the Executive Director and Founder of Halos of Hope, now an eleven year cancer survivor. She has been on the program before, but it’s good to get caught up with this HERO and her organization.

Halos of Hope has just finished up their Stripe it Up campaign which suggests we use up the bits left over, especially after the holiday knitting, to make the unique and artistic hats that may make the day of someone who’s lost their hair as a side effect of chemo while fighting cancer. They also helped another organization by sending hats for kids to go with Joy Jars. [Read more…]

Knitting Ephemera by Carol Sulcoski

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Knitting Ephermera by Carol Sulcoski was today’s HOTTEST Topic and we love hearing the tidbits she collected on the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird.

Carol Sulcoski and Boris
Carol Sulcoski and the just as famous Boris.

Carol learned to knit by her mom in the seventies, came back to it as an adult to relieve stress and relax. When she left her job to be home with her kids, she began ‘noodling around’ and started a blog, writing articles and dying yarns. Even though she’s gone back to that work environment, she has connected with co-workers through yarn and knitting lunches making for fun at work, too! [Read more…]

Byars Baby Blanket

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The Byars Baby Blanket is named for my good friend Michele Byars. This is a free pattern is fun and uses join-as-you-go crochet to complete the blanket made with wonderful medallion motifs.

There is a video to help you with this project available here:

 Byars Baby Blanket

Byars Baby Blanket Free Crochet Pattern by Marly BirdFavorite and Queue it up on Ravelry 

Size

54″ / 137 cm from corner to corner

Materials

Yarn:  Red Heart, “With Love” (100% acrylic, 370 yds / 338m, 198g / 7 oz):
Tan #1308 (A) – 2 skeins
Chocolate #1321 (B) – 1 skein
Mallard #1623 (C) – 1 skein
Or colors of your choice
Hook: Size I-9 (5.5 mm) hook or size required for gauge
Notions: Removable stitch markers, yarn needle
Gauge: 1 Motif = 6″ / 15 cm from corner to corner

Notes

The body of the blanket is made up of 61 Motifs: 30 Motifs using color B for Rnds 1-3, and 31 Motifs using color C for Rnds 1-3. Always use color A for Rnd 4. Join these Motifs as you go following the written instructions, charts, and /or the companion video. Arrange them as shown in the assembly diagram, or in the order of your choice.
 Byars Baby Blanket_Free Crochet Afghan Pattern By Marly Bird

Abbreviations

beg –begin(ning)
ch –chain
dc –double crochet
rep –repeat
rnd –round
RS –right side
sc –single crochet
sk –skip
sl st –slip stitch
sp –space
st –stitch
WS –wrong side

Pattern

First Motif
With first color (either B or C), ch 6, join with a sl st in first ch to form a ring.
Rnd 1 (RS): Ch 1, 12 sc in ring, join with a sl st in first sc – 12 sc.
Rnd 2: Ch 7 (counts as 1 dc and 4 ch) and mark the 3rd of these ch, sk 1
sc, [dc in next sc, ch 4, sk 1 sc] 4 times, dc in next sc, ch 1, sk 1 sc, join with
dc in marked st, remove marker.
Rnd 3: Ch 5 (counts as 1 dc and 2 ch) and mark the 3rd of
these ch, (2 dc, hdc, sc) in first sp, (sc, hdc, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc, h
dc, sc) in each of next 5 ch-4 sps, (sc, hdc, dc) in same sp as beg sts, join with
sl st marked ch, remove marker – 6 petals.
Fasten off first color.
Rnd 4: Join A with sl st in any ch-2 sp, ch 4 (counts as t
r), 4 tr in same ch-2 sp, 9 tr in each of next 5 ch-2 sps, 4 tr in same ch-2 sp as beg sts, join with sl
st in marked ch, remove marker.
Fasten off.
Remaining 60 Motifs 
Work same as first Motif through Rnd 3, and fasten off first color.
Rnd 4 (joining rnd): Join A with sl st in any ch-2 sp, ch 4 (counts as tr), 4 tr in same ch-2 sp, * 3 tr in next ch-2 sp, work partial tr in same sp, stopping when there are 2 loops on hook, insert hook corresponding tr on already existing Motif, yo and draw through all loops on hook, join next 2 tr in the same manner, 3 tr in same sp; rep from * for each joined petal, 9 tr in each remaining ch-2 sp, 4 tr in same ch-2 sp as beg sts,
join with sl st in marked ch, remove marker.
Fasten off.
Edging
With RS facing, join C with sl st in any st along edge.
Rnd 1 (RS): Ch 1, sc in each st around edge, join with sl st in first sc.
Fasten off.
Finishing
Weave in all loose ends.

Assembly diagram

 

Byars Baby Blanket Layout

Charts

Byars Baby Blanket Chart by Marly Bird. Free PatternByars Symbol Key

Pictures

Byars Baby Blanket by Marly Bird. Free Crochet Pattern and Video TutorialByars Baby Blanket by Marly Bird. Free Pattern and Video Tutorial for join as you go Motifs.

From A Hundred Ravens Yarns, Kate Bachus

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From A Hundred Ravens Yarns, Kate Bachus visited the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird this morning.

Kate Bachus profile pic
Kate Bachus, photo by Rachel Henry

Kate Bachus says she has done everything, but working in game design and getting to know the only other woman, who was a knitter, said “Are you on Ravelry?” At that point, she knew how to knit. She got a dye kit from Knit Picks, and would take her skeins to knit night where they disappeared. Seeing them evaporate, gave her the inspiration to begin dying as a business and thus A Hundred Ravens was born.

Kate admits she likes knitting with her yarns but often with other wonderful yarns, seeing what she loves and … not so much. For projects, she likes smaller projects for her ‘short attention span’, like mitts and cowls. Currently, she’s working on a sweater with determined effort. [Read more…]

Knit Designer Natalie Servant

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Knit Designer Natalie Servant was today’s guest on the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird. Natalie says she is (in her own words) ‘a lifelong crafter. I’ve been knitting for decades and am an avid spinner. I work as a software tester and think that many of my work skills are also helpful to me as a designer. I’ve been actively designing knitting patterns for the last seven years. My patterns range from simple to complex and reflect my exploration of varied inspirations including color, techniques, and texture. A great deal of my patterns draw from my love of Art Nouveau and Art Deco era designs, objects, and architecture.’

Natalie Servant

Natalie says when she was involved in Brownies/Girl Guides, as a left-handed knitter, she really tested the patience of the ladies who were hoping to teach her. Even though she finished her scarf, she dropped it until high school, as an exchange student. She says she found some pastel colored yarn, used pencils with the ends taped off because she didn’t have needles, and knit to keep busy. Dropped it again until University, when she admired a sweater in the window and thought since she couldn’t afford it, she could knit it herself. She found books and worked on swatches until they looked like the book. Natalie didn’t make the sweater she saw in the window, but she did create an intarsia sweater for her (now) husband.

[Read more…]