Last FOs of 2017

Hello lovely knitterly people. It’s been almost 2 months since I last reported here, which is unheard of! I swear my absence was with good reason. I have been non-stop writing and as a result my PhD thesis is now almost ready to be submitted. Besides writing I have also been on a job hunt, and I’m glad to say with success. As of May next year I will be working and living in Paris! It’s a bit stressful at the moment with all the thesis work and thinking I have to move country in mere months, but at the same time I AM SO EXCITED!

On the knitting front things have obviously been a lot slower. Which is not to say I haven’t been knitting at all, and I have two final FOs to show off for this year. The first is the Netherton Pullover, which was featured in the reissued version of the very first Pom Pom quarterly. With all the stress going on I was looking for a simple project with lots of stockinette and for once I didn’t feel like knitting socks (shocker!). This sweater was perfect for this purpose. As a bonus I knit this beauty up in only 2 weeks. So if you are looking for a quick gratification project, I can highly recommend this one. The yarn I used is from Debonnaire yarns (the Sprite DK base) in the pacific colourway.

And then there’s one more FO. I started this hat last February intending it as a gift. After finishing and washing it I realised it was way way too big and it was frogged, but never reknit. We had such a cold spell a couple of weeks ago that I was craving this hat badly, so the yarn got a second chance and was made into a pretty cable hat after all. The pattern is called Bough and I used Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the Long Johns colourway.

Now I know I have been MIA for awhile, but I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas period and better yet will have a wonderful NYE tonight. What are you looking forward to in 2018?

Nov 5

FO: Wilderflower sockblank socks

Pattern: Vanilla sock pattern
Yarn: The Mermaird yarnery sockblank in the Wildflowers colourway

Last week my second ever pair of socks made out of sockblanks came off the needles (the first pair were these super fun pineapple socks), and I still believe the concept is a lot of fun. Over the years I have definitely developed a knack for imagining what yarns will knit up like, but with sockblanks I am a complete novice. I imagined these particular socks to be a 100 times more busy than they actually are. In hindsight they could have easily been combined with a simple lace pattern.

I don’t regret knitting these into vanilla socks though, especially because it highlights how the two socks have a different colour emphasis. The colour in one sock reminds me of tropical sunrise sort of scenes, whereas the blue sock feels a bit more wintery.

I think last year I’ve been sticking fish lips kiss heels into basically all of my vanilla socks (mostly because I have the pattern memorised), but I decided to go with a good ole heel flap in this pair.

And as a rule, I always have a pair of simple socks on the needles, so a new cast on has already happened.

Oct 29

FO: Cosmic Wonder shawl

It’s been AGES since my last FO post (end of August to be exact), but mentally prepare yourself for an FO parade this month (with medium expectations please, it’ll just be a couple), starting today with the cosmic wonder shawl!!

Pattern: Cosmic Wonder shawl by Jenn Emerson
Yarn: Stranded Dyeworks Oasis in Blue Rinse, Ice Skating Party and Naive Watercolour

This is my first time working with Brioche stitch and I’m really sold. I’m guessing especially because this is a shawl, but it is so wonderfully squishy, which is a pleasure to wrap around your neck. In the pictures above you can see a side by side to see how the ‘dark’ and ‘light’ side look. I had no idea how blocking would affect the brioche sections, but it opened them right open like it would with lace knitting. This also meant that an already sizeable shawl turned truly massive.

If one of the colours is looking familiar, I actually made a pair of socks out of Naive Watercolour in the beginning of the year, and it was pretty interesting how differently it knits up with long repeats. I’m particularly loving it in the I-cord bind off.

The saddest part of this shawl is that it is a sample knit for Amy of Stranded Dyeworks, which means next week this will be on its way to the UK and I won’t get to snuggle up in it this winter. There’s only one solution I’m afraid, which is keeping the shawl for myself.. Ok that’s not the solution, that would be horribly mean. I’ll just have to make another one to keep for myself. The good thing is that this shawl eats yarn (almost 3 full skeins!) and will work in 100 different combinations. Which mean I can go on an epic stash dive and come up with new combinations of colours!

How are you progressing with your knitting this season?

Oct 8

Stitching on

Hello lovely people, I hope you are all doing well. I’ve been going through an exceptionally busy period, followed last week with a miserable week in which I was pretty sick. Altogether this left me with a feeling of having neglected my knitting, so I decided to take stock of where my projects are at.

Since my last blog post I actually cast on a new shawl. This is a sample knit for Amy, who is the mastermind behind Stranded Dyeworks. The pattern is called Cosmic Wonder, and it’s actually my first time working brioche stitch. And I totally get the hype now! It’s so simple, yet more interesting than stockinette or garter stitch. And the fabric it creates is. so. freaking. squishy!! Especially combined with the intermingled garter sections, this is making for one squishy, soft, and lovely shawl. It’s also very fun to have two different sides to the shawl. I’m now working (and nearly finishing) section 5 out of 6, so I guess I’ve been making more progress than I thought after all.

I’m also still working on my Ondawa sweater, for which I nearly finished the back panel. Meaning, I’ll be entering sleeve-land in the near future, which is getting me very excited. Because it actually means I’ll have a finished sweater soon! Yay!! I also received my copy of Woods – making stories in the mail last week, which is giving me inspiration for at least 3 new sweater cast ons. If you have not pre-ordered this book yet, I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Not only are the patterns stunning, but the photography and print of the book is gorgeous as well.

My least progress has been on my sock WIPs, but I did finish one vanilla sock that I’m making out of a Mermaid yarnery sockblank, and sock number 2 is already well under way.

How is your knitting going this season?

Sep 17

Autumn WIPs

I am LOVING the rainy & windy weather right now, and am indulging in all of the knitting. So far my amount of WIPs is still somewhat under control, but I’m also aware of the great effort I’m putting into not casting on 10 more projects.

I’m still happily working on my Ondawa sweater, wanting to finish it before winter truly arrives. By now I have finished the front panel and have cast on for the back. When I started this sweater I worried a bit about the many different cable charts involved and that this would be incredibly time consuming. But by the end of this panel I practically memorised the cable pattern, so it is a very relaxing project.

In an effort to knit more from all the knitting magazines I’ve been hoarding, I’ve cast on a pair of Elske socks from issue 12 of Pom Pom Quartely. It’s been years since I last knit a colourwork sock, and it’s taking me a little time to get used to it again. I’m using Onion nettle sock yarn, which is new to me, but so far I’m loving the colours and softness of the yarn.

Last week I received a delicious sock blank in the mail from the mermaid yarnery and couldn’t resist an immediate cast on. Aren’t the colours dreamy?

Lastly, another pair of socks (of course) that is also from a magazine. This is the Blomst pattern that was featured in issue 2 of Laine magazine. The yarn is a skein I picked up in Vienna earlier this year (I believe it was a handdyed skein from the Wollewien store), which is knitting up a bit more stripey than I was expecting. Still love it together with the pattern though!