Coasters in 316 Stitches - free pattern

I love this pattern for making coasters. They are very quick and easy to make. I made this set of four coasters all in one evening. The free pattern, Oval Table Lace Placemat and Coaster, is by Red Heart.

We needed a few new coasters for our breakfast nook table, and I thought this set made in Lily Sugar N Cream cotton in the Faded Denim colorway would look nice.

These coasters are made with a mere five rounds, and just for fun I counted up the total number of stitches as being 316 per coaster.

I also made these coasters back in 2012.

Handy little earbuds pocket - free pattern

Here's a super-quick to make little pocket to help keep your wired earbuds wrangled and hopefully less tangled.

I keep a set of wired earbuds near my chair in the living room so they are handy whenever I want to listen to a video on my laptop or phone while my husband is next to me watching TV. That way I can listen to my thing without competing with the sound coming from the TV.

But the problem with wired earbuds is: How do you keep them neatly coiled and out of the way when you aren't using them? I would wrap the wire around my hand into a neat roll, but after I set it down, the wire would inevitably come unrolled and turn into a tangled mess.

So eventually I thought if I crocheted a little pocket to tuck my rolled-up earbuds into, it would hold everything together until I was ready to use them again.

You could make this with just about any yarn or hook size, but I used a worsted weight cotton (Lily Sugar 'n Cream Ombres in the Faded Denim colorway) and a 6mm hook. If you use lighter or heavier yarn, you would need to alter the stitch count to make a pocket that's approximately 2.5 inches in diameter at its widest point.

Setup: I started with a magic circle and worked in a continuous spiral (no joining at the end of rounds).

Row 1: 6 SC in magic circle. Use a stitch marker to keep track of the beginning of the rounds and move up when you start each new round. (6 SC)

Row 2: 2 SC in each st around. (12 SC)

Row 3: 2 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st. Repeat around. (18 SC)

Row 4: 2 SC in next st, 1 SC in each of next 2 sts. Repeat around. (24 SC)

Rows 5-6: 1 SC in each st around. (24 SC)

Row 7: Dec SC over next 2 sts, 1 SC in each of next 2 sts. Repeat around. (18 SC)

Row 8: Dec SC over next 2 sts, 1 SC in next st. Repeat around. (12 SC)

Row 9: SC in each st around. (12 SC)

Finishing: Sl in next st. Use an invisible join technique and finish off. Weave in ends. Enjoy your handy little earbuds pocket. 

Olympic gold medalist knitting in public

Knitting and crochet are having another moment in the spotlight thanks to British diver Tom Daley being seen several times knitting in public on the sidelines during the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo. 

 

 

Daley and his diving partner Matty Lee sealed the deal to win Olympic gold in the 2020 men's synchronized 10-meter platform event with this spectacular final dive.

Also check out Daley's Instagram, where he showcases his amazing yarncrafting talents and also auctions off some of his creations to raise money to support LGBTQ+  youths in Great Britain.

True Blue Boomerang Scarf

This is such an easy, mindless knitting pattern, and it gives you a nice, long/shallow, asymmetrical triangle in garter stitch that curves nicely around your neck as either a scarf or a shawl (depending on how big you knit it to be). It's a simple two-row repeat that's very easy to remember.

This one ended up being about 58 inches long finished length from tip to tip. I didn't have a full skein of this yarn (Red Heart Super Saver Ombre in the True Blue colorway) available, so I just knitted until what I had was about to run out and then cast off. 

You can make this with any yarn weight at any gauge, just choose a needle size based on your yarn size that gives you a fabric with a nice drape (not too stiff). To begin, cast on 5 stitches. Row 1: kfb, kfb; knit to last 2 stitches; k2tog. Row 2: knit.

That's all there is to it! Just keep repeating those two rows until your scarf or shawl is as big as you'd like. I recommend using a stretchy cast off, such as: Knit the first stitch; slip the stitch you just knit back onto the left needle; then knit two stitches together through the back loop. Repeat by slipping that stitch back to the left needle and knitting two stitches together through the back loop until all stitches are cast off.

As you can see, I have knit this type of scarf a few times before:

Moon dreams