Comfort-able Knitting and Crocheting

Recently I've been paging through the new Comfort Knitting & Crochet Afghans: More than 50 Beautiful, Affordable Designs featuring Berroco's Comfort yarns put together by Norah Gaughan, Margery Winter, and the Berroco Design Team. It's a beautiful book and I am always enthusiastic about collections of many attractive, well written patterns. It's a bonus that these afghans come in so many styles and sizes, and that they include patterns for both knitting and crochet.

When you add the color options for Berroco Comfort yarns, the book really contains an endless supply of afghan patterns to choose from. Despite the overwhelming number of possibilities, I did pick out a couple of my favorite knitting and crochet patterns to share - just to give you a peek at what is possible. (You can see ALL of the patterns in this book on the website here.)

My favorite knitted afghans are Bright Star:This is a quilt-like pattern worked in intarsia mitered squares and the photograph really shines for me because of all the bright colors incorporated in this sample.

... and Autumn Haze:This reminds me of leaf peeping season in the Northeast. It's similar to an afghan I made last year in that it's all worked in one piece. So that means no seaming, but not so portable. I love the colors in the photo, but I think this would look just as stunning in blues and greens with just a bit of yellow or purple.

My favorite crocheted afghans are... Ribbon: This is such an unusual texture because it's broomstick lace created using a US 35 knitting needle rather than a broomstick. It's a very appealing pattern for me and I love the feathered little leaflets repeated over the entire piece. This one is done in panels which are pieced together in different directions, varying the texture and pattern.

...Maine: This one is no surprise! I just finished up a double ended crochet class here at the shop and took a trip to Maine too! The bright colors and the contrasting shades that look like shadows catch my eye in this piece. I really like that the blocks are put together so that the ridges are oriented in different directions. Since this piece is created in squares, it would be a great travel piece.

... and Aran:I have a couple of friends who are going to be married at the end of the summer and I think I may just have to tackle this one as their gift. The twined cables are gorgeous! I've been practicing my "cabling without a needle" skills during our Cabling 101 class and I think I am ready for the challenge of a large scale project like this one. Wish me luck in finishing it up in time!

NOTE: Please be aware that there are just a few errata/corrections posted for this book here: