Some of my favorite projects are the ones that I just grab some needles or a hook and a skein or two of yarn. I  go with the flow, and let the project design itself. There are no plans, no ideas of a finished design, and sometimes no idea of what it will even be when all is said and done. Seriously, one turned into a knitted vase (but that's for another day).

Anna of Moon Tower Dye Works is one of my nearest and dearest, and out of the kindness of her heart, sends me yarn on occasion, just because. This yarn was one of those, the aptly titled ''Meme Queen" on her Io Sock Base, and its been just dying to become one of my free-for-all patterns! 

This slouchy knit hat is a fun break from routine that is a perfect way to test out yarn color theory, lesser-known increases, and top-down hat construction. Pair a neutral fingering yarn with two crazy mohair colors, or a vibrant fingering yarn with two subdued mohair selections and see just how much that lace weight add-in changes the color of your project!
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An ad-free paid for version of this pattern is available on Ravelry

​Gauge
22 sts by 33 rounds = 4” in stockinette 
(size 4 needles)

Notes
Change mohair color every 8 rows.

Stitch Guide
K- Knit
P- Purl
CDI- Center Double Increase; Knit into back and the front of the next stitch on left needle, then insert left needle behind vertical strand that runs between the two stitches just made and knit strand through its back loop.

There are a lot of new yarns that Red Heart has been rolling out lately. I've been excited for all of these super fun stash enhancements, and have had the treat of designing for a few that will be released later on (FYI- they are STUNNING!). One of their new yarns that I knew I wanted to design for was Loop-It, a chunky boucle yarn. The best thing about Loop-It is that there are no tools required! all you need is a skein of yarn and your fingers to create fun and cozy projects. Once I learned about this fun and innovative yarn, my mind began to dream up ways to work with it that would be interesting and complex enough that even seasoned crafters would like to have a go at this super easy to use yarn. If you have followed me for any amount of time I'm sure you can guess what technique I was drawn to... cables!

That is where the Cassicaly Cabled Throw was born. Click through the photo of the throw to grab the pattern for free on Red Heart and shop the yarn. After I finished the throw, I had a few skeins left and I couldn't have them go to waste! What's better than a blanket? A matching set! Look below to find the Classically Cabled Pillow pattern!

Classically Cabled Throw Pillow

Materials:

• 3 skeins Red Heart Loop-It
• ​16" by 16" pillow insert
• Scissors
• Yarn Needle

Notes:

• Loop-It patterns can easily be treated as traditional knitting patterns, the only difference being the "needles" are your fingers, and right side remains facing you throughout. As such, You will alternate between working from right to left, and left to right.
• Join yarn by working the last loop of  old skein, and first loop of new skein together as one loop. 

Abbreviations:

• Knit- (K) Pull loops of working yarn through the loops of previous row loops working from back to front. For tutorial, click here
• Purl- (P)  Pull loops from working yarn through loops of previous row from front to back. For tutorial, click here. 
• Cable Six Front- (C6F) Skip next 3 loops of previous row and hold in front of work, pull next 3 loops of working yarn through next 3 loops of previous row, then pull next 3 loops of working yarn through 3 skipped loops. For tutorial, see my new YouTube Video down below!

Pillow:
Count out 26 loops to use as cast on.
Row 1: Working from right to left, pull loops from working yarn through loops of cast on, [k2, p3, k6, p3] twice, k2. Do not turn work.
Row 2: Working from left to right, [k2, p3, k6, p3] twice, k2. Do not turn work.
Row 3: Repeat Row 1.
Row 4: Repeat Row 2.
Row 5: Working from right to left, [k2, p3, C6F, p3] twice, k2. Do not turn work.
Row 6: Repeat Row 2.
Rows 7-36: Repeat rows 1-6 five times. 
Rows 37-40: Repeat rows 1-4.
Bind off and weave in ends. For Bind off tutorial, click here.
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Finishing:
Take remaining yarn and cut loops to create a single smooth strand of yarn around 4 feet long. Fold fabric in half to form square pillowcase. With wrong sides together, whipstitch along two open edges of the pillow using smooth yarn and a yarn needle.  Insert pillow, finish seaming along remaining edge and weave in end.

Let’s go get a Slushie. Of all the teenage cult classics, Heathers remains one that stands above the rest. It was truly a trailblazer, far ahead of its time and still remains poignant and modern to this day. One of my favorite things that have happened in recent years is the revival Heathers had with its Off-Broadway musical namesake.  There has been many a film converted to the stage, with varying degrees of success (looking at you, Spiderman: Turn off the Dark). The Heathers, however, is what the other companies wish they could achieve. The newest adaptation of the series (I’m not even entertaining the notion that the TV show counts) is the best case I’ve seen of an adaptation capturing the essence of its source material. Honestly, I like it even more that the Mean Girls musical and you KNOW how I feel about Mean Girls.

One of my favorite songs from Heathers is Freeze Your Brain, a ballad performed by Mr. No-Name Kid himself; JD. In it, he explains his struggle to fit in, suppression of his feelings, and his safe place (any 7-11 gas station). That song is teen angst at its finest, and we’ve all felt like a JD at one point or another.

Enter the Mr. No-Name Kid Cable Scarf! If you’ve been following my designs for a while, you’ll know that I had this pattern sitting around for a while, patiently waiting for its time to shine. This pattern was made to highlight the endless possibilities of color working crochet cables! Two colors of cables is possible, and within reach! Even if you have never attempted cabling before, I would recommend this pattern. Especially because every technique used is available in video tutorials on my YouTube channel! Need to learn cables? What about colorworking cables? Or colorworking with two or more colors? I have you covered!

Also- Today (Thursday, Dec, 6th) and tomorrow, this pattern is available to you for FREE on Ravelry! Input the code TWENTY1 at checkout to grab you a copy! It’s my gift to you in celebration of my 21st birthday! What are you waiting for? Click the photo to snag the pattern now and get to hooking!

"If you've got no other choice, you know you can follow my voice through the dark turns and noise of this wicked little town."- Stephen Trask

It's time to release my newest cable pattern! The Wicked Little Town Cable Scarf is already a favorite of mine. I had the pleasure of meeting the guys over at Leading Men Fiber Arts at Stitches Midwest, and they kindly gifted me a couple skeins of their Show Stopper base to run wild with. This cable scarf was the result. 

​For this project I had a few distinct characteristics I wanted to play with. Firstly, I loved the fact that it was fingering weight, and knew that I could have a semi-complex pattern repeat that wouldn't make a finished scarf so wide or bulky. I also knew that I needed to make this pattern colorworked and as long as possible. In the winter, I love layering my scarves underneath my jackets for a pop of color and texture, so a long thin scarf would work perfectly for wrapping. After my swatches checked off every box on the qualification list, I was off!

How will you work your Wicked Little Towns Scarf? Will you be daring and try to make a fingering weigh version, or stick to worsted? And what about colorworking? I recommend you give it a try! For a colorworking cable tutorial, see my video here. I'll also be filming and publishing a follow up tutorial about working with two or more colored cables this Saturday for I Love Yarn Day! Until the video is released, pick up the pattern here and enter code TRASK for 20% off.