Freebie Pattern: My Heart in My Hand

It is that time of year again. February. February is my favourite month of the year. It is short; the days are getting longer; Valentine's Day means presents; my birthday means even more presents. This year we also have the Winter Olympics in Sochi to make the month seem even more colourful. So I thought I'd post a little free pattern for all your Valentine/birthday/Sochi needs.

Fuelled by coffee and my love of late 1980s synthpop, I give you..my heart in my hand. It hasn't been tech-edited, it's nothing earth-shattering, and you won't get a fancy PDF (or a glossary). On the other hand, it uses up tiny amounts of yarn, it is very quick to knit and it is versatile. I am going to wear my heart in my hand as a brooch - but you can turn it into bunting, use it as a bookmark, stick it on a card or (if you make two) a pin cushion. The last bit is particularly useful if you want to practise voodoo on an ex!

(Why am I mentioning Sochi? Why am I doing a rainbow heart? What does it all mean?)

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MY HEART IN MY HAND

Materials:

sportweight/light DK yarn (shown using Rowan Felted Tweed) - 10 yrds max 3.25mm needles tapestry needle for weaving in ends

gauge is not important but aim for roughly 25 sts over 4 inches, if you must.

(Rainbow version uses the same pattern as below but changes colour every fourth row. I used shades 150, 154, 161, 167, 181 and 186 - take care when you weave in ends)

Instructions: CO 2 sts

Row 1: Knit Row 2: Kfb into both sts. 4 sts Row 3: Knit (slipping first st of this row makes for a prettier edge)

Rep rows 2 and 3 another 6 times. 16 sts

Knit 4 rows

Row 19: k8, turn w rem sts put on waste yarn (or kept unworked on needle) Row 20: ssk, k4, k2tog. 6 sts Row 21: Knit Row 22: ssk, k2, k2tog. 4 sts Row 23: ssk, k2tog. 2 sts Row 24: k2tog and pull yarn through st.

Pick up rem 8 sts and rep rows 19-24.

Weave in ends. You can make the heart shape even more prominent if you use the end of yarn from where you rejoined yarn at the top to pull in the centre of the heart a tiny bit.

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If you really, really enjoy this pattern, please consider donating to your local LGBT charity.  Spread the love. Love is never a crime.

Quick Freebie: Kirkja

My Kirkja shawl pattern is currently available for free on Ravelry. Offer expired, sorry! As you may be aware, local boy Andy Murray took home the Wimbledon men's title yesterday. He is the first British male to do so for 77 years (though the marvellous Virginia Wade won the women's title in 1977). Scotland has gone a bit crazy as a result - and I have lived in Glasgow so long that I feel this strange sense of pride too. It's rather odd but who am I to quibble with a sense of belonging?

Before the match I decided that if Andy Murray defied the odds, I'd offer one of my paid patterns for free. And because Andy won, you can now use the code comeonandy to get Kirkja for free until 6pm GMT tonight.

Almost 1250 people have snapped up Kirkja in the last 19 hours. Do join them! Maybe even dip into the Karie Bookish group and show off your Kirkja shawl once you've knitted it!

An aside: I like this photo a lot. I didn't use it as a pattern photo for various reasons, but I like it a great deal. It looks like me - and I cannot begin to tell you how much that means to me. Modelling my patterns is one of my least favourite activities. I feel very conscious of the way I look and how far I am from the standard 'model look'. Ravelry is a great place for showcasing different body types, but I still dislike the way I look in photos. I note all my flaws and imperfections before I look at how the knitting looks. It feels awful, just awful. So, it's a big thing for me to say that I like a photo.

That was a bit of an aside!

The rest of today will be used on sprucing up the website (have you noticed the new layout?) and on getting the next Doggerland pattern sorted. If you are one of the Kirkja downloaders, do stick around. Plenty of exciting things happening!