All the patterns in this book will be/have been available as free patterns with yarn purchase through Spunky Eclectic.

November 2014 - through February 2015 I posted 4 individual patterns. Each month a different yarn from Spunky Eclectic (.com) was featured. Lace, cables and colorwork. We fit it all in there. We made thin and really thick hats. Men’s hat and women’s. Something for everyone.

I started with one hat and an idea. This blossomed into the idea of making 3 hats from 3 colors of Targhee Biggie. Then I decided I needed to have more options and more hats. Isn’t that the way it is. Hats are like potato chips for me. Once I get started, I’m going to eat the whole bag or knit all the yarn. I’ve ended up with a pattern much lik...

I love to knit socks and I want them to be unique and to have some sort of pattern but not one that really taxes me. These are my travel knitting and I like a good easy to remember but pretty pattern. This one ticks those boxes for me.

When building a terrarium there are several important kinds of layers. They mix and blend a little with some definitely stripey sections. I love building a new terrarium and putting in fun colored rocks of different sands and moss at the top. Much like this knit. What are your layers?

February 20 through May 20 (2019) - purchase one skein of Caterpillar II yarn from Spunky Eclectic and receive the pattern free.

This hat is one of those knits that came to me when I was standing there looking at a rack of yarn. I need a bulky hat but I need it to be a little bit “extra”. I need texture and I need it to just fit but it needs pompoms. One pompom in the back just bugs me when I drive anywhere but a pompom on each side is just about perfect in so many ways.

11-8-2017 - TEST KNIT

Once upon a time I created a mitten pattern for a book called “All New Homespun Handknit”. They were adorable with cute sheep on them and they’ve become a much loved pair of mittens of mine. The book is out of print and the mittens really should be available. I updated the pattern and yarn to create the mittens that you see here.

The original pattern was written many years ago. The original pattern is the Show Your Colors Shawl. There have always been a few things I wanted to change in the original free pattern. Those changes are reflected here in my Renovated pattern as well as a few new ones. Most notably is the color change. This is largest shawl I’ve made in a while...

This is my version of a simple slouchy hat. No fuss, no muss, nothing that takes an extraordinary amount of work to make it happen. This works especially well with a heavily variegated or striped yarn.

I saw a similar hat on Amazon recently. It seemed everything I searched turned up this hat. Well, it wasn’t wool and I wasn’t going to settle for a mass market hat. This is my take on the hat I couldn’t escape.

The Spunky Eclectic Mammoth yarn is so amazing and squishy, I just had to make this extraordinary cowl out of it. Retiarius were net-fighters in the Colosseum of ancient Rome. I’m not saying this cowl will make you a warrior but it’s so warm and snuggly that it just might make you feel better prepared to tackle a cold blustery day.

My husband asked me for a new hat, something different than the ones he already has. He wanted something a little warmer, but that would also look good without being too bulky. I immediately knew that our Fat Panda would be perfect for his hat, because it’s a warm, aran weight superwash yarn. Based on my husband’s criteria, I designed a rustic ...

I love gathers on a hat, but I didn’t want to design the same old standard gathered hat. Instead, I decided to combine two very different yarns to create a cute hat that is both stylish and warm, with its funky gathers and slouch. What more could a knitter ask for? I must confess that I finished the first hat a while ago and I couldn’t stop wea...

Qanik is one of the Inuit words for snow. If I’ve done my research right, it means “Snow in the air.” With the pile of snowballs around the main body of the hat and the snowflakes falling at the top, it seemed to be the perfect name for this design. I love colorwork -- not just as a design feature, but also for the way it makes a super warm hat...

This one is the first in the series of hats I’m working on for Spunky Eclectic’s yarns Winter 2014 series. This yarn works up so fast in the bulky yarn. It is really lovely and warm. I’m quite enamored with it.

I keep spinning progressions and don’t always have the right thing to knit them into. I wanted something that wasn’t plain but not too busy either so I devised this scarf to do just that. I made it this spring and I’m really looking forward to wearing it a ton this winter.

This is a ridiculously simple shawl. You can use this as a basis for making any weight though I devised specifically for this yarn. It’s simple. No nonsense. Just start knitting and within a weekend you’ll have a crazy squishy lovely shawl. With yarn like Caterpillar II you don’t need anything elaborate. The yarn does all the work for you.

I have had so many requests over the years to put this sweater pattern back out. It had disappeared when we closed down a website. Through the magic of web archive, I regained the pattern. I used it again and found it really needed some polishing. This was whipped up and thrown out there but is no where near the professional patterns I like to ...

I wanted a squishy, huggable, lovable cowl. One that would snuggle right up to my neck and face. One that I would never want to take off. Corinthian is that cowl. It’s not just the pattern though, this yarn is something special. Targhee is an American breed of sheep and its fiber is so squishy and sproingy that everything knit with it is made t...

Sometimes I want a cowl that’s long enough to wrap around a few times. That way, when it’s hot, I can let it hang loosely with no wraps and have a cute scarf accessory. When it’s really cold, I can wrap it around a few times to have extra layers near my face. This versatile cowl can be worn either way. It’s knit sideways so the length is easily...

I’ve always loved this little clover design. When my girls were wee, I used this clover design on all of their socks. I haven’t used it in a while, but it immediately popped into my head when I began to design this series of cowls. I have updated my original use of it with a terraced or stepped movement around the cowl. Paired with Spunky Eclec...

This is a great pattern knit from side to side. Much like a few other patterns out there, you will use 2 skeins of yarn (or one skein that you measured out in halves) and increase your shawl using one skein and then decrease using the second one.

I’ve always loved this lace pattern. In my Gram’s old pattern books it’s called a scroll pattern. To me it looks like my pile of bobbins in their storage basket. In this yarn it’s a lighter cowl that feelS luxurious thanks to the bamboo in it. It’s warm enough to take off the chill but pretty to wear just because.

When I created the Rumpus shawl and released it as a group project in the Spunky Eclectic Ravelry group, I had no idea how much fun it would be. I made several Rumpus shawls and am now on my way to making more using this sideways patterning.

Do you feel lucky? The name of this came from the horseshoe lace design and their folklore of bringing luck. I know growing up on a farm, we always had a horseshoe over all the exits. All that pass, may they have luck.

Do you feel lucky? The name of this came from the horseshoe lace design and their folklore of bringing luck. I know growing up on a farm, we always had a horseshoe over all the exits. All that pass, may they have luck.

Do you feel lucky? The name of this came from the horseshoe lace design and their folklore of bringing luck. I know growing up on a farm, we always had a horseshoe over all the exits. All that pass, may they have luck.

Do you feel lucky? The name of this came from the horseshoe lace design and their folklore of bringing luck. I know growing up on a farm, we always had a horseshoe over all the exits. All that pass, may they have luck.

Sands that shift and change in time. Stripes that ebb and flow with the wind. One day straight symmetrical stripes and the next will be jagged edges as if the wind couldn’t decide how it wanted to display the sands. There are 2 shoulder warmers for the shifting sands - one for the orderly winds, and one with a little more playful edging

This is a shawl with an incredible wingspan. 8 feet to be exact. It’s only 14 inches at the center point, this is just enough to give the back of your neck more warmth but not to be too bulky.

Once upon a time, I received a message from my friend David asking if 1100 yards in Worsted weight was enough to make myself a sweater. I replied “Yes…” A couple of weeks later this gorgeous red tweed handspun showed up on my doorstep. I was immediately giddy and cast on. I wanted the sweater to be available for everyone. So while it’s clearly ...

Yarn was spun and the project test knit by Sherie McManaman of Whimsey Knits..

This is more than a pattern. It’s a recipe to help you create so many shawls and get the results you want. It’s 18 pages long, chock full of charts, written directions, and pictures of each of the pattern sections. The last page is a piece of graph paper that you can use to help put together your work if you like to put it all together and make...

This is a breakout pattern based on the Rumpus Recipe Shawl pattern. I’ve only previously released this pattern in with a kit. I’ve decided to release it for those that might want it as a pattern by itself.

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2X, 3X)

Fiber Used: Mittens: “Adelaide” on Polwarth by Southern Cross Fibres

It received the name “8 ounces” because the idea was to use 4-8 ounces of handspun or “special yarn” with the Highland Chunky. You can see the Orange version was done in all Highland Chunky but there is information on how to do it with handspun as well.

The pattern uses super chunky thick and thin handspun but commercial super bulky yarns can be a good substitute.

Alternative yarn ideas

Available as a kit on the website. This pattern uses smaller thrumms placed more frequently. This distributes the inside wool more evenly and quickly reducing the chance of lumps.

We are doing this as a knit along spin along in the Spunky Group April-May 2009. Come join us.

I’ve been intrigued lately with sweaters that are knit side to side. I didn’t want just any simple side to side knit though. I wanted something unusual, something with flare. That’s where the holey cable design comes in. The holey cables also have the added bonus of showing off your arm tattoos while the lovely chunky wool keeps you warm.

The bright one is Small and the blue grey is the large size.

Amy says you can really use any weight of yarn for this fun shawl.