Crazy for Eights Afghan Block (Charity Knit-a-Long)

So I just started knitting one day and came out with this. I have knit it three times now in an attempt to get it perfect. The first two were just the tiniest bit wonky and believe me when I say I don't want to pass wonky on to you. 

I might have just skipped writing this one up altogether since it gave me so much trouble, but I was seen knitting it at Knit Night and Monday Morning Knitters and there was an absolute clamor for this pattern. So I persevered. For you. Please, knit it in good health and when you come to the blanket sewing up party, don't laugh at my wonky blocks. Thank you. **

Crazy for Eights Afghan Block

You'll need: US Size 7 needles or size needed to achieve gauge of 5 sts = 1 inch; Worsted weight acrylic yarn. Finished size should be 7” x 9”.

Cast on 32 stitches. Knit 6 rows for border, then begin pattern

Crazy for Eights Afghan Block

You'll need: US Size 7 needles or size needed to achieve gauge of 5 sts = 1 inch; Worsted weight acrylic yarn. Finished size should be 7” x 9”.
CO 32 stitches

Knit 6 rows for border, then begin pattern
Row 1 (and all other RS rows): Knit all stitches
Rows 2, 4, 6: K6, p20, k6
Rows 8, 10, 12, 14, 16: k6, p4, k12, p4, k6
Rows 18, 20, 22: k6, p4, k4, p4, k4, p4, k6
Rows  24, 26, 28, 30: k6, p4, k12, p4, k6
Rows 32, 34, 36: k6, p4, k4, p4, k4, p4, k6
Rows 38, 40, 42, 44: k6, p4, k12, p4, k6
Rows 46, 48, 50: K6, p20, k6
Knit 6 rows for border. Bind off all stitches. Weave in ends.

**All trouble it was giving me has been resolved. I finally got it to come out at 9 inches.

"May the 4th Be With You" Sale

Today only in the Ravelry store, save 20% off any pattern using the coupon code "HANSOLO" at checkout. Sure, I could have used the code "LUKESKYWALKER" or "C3PO" or "VADER" but really, for those of you women in my generation who saw the first three Star Wars movies as they were released, was there any character with more star power than Han Solo?  Remember these awesome Han Solo lines?

"Look, Your Worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person: me."

"That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookies are known to do that."

"Bring 'em on, I'd prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around."

Tough guy, all the way. So, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, a sale! Enter the code "HANSOLO" at checkout or I'll send a Wookie looking for ya.

Birthday Giveaway: And the winner is...

Today's the day you've all been waiting for! The day we draw the winning name from all the entries received during the month of April on our #knitoasisbday giveaway.

Thank you so much to all who participated! I loved seeing all the afghan blocks come in to the studio here, piling up to make some amazing blankets for the kids at Carolina Youth Development Center! And I'm so excited that our winner will be getting all these awesome prizes. Thank you again to our lovely sponsors, LYDIA Yarn and C-Bags for your donations!

So without further ado, here are my wonderful hubby and daughter Josie (who is teaching an exciting lace knitting class on May 23!), drawing the winning name:

Connecting with indigo

There is something about the colors that come out of an indigo vat. 

What starts out a green that is sometimes shockingly bright then transitions as the dye oxidizes to blues.  Depending on the fiber, the vat strength, the length of time (and probably the air temperature), the blues vary from a murky, muddy puddle sort of faded blue jeans shade, to rich, dark, strong blues--not quite navy.  No, in my opinion, the darker shades are never really navy.  They are always, always indigo.  Dark indigo, sure, but indigo.  Indigo at its core.

Indigo dyeing has been around so long and used by so many in so many different places (Egypt, Israel, Africa, Palestine, Chile, Peru, China, Japan, Mali, India, Europe, and America) that it is impossible for me to pull a hank of yarn out of a dye vat and not feel connected.

Indigo dyeing connects me to the past as well as to the present and future, both here and in other parts of the world. I think about people living lives that bear little resemblance to my own, but who also dye with indigo thousands of miles from my backyard. As I stand here in my yard, where once thrived a Colonial indigo plantation, I also think about the people who grew and processed the indigo crop in the 1700's for the family who owned the land. What would they have thought about me putting my thoughts about indigo on a blog, on a website, on the internet, that would then get read by people all over the world, on their phones? Crazy, when you think about it.

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Last week I fired up the indigo vats for the first dyeing of 2015, accompanied by other seekers of indigo blue. We are all from different parts of the world, in different seasons of life, with different daily lives, different motivations, different past experiences, and different expectations for our indigo journeys.

Indigo was the common point of connection for us that morning. We shared the vats as well as the excitement and awe of the colors that came out of the vats. We shared the appreciation for the story of Eliza Lucas Pinckney and her successful indigo production here in the Charleston area. We shared the desire to try just one more technique in the vats, creating fabrics that glowed with the fire of natural indigo. 

Like knitting, indigo can bring people together across cultures and eras and connect them in ways that bring beauty to a world that can always use just a little more beauty. 

If you or someone you know would benefit from adding the beauty of indigo to life, be sure to check out my Indigo page.