Today's free patterns are Kass, a cabled pullover, and Karina, a simple pullover vest, both knit in Keltic™. These are straight forward, easy fall pieces that will get you ready for the coming cold weather.

Lately I have been experimenting with transforming old items into new objects. The "renew, reuse, recycle" mantra of the eco-conscious craftsperson has inspired me to take another look at three knitted items that could be transformed into something new.

My first attempt was Kazo, a voluminous beret from Booklet #268 Something about Stripes. Those of you who aren't hat people might prefer to see another use for this pattern. I stitched this leather handle from "Sunbelt Fasteners" to the beret to make this cute handbag.

When finishing the Polygon Bag from Booklet #265 Everything Felted. Norah forgot to remind me to sew the seam on each polygon before felting them. After removing the piece from my washing machine, I realized that I could salvage my work by lacing up the slit with faux leather cording. Then I tied on some Tagua Nut Pendants from "On the Surface." BTW, these buttons are harvested from a renewable source.

After I knit today's free sweater, Kass, I had an epiphany. I realized that I could easily transform this sweater into a shoulder bag by simply stitching together the "cast on" edges at the bottom of the front and back and joining the cast on edges of one sleeve to the cast on edge of the opposite. The cowl neck becomes a flap, like on a messenger bag. This bag will hold lots of stuff. It could be a knitting bag or even a carry on travel bag. I think I will line it for extra stability.

I hope that these ideas will trigger your imagination to invent new things from our Pattern Library. For me, this is the most fun thing about knitting. With our complete collection of Berroco Yarns available to me, I feel like a kid in a candy store.

Anna from cyberspace is knitting Manon from Norah Gaughan Volume 1. She wrote in to say: "I finished the center back triangle and began the piece that makes one section of the peplum. I have 6 too many stitches. Is there a correction to this pattern?"

Anna, thanks for writing in with this question. Yes, shortly after the book went to press we discovered an error. Whenever you are knitting one of our patterns, you should check for Pattern Corrections on our website. You can find our Pattern Corrections link at the bottom of every page. Here is the correction to the Manon pattern.

All the best,