Knit Oak Leaf in Fall Colors {Iron Craft Challenge}

I used to participate in the Iron Craft Challenge over at Just Crafty Enough all the time, but then I got busy with the book and had no time for extra crafting, and then the book was done but I didn’t feel like making anything or wasn’t sure what to make.

But this week it just happened that the prompt and inspiration were there at the same time, in the form of this oak leaf knitting pattern from Xandy Peters.

It’s a really cool pattern because you cast on a whole bunch of stitches (101, to be exact) and work it down to just three in the span of three rows.

This takes a lot of decreases upon decreases (including some knit 5 togethers, which are kind of interesting) but it’s still a really quick and cute project.

I didn’t do it perfectly, which led me to note on Instagram that it looked more like an amoeba than a leaf, but blocking helped a bit.

I made mine using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cardinal Twist, which is red and gray and certainly fulfills the challenge requirement of using the colors of fall.

I really liked making this one little thing, though a whole bunch of them in a lot of different colors would be fun, too. They’d be great for a bunting or sewn onto a table runner, for instance.

The girl got ahold of it and thought it would make a nice bracelet, which was accomplished by tying the cast on and bind off ends together.

I think she’s right.

I love craft challenges because they give me something outside of my normal work to do, which I think is a great way to get back into creativity in a way I haven’t been for a while.

Do you do challenges like this? I’d love to hear what helps you get or retain a creative spark.