As the granny square blanket I crocheted for Granddaughter F caused havoc in my right wrist, I waffled between weaving or knitting an afghan for Grandson O. I settled on knitting and started looking for ideas. I found them in Coburg, Oregon!
Yesterday my friend Joni (a quilter), invited me along to attend the annual Coburg Quilt Show. The quilts were gorgeous and inspiring to a knitter looking for afghan ideas! Take a peek at some of the beauties (in no particular order) on display!
Knitters and crocheters can be inspired by the art of quilters.
This lovely mitered square blanket on the left was knit by Sue Anne Kendall. (For those new to making mitered squares, check out her blog, Suna Knits, where she shares her method.) Given a border, it would resemble this quilt Joni and I saw at the quilt show, pictured at the right.
Quilters have long used the log cabin design in many delightful ways, utilizing from two to eight colors. Here’s the schematic shared by Staci Perry on Ravelry; it’s free. (Source). Just Trusting Myself used several colors in this large version on the right. Purl Bee
made log cabin washcloths. PDXKnitterati knit a three-colored baby blanket from this quilt pattern.
Then there’s the rail fence pattern, as beautifully captured in this quilt pictured at the right. It was another lovely piece that Joni and I saw at the Coburg Quilt Show. Red Heart yarns has a free rail fence crochet pattern as does Ravelry by C.L. Halvorson.
Another basic but beautiful geometric design quilt pattern is courthouse steps. Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne wrote
a blanket pattern for in Mason-Dixon Knitting. Here’s my quick sketch of a courthouse step quilt pattern with 13 modular pieces (1 square and 12 rectangles). Knitters and crocheters can borrow from quilters and, with their imagination let loose, create some amazing designs based on the courthouse step pattern. (See here for more details.)
Looking like quilt influenced is Square Deal from Wooly Thoughts. Wooly Thoughts has some amazing afghans to knit and crochet, and provide several patterns free that can be put together to emulate quilting patterns!
Of course, not all quilt patterns rely on 90 degree angles. Yet the adventurous knitters can again borrow from their quilting siblings. Compare the double wedding ring pattern i
n the quilt pictured to the right (on display at the Coburg Quilt Show) to the picture at the left from Interweave Knits Summer 2002. (I saved that pattern for years thinking I’d knit it for my daughter and her husband. I never have.) It’s also available at Interweave Knits.
For knitting and crocheting that create the illusion of curves long used by quilters, take a peek at the modular designs – both knit and crochet – of Wooly Thoughts. (See also its Ravelry page.) About Turn (left) consists of squares, each of which is divided into two different colored triangles. The shaping in Curve of Pursuit (right) is done by short rows. Each uses only garter stitch.
With a pencil, ruler and eraser, you can sketch out your own modular design. Colored pencils are always nice to see how you
might order your color scheme. Look how Christiane Burkhard arranged simple rectangles of varying sizes and a beautiful array of colors – a great way to use up yarn left from other projects!
Have you translated quilting designs into your knit or crochet work?
I have been obsessed with quilts lately and told myself I just need to knit a big blanket from scraps instead. I’m definitely checking out these links.
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The double wedding quilt pattern is really gorgeous, I agree! I knit a bunch of pieces to put together for my Grandson O’s afghan but then got sidelined by sock knitting. But I have a stack of pieces waiting for me – and I have until December so maybe I’m stalling. 🙂
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It’s always such a cool-looking idea, but I never have. I have a friend with a crocheted double wedding ring bedspread though. It’s gorgeous.
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Oh yes, indeed. And these amazing quilted blankets and wall hangings! Oh my!
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Thank you!
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Of course that’s fine (and flattering). Thanks for reading!
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Yes, those amazing quilt designs are inspiring. I have never quilted, though I admire it – especially as such a useful art and craft.
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No surprise to me! You’ve got an amazing eye for clothing-related arts, and I have yet to see pieced quilting in anything that goes beyond the prairie-homesteader look. 🙂 Years ago a colleague of mine got into pieced quilting but made them into clothes. Her technical construction skills were fine, but what she did with them … . (By the way, remember I finally pulled out my sewing machine and made my granddaughter the reversible summer dress? Two months later she has yet to wear it. I think future birthday gifts will consist of cash in a birthday card.)
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No! The weird world of quilts is not one I have entered, even tentatively. I just feel I already have way too many interests and demands.
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Attendees were asked to select their favorite three quilts. My top favorite was one influenced by the quilts of Gee’s Bend (in Alabama, US). Are you familiar with those?
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Wow! Aren’t the quilters just a most inspired and committed group. Some completely stunning work here. And I love the cross pollination too.
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As Kerry said, smiles. I love to marry knit and crochet but like you, am having a terrible time lately with my hands and wrists. It’s been a dog’s age since I quilted but there seems to be a mini-renaissance happening with it, perhaps time to go back to it. I love the interpretation of quilt designs to knit and crochet, I’ve only tried “log cabins” so far but these are wonderfully inspiring!
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I love the cross-pollination of different crafts–weaving to quilting, knitting to weaving, etc., etc. We have a lot to learn from each other!
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Great post, had plans to write up something on the same lines but as you have covered all bases thought I’d just re-blog..lol Hope that’s OK hun…find it here…https://wightstitches.wordpress.com/
Lynn x
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Reblogged this on Wightstitches … with bells on and commented:
Was in the middle of writing a post on ‘quilt inspiration’ when I stumbled across this…seemed churlish not to share an excellent and comprehensive piece instead…lol …Enjoy x
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