2023: Year of the Next in Line Blanket

The Next in Line Blanket KAL has launched on Instagram! For this yearlong KAL, we’re knitting up Next in Line throws or blankets at a leisurely pace. Worked entirely in garter stitch, Next in Line is a fun and easy project, perfect for cozy evenings catching up on your favorite movies or shows.

Along with the KAL, there’s a yearlong sale! Save 25% on Next in Line through December 31, 2023 at Ravelry, Etsy, and Payhip. The discount is automatic - no coupon code needed.

Next in Line uses four colors of worsted weight yarn. The pattern offers instructions for two sizes—a throw and a blanket. But you can choose to stop whenever your blanket is a size you like. (Of course, if you add logs, you’ll need more yarn.) It’s knit from the center outward, by picking up stitches for each new log along an edge of the previous log. This means there’s no seaming or joining at the end!

For my Next in Line, I’m using DK weight yarn and a US5 needle. The yarn is Purl Soho Good Wool in Winter Grass, Wild Mustard, Blue Moon, and Wild Heath. So far, so good—I’m on Log 5 and very happy with the color combinations. I’m using an interchangeable needle, so I can switch the tips to longer cords as the blanket grows.

I’ve been weaving in ends as I finish each log. Of course, you can leave them all to the end if you like! But I know I’d simply procrastinate about weaving in a gazillion ends, so for me it’s best to bite the bullet and weave in as I go.

If you’ve cast on—or plan to—be sure to share your yarn and/or progress pics over on Instagram. I plan to have some giveaways during the year, and will pick winners at random from photos posted with the hashtag #nextinlinekal.

I can’t believe January is nearly over, can you? I hope your 2023 knitting projects are off to a great start, and would love to see you in the KAL—join anytime!

Bonnie

LINKS

Next in Line - Ravelry
Next in Line - Payhip
Next in Line - Etsy
@bluepeninsula (Instagram)

Next in Line Sale and Knitalong

The start of a new year is a great time to think big—and cast on something big. Like a blanket! Join me in knitting a Next in Line blanket or throw during 2023. We’re having a yearlong KAL on Instagram.

Next in Line knitted blanket

Next in Line Blanket by Bonnie Sennott

We’re having a yearlong KAL on Instagram. Along with the KAL, there’s a yearlong sale! Save 25% on Next in Line through December 31, 2023 at Ravelry, Etsy, and Payhip. The discount is automatic - no coupon code needed.

A Next in Line KAL starts January 1. Cast on anytime during 2023 and post your photos on Instagram with the hashtags #nextinlineblanket and #nextinlinekal.

Next in Line WIPs are welcome, too! We’ll motivate each other to keep knitting - and celebrate as we finish. Every now and then there’ll be a giveaway, too. 

The first Next in Line I knit (the pattern sample in the photos) was a wedding gift. So I’m excited to knit another, in different colors, just for me. I plan to cast on my Next in Line on New Year’s Day. I’m just waiting for one more color of yarn to arrive. Fingers crossed it’s here in time!

Since the KAL lasts all year, there’s no rush to start or pressure to finish quickly. We can take our time and enjoy ourselves, knitting lots of soothing garter stitch through the seasons. Whether it’s a special gift (makes a great baby blanket!) or a colorful new addition for your home, Next in Line is a relaxing and easy knit. I hope you’ll join me in making a special blanket or throw during 2023.

Happy New Year—and happy knitting in 2023!

LINKS

Next in Line - Ravelry
Next in Line - Payhip
Next in Line - Etsy
@bluepeninsula (Instagram)

Pattern Sale, and a Spinalong/Knitalong

Where did October go? I can hardly believe it's already November!

I’m excited to announce a big sale, and something fun for spinners — a spinalong/knitalong (SAL/KAL) in the Three Waters Farm Ravelry group. You can cast on one of my patterns using TWF handspun in your stash, or you can start spinning some TWF fiber to use for a Blue Peninsula design. (Or both, I guess, if you’re ambitious or fast!)

I’m honored they’ve organized this event around my patterns, and to celebrate I’m holding a pattern sale. All Blue Peninsula patterns and ebooks are 20% off on Ravelry through Sunday, November 8, with the coupon code TWF20. If you don't use Ravelry, you can also get the discount with the same code in my Payhip store.

I'll be working on the Bluetta Scarf (upcoming pattern, below) that I'm knitting with fingering weight singles I spun using Three Waters Farm Rambouillet in the Blue Flourish colorway. Hope to see some of you over in the Three Waters Farm SAL/KAL!

Bluetta Progress.JPG

November’s going to be a busy month — while I work on finishing Bluetta, I’ve got two additional new patterns almost ready to release. Watch for the Next in Line Wrap in the next week or so, and later in November, a new sock pattern. More soon!

Coming soon: Next in Line Wrap

Coming soon: Next in Line Wrap

Anything Goes KAL and Pattern Sale

Summer is always a great time for a relaxed, low-pressure knitalong — the kind where you can pick up your project when you’ve got a free moment, let it be when you don’t. Last summer in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group, we knit socks.

This summer — Anything Goes! Hats, shawls, mitts, sweaters, scarves, cowls, socks: you can knit what you like in this leisurely two-month KAL starting Sunday, June 14.

AG KAL Mosaic_1.JPEG

Now through the start of the KAL, I’m having a sale on all patterns and ebooks in my Ravelry store. Everything is discounted 20%. You don’t need a coupon code — you’ll get the discount automatically at checkout. With this sale, I am raising funds for the Loveland Foundation, which provides therapy support for black women and girls. Ten percent of every pattern purchase through June 14 will be donated to the foundation. I hope you'll join me in supporting their important work.

The Anything Goes KAL starts Sunday, June 14 and ends Sunday, August 16. For extra incentive to finish your projects, there will be prizes (of course!) — I’ve ordered lovely yarn from indie dyers Kim Dyes Yarn and Seven Sisters Arts.

Based in Maine, Karen of Seven Sisters Arts creates gorgeous colorways inspired by nature. A weaver, spinner, knitter, and dyer, she’s been dyeing yarn since the 80s and knows color inside and out. Learn more here.

I discovered Kim Dyes Yarn while browsing the new BIPOC in Fiber website and was immediately smitten with her stunning variegated colorways. Based in Virginia, she has created a Kim Dyes Yarn Community Matters program to assist local yarn shops impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Learn more here.

For the Anything Goes KAL, you can knit whatever you’re in the mood for. Indulge yourself with a lacy summer shawl, make a cozy new pair of socks for fall, or even get started on your Rhinebeck sweater. We'll have fun chatting and sharing our progress all summer long. Hope you can join in!

Mosaic no text_2.JPG

Designs in Progress (and a Wee Sale)

Looking for a relaxed-pace knitalong to join as you shelter in place during the coronavirus pandemic? Mason-Dixon Knitting has announced they’re having an MDK March Mayhem KAL — and you can knit any pattern that’s been in any bracket — from 2017 to this year. That means you could join the KAL to knit Downy, which was in last year’s bracket.

To celebrate, the pattern is on sale in my Ravelry pattern store for the next two weeks. Save 25% on Downy with the coupon code MAYHEM. The sale ends midnight EST on April 1.

And don’t forget to vote in the MDK March Mayhem bracket! See this year’s 64 patterns here.

Downy Hat, by Bonnie Sennott

Downy Hat, by Bonnie Sennott

I am home for the time being — Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker has ordered nonessential businesses to close and has issued a stay-at-home advisory. I’m using this time to take a lot of online yoga classes, go outdoors for walks as much as possible, and work on upcoming patterns (of course!)

Falling Water Scarf in Progress_1.JPG

I’m rewriting and reformatting my Falling Water scarf pattern — the first I ever published, back in 2006 — and knitting up a new sample, using O-Wool’s O-Wash Fingering. The chart and pattern layout will be upgraded to my current pattern format, and the instructions will be expanded to include the original narrow scarf and a wider version, too.

Falling Water Scarf in Progress_2.JPG

There’s also a Falling Water Shawl coming — an asymmetrical triangular shawl similar in size and shape to my Notch Shawl. I’m knitting up the sample in O-Wool’s O-Wash Fingering in a very pretty color called Pasture Rose. I plan to release both Falling Water patterns at the same time — look for them later this spring.

Falling Water Shawl in Progress.JPG

I’ve also taken the opportunity of unexpected free time to start a log cabin wrap inspired by my Next in Line afghan, using fingering weight yarns in my stash. Clockwise from lower left, the yarns are Into the Whirled Pakokku Sock in Stark, String Theory Caper Sock in Canyon, Anzula Squishy in Hippo, Luna Grey Ariel in Goldenrod, and The Fawn and the Fox Otter in Let’s Stay Home (such an appropriate name!).

NIL Wrap_Yarns.JPG

I’m using the Next in Line pattern as a jumping off point, but modifying it quite a bit. What I envision is two log cabin ends with a striped section between them, joined by grafting (or three-needle bind-off, if you really hate grafting). I will likely put out a call for testers, once I’ve finished knitting (and writing) one half of the wrap. If you’d be interested, please watch the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group for an announcement.

NIL Progress_2.jpg
NIL Progress_3.jpg
NIL Progress_4.jpg

Every day brings new changes and challenges, and I’m so thankful to have knitting to focus on and keep my mind from going into full-on worrying mode. I’m not sure which of these new patterns will be ready first, but I’m definitely working on them every day.

How about you — are you doing more knitting? Have you joined a knitalong? Wherever you are, I hope you and your loved ones are well and safe. Keep calm — and knit on!

Birthday BOGO Sale

To celebrate my birthday, I’m having a BOGO sale! When you purchase any two Blue Peninsula patterns or ebooks, you’ll receive the lower-priced one FREE with the coupon code BIRTHDAY. 

Birthday Sale 2020.jpg

The sale is happening only in my Ravelry pattern store. It’s perfect for stocking up on patterns for your #makenine2020 knitting plans. And if you missed the Winter Oak Cowl introductory discount, you can pick up the pattern now, plus another one FREE, then hop over to the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group to join the KAL.

Have fun shopping! And thank you for being part of my birthday celebrations and for supporting my indie designs.

Sale ends midnight EST Tuesday, January 14.