Sometimes magic is discovered while swatching. When the order of colors is slightly changed, the Carousel Check pattern from Barbara Walker’s A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns takes on a strong vertical appearance that is very different from the pattern as written.

My grandmother left me a hand-knit dress decorated with butterfly stitch and hand-sewn beads. I loved the design and wanted to recreate it but felt that all that hand sewing was fussy. I worked out a method to incorporate beads into the stitch itself. Honestly, it may be as fussy as hand sewing, but I will leave that decision to you.

Cassady is a cheerful little tunic or dress shown in size 18 months (yellow) and 2 years (purple). This piece will grow with your little girl, and she will have fun wearing this for school or playtime with leggings, jeans or tights. It is versatile, colorful, and so much fun to knit!

My inspiration is the ‘V’ shapes of migrating birds.

This pretty stitch is not seen in many designs, probably because it is not obvious how to work increases and decreases in pattern. This pattern describes a decrease that works well and a little hack to work the pattern in the round.

Who doesn’t enjoy smiles or diamonds?