Twice a year the Pasadena Bead and Design Show happens. And it’s happening this weekend. There are a number of glass bead makers and fusers selling at this show (me included). Art Clay Silver also has a room there, so for the locals of Southern California you can get a whole bunch of your jewelry making needs taken care of. There are other unique types of findings and beads and as the weekend progresses I’ll gather some of my favorites to share on Sunday’s posting. The show runs July 29- August 1 and is from 10-6 each day. It’s being held at the Pasadena Hilton but check their web site for more information. You can also see where they hold their other shows just in case you’re not in the Southern California area.
Have you read?
Knit a Swirly Square in Any Size You Like
This swirly square stitch knitting pattern from Studio Knit is a lot of fun, and it looks kind of complicated without being difficult at all.
The swirly nature of the block comes from regularly placed increases, as the pattern is worked in rounds from the center out. Switching between sections of all knit stitches and all purl stitches (which gives you stockinette and reverse stockinette respectively when worked in the round) adds to the off-kilter flair but makes it really easy to knit.
You can work it in a single color or change colors regularly. This isn’t really a change colors randomly kind of pattern just because it looks better if you work a full repeat in a single color, but you know there are no rules so you can do whatever you want.
You can also make it any size you like, and indeed use any yarn you want. This one is blanket sized and used five colors of worsted weight yarn, but you can use any yarn and corresponding needles (you’ll need double pointed needles and circulars of various lengths, depending on how big you want to make your square).
For a start, why not grab some cotton yarn and stitch up a swirly washcloth? You could still use a couple of colors if you want, jsut for fun.
Once you try that, you’ll probably want to make a bigger version, and you could definitely use more colors than Kristen did (or just one color if you prefer), you just need to make sure you change colors at the beginning of the pattern repeat to keep everything looking good.
If you’re ready to start (and I know I am!) you can grab the free pattern and check out a video to help you get started at Studio Knit.
[Photo: Studio Knit]