St. Louis Block

My hope was to showcase the completed St. Louis block.

Can we just say that close counts in hand grenades, horseshoes and knitted afghan blocks?

Pattern for St. Louis Block (the first block in my "Ode to Quilting" afghan)

Recommended Knitting skill level: Easy

Yarn: Lion's Wool by Lion Brand (see my links to the right for Lion Brand's website) or substitute any wool yarn from your stash

Gauge: 4 stitches and 6 rows is 1 inch in Stocking Stitch
4 stitches and 6 rows is 1 inch in Moss Stitch
3.5 stitches and 6 rows is 1 inch in Seed Stitch

Stocking Stitch: Knit all stitches on RS (Right Side); Purl all stitches on WS (Wrong Side)

Moss Stitch: Row 1: (K1, P1) repeat to end on RS; Row 2: Knit the K stitches and Purl the P stitches. Row 3: (P1, K1) repeat to end. Row 4: Repeat Row 2.

Seed Stitch: (K1, P1) to end on all rows

Pattern: In Color A (shown in variegated yarn), cast on 10 stitches.
Row 1: Knit all stitches.
Row 2: K1, Purl to 2nd to the last stitch, K1.
Repeat these rows until 36 rows have been knit or until piece measures 6".
Bind off.
Make 4 such knitted strips in Color A.

In Color B (shown in Pink yarn), cast on 9 stitches.
All rows: K2, (P1, K1) twice, P1, K2.
Repeat this row until 36 rows have been knit or until piece measures 6 inches.
Bind off.
Make 4 such knitted strips in Color B.

In Color C (show in Yellow yarn), cast on 10 stitches.
Row 1: K2, (P1, K1) thrice, P1, K1.
Row 2: K1, (P1, K1) 4 times, K1.
Row 3: Repeat Row 2.
Row 4: Repeat Row 1.
Repeat these 4 rows until 36 rows have been knit or until piece measures 6 inches.
Bind off.
Make 4 such knitted strips in Color C.

Arrange the pieces like so.

Or in whatever color combination you prefer.

Seam the long sides together, giving care to keep the ends even. (Remember: safety pins are your friend!)

Repeat this step 3 more times until you have four sets of 3-strip blocks.

Then, arrange your sets so that they look like the first picture.

Seam the block together, one side at a time. Below is a pic of the right side of my St. Louis block, seamed together.

Once finished, you will have the first block of the "Ode to Quilting" afghan completed. I will post a new block every Monday. I would love to have you knit along with me! Be sure to share your pics.

On other news, I have uploaded several gardening pictures on my Flickr account (see my link to the left). Mainly, I took pics of my favorite plants plus my new tomatoes that I planted this weekend. Hopefully, this year will be better than last year. I planted twice as many tomato plants just to be sure I will have enough to can. The herbs haven't gone into the pots yet. Tonight is supposed to drop down to the 30s, so I'll hold off until later this week.

Well, I'm off to dig a hole in my garden. (I'm transplanting yet another plant). Although, I am fortunate to have inherited such a large garden and truly, I shouldn't complain. .... But, all the plants are crowded together and showing signs of strain from lack of space to lack of sun. I have a long list of plants that need to be moved or ripped out altogether. Hopefully, this year I will grab the biggest offenders and relocate them. Wish me luck!

Have a wonderful day!