Catching Up: The Second Half of 2022

Knitting

Pyramis

I stitched this out of a merino/bamboo blend from Knit Picks because I wanted something with lots of drape — and I love the way it turned out.

Celestarium

I’ve had the Celestarium shawl on my list for at least ten years, recently stumbled across this delightful gradient from Knit Circus, and knew I’d found my yarn for this project.

Tweedy Kia Socks

I haven’t knit socks in a while! I needed something portable for a crafternoon, so I started another pair of Kia socks in some leftover navy tweed.

Garter Snake Mitts & Losing-At-Yarn-Chicken Hat

I waited a while to make something with these two yarns because I wanted to use up every yard of it — and turns out I sure did. These are the Garter Snake Mitts from Lavanya Patricella, and I attempted twice to make the matching hat but lost at yarn chicken twice! So I switched to a smaller hat pattern and finally succeeded.

Llawenydd

No pictures of this one (yet) because it was another spectacular loss at yarn chicken and I haven’t decided quite how to finish it. I cast on two extra repeats to make it a bigger shawl and then absolutely, very clearly ran out of yarn before all the decreases were done and had to cast off early. I think I’ll sew it together into a permanent-cowl after I block it.

Hats for Everyone!

Halfway through November, I remembered that I told my niblings and my father that I would make them hats, so I made three in a row. Lucky for me, they were all a hit.

Fingerless Mittens for Everyone!

I knit a coworker a pair of fingerless mittens out of my own handspun as a prize for a work contest I held, and I also knit my mom a pair of these Belyse fingerless mittens. It’s been a very Ysolda-pattern last few months of the year!

Spinning

Red-Brown Rambouillet

I got this fiber on a trip to the Artful Ewe in Port Gamble with a friend and her parents, and am really happy with the yarn I made. I used this to make my dad’s hat (see above).

Red and Grey Rambouillet

This is fiber from Koomasee and another attempt at a 3-ply — I’ll say successful, because I wanted it to be a little moodier than a 2-ply and I feel like that’s exactly what I got.

Chain-Plied Dirt and Sky

My first chain ply! This is Polwarth/Silk from Three Waters Farm and it spun up so beautifully — and now I’m a little obsessed with chain plying.

Green-Blue Rambouillet

Another braid from Koomasee, I spun this one on my EEW Nano while on a family vacation and they had a ton of fun watching me each morning.

Colorful Koomasee

Hmm, do you think I like fiber from Koomasee? This was a lovely spin.

Goth Rainbow

For this one, I used some mixed BFL from Alexandra the Art of Yarn that I got at Fiber Fusion. I did a fractal spin and my little goth heart is so happy.

Hot Pink Gradient

Another chain ply — when I saw this BFL from Caroline Dick Designs, I knew I wanted to keep the colors close together. I think this one will turn into a cowl.

Good Vibes

I got this when I backed Fully Spun’s kickstarter, and while I’m not typically a yellow person, I really like the way the colors spun up here.

Combo BFL

My first 4-ply!! This was a combo spin from Caroline Dick Designs, and I wanted to keep the colors distinct but also together, the same way the braid was. I really love the way it came out, but might not do too many 4-plies in the future.

Rocks and Sand

More fiber from Three Waters Farm, this time Rambouillet — also chain plied.

Golden Wensleydale

This was one of the first braids I got from Koomasee, and I finally decided I wanted to chain-ply it too.

Stitching

Benevolent Gay Goddess

This was a kit I picked up from Junebug and Darlin, and I stitched it when I felt like a quicker project than my Eternal Cryptid Stitchalong!

The Eternal Cryptid Stitchalong

I didn’t make much progress on this, but I’ll get there eventually!

Catching Up: The First Half of 2022

Knitting

All of the Lights

I LOVE this cardigan. It was fairly complex knit and had a lot of pieces I hadn’t done before (mostly pockets!), but I wore this very often after I finished it and now that it’s getting colder, I’m excited to start wearing it again.

Epernay

Another “I LOVE THIS” make — I snagged some Corrie Confetti from La Bien Aimée (grey + rainbow = everything I ever wanted), saw this sweater when it launched, and immediately knew that the two needed to go together. I didn’t get to wear this one as often before it got too warm, but again, I’m glad we’re getting closer to sweater weather.

The Pandemic Shawl

Back in March 2020, I started this shawl using lace weight yarn on teeny tiny needles because I tried tons of variations and this was my favorite. Well, two years later, I finally finished it! It came out exactly the way I wanted it to, and is absolutely worth the time spent — but boy am I never going to knit something this big on needles this small ever again.

Yet Another Musselburgh…

…this time in Valkyrie Fibers’ self-striping in Imladris, which is just the best combination of colors.

Larinda

This yarn+project combo had been on my mind for a while, and I finally got around to making it. I loved the original color of Larinda when Jen at Webster Street Knittery launched the pattern, and I may have one or two two-skein sets of toffee-colored yarn, so the hardest decision was choosing which toffee-colored yarn I should use. This perfect gingerbread color from Little Skein won, and like I already said, it’s perfect.

Brioche Tiles

Continuing my “Let’s knit with Little Skein yarn that I already have a project in mind for”, I pulled out another yarn combo I’d been saving and knit this brioche beauty. It’s exactly the low-contrast that I wanted.

My Brother’s Forth

Ysolda’s swatchless hats are pretty much my go-to when I need a hat, and I finally branched out with a not-Musselburgh for my brother, out of handspun from fiber he bought me with a note that said “make me something out of this”.

Spinning

I spun a LOT the first six months of the year, folks, so these will probably be a bit brief.

Iris

As discussed above, this was a request from my brother — some Polwarth from Created by Elsie B.

Koomasee OOAK Falkland

Every time I start a spin with fiber from Koomasee, I think “I will like this an ordinary amount” and every single time, I am enamored with it the entire time.

Koomasee Dusty Rose

Another Koomasee, also Falkland, also a joy to spin.

Moody Three-Ply

Something different! This is fiber from Caroline Dick Designs, and it was my first attempt at a three-ply, which I think succeeded admirably. The third ply makes it even moodier than I think a two-ply would have, which I really like.

A Frabjous Spin

This is an older braid I had, some BFL from Frabjous Fibers.

Lavanda

Merino from Malabrigo, that I spun up to eventually pair with the leftover Iris to make a shawl…someday.

Green-Grey Masham

Another braid from Caroline Dick, although I’m not sure I like spinning with Masham that much.

Blue Polwarth/Silk

This was a braid I got about a year ago when a friend and I took a trip to Port Gamble and I stopped by the Artful Ewe. As always, Polwarth is one of my favorite fibers to spin.

Alpaca/Silk

The first of a batch I got from Fiber Fusion NW - this is from Alexandra the Art of Yarn and turned out soooo soft. Definitely making something that sits close to the skin with this.

Mixed BFL

Another from Fiber Fusion NW, but this time from Island Fibers. I love the way the singles spun up marled and the extra-marled they got when plying.

Stitching

Summer Birb

I’ve got all four of these kits from Junebug and Darlin and stitched up this Summer Birb at the beginning of summer (which reminds me I should stitch up the fall version now that it’s officially Fall!)

Rainbow Linen Outfit

I haven’t sewn in a while, but I did make this matching outfit out of rainbow linen that I bought at JoAnn two years ago. The top is a Wiksten Shift Top, and the skirt is the Gypsum skirt, both patterns I’ve made before. I love how this turned out and I love wearing them both together and separately.

Catching Up: The Rest of 2021

Oh, hey there. It’s only been a month or so, right? Definitely still 2021. September…2021. That’s definitely right. Right? Anyway. Here are some things I’ve been working on for the last few months.

Knitting

‘Onipa’a by Leila Raven

I made this using yarn from Ocean By the Sea and it’s so soft and glowing and feels like I’m wrapped in a cocoon.

Truly Textural by Lesley Anne Robinson

Another project with my own handspun! This is handspun from Hipstrings via my brother, and I paired it with this great toffee color from La Bien Aimée x Mondim.

Hats for Friends

I have knit many Musselburghs, and two of them are for friends of mine who moved to Vermont. The first (left) uses self-striping from Valkyrie Fibers in Appa, and the second (right) is Mongolian Cashmere from ULA + LIA.

Classic Cozy Raglan (Light) by Jessie Maed Designs

This was a knitalong that a friend hosted while very kindly discussing fit adjustments and math with a bunch of us, and I’m so happy with how it turned out. This is the most delightful mermaid colorway from Serendipitous Wool.

Baby Cardigans

A childhood friend of mine had twins, and you know I love (almost) any excuse to knit small things, so of course I had to find some scraps and knit her two baby cardigans.

Left: Petit Peridot by Tricot Design MCL, right: Pinson by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne

Nourish

This is another from Little Skein Anne’s Beatrix Box (pattern by Dawn Landix), and I fell in love with this colorway and this pattern.

Spinning

Woodland Owls Like Toffee

This was a “Giant Spin” (aka 200g) using one braid of Woodland Owls by Elsie B and one braid of Toffee, both Rambouillet. I still haven’t decided what to make with it, but I really love the way the colors came together.

Blue Raspberry

Another Elsie B braid, this time Falkland Merino & Rose, and it was super soft and dreamy to spin up.

Color Wheel

It’s an Elsie B bonanza for 2021, I suppose, since this is another one of hers! (or: I ordered them all at the same time and then just pulled from the top of the pile, which happens a lot). I didn’t have a color-plan for this one — I just split it into halves and halves again and halves again, so I’m curious to see how it knits up vs. how it looks in the skein.

Stitching

Wildflower Bouquet

This was a Crafter’s Box collaboration with Junebug and Darlin and I, as usual, love all of Zoe’s patterns so of course I had to get this one too. Before this, I was a little intimidated by backstitching and considered it a necessary evil (like weaving in ends), but this backstitching was really enjoyable.

Read Romance

A smaller project (also Junebug and Darlin, obviously) that I will definitely need to make multiples of in different colors.

Stockings

I moved into a bigger place and decided to make myself a stocking to hang by the fireplace I now have. While I was at it, I made a couple of stockings for my friend and her cat, and even tried my hand at quilting names! They turned out legible, which was pretty much my only goal.

Aaaand that’s it for 2021, folks! I’ll be back, later, with some projects from 2022.

March & April Roundup

Yes, I realize we’re halfway through May, but it’s a good thing I do what I want!

March

I finally finished my Frog & Toad (presents for a friend’s little one!) and am just so enamored with how they turned out. I had to slow this one down a lot because it turns out knitting DK weight yarn on sock needles is super hard on the wrists! But maybe someday I’ll make a pair for myself. I think my favorite part of this combo is Frog’s sweater, and I will probably (definitely) make more.

I started playing with different colors in my spinning — I bought a few different colors of Malabrigo Nube on sale, and had fun thinking about what to do with them. I ended up doing four combinations, two each with matching bases, and maybe someday I’ll take a picture of all four, but here’s the first two, which I call “pink ‘n’ purple” (left) and “Razzleberry Pie” (right).

I knit a Sizzle Pop with two skeins of me-dyed indigo yarn, something that’s been in my queue for a while. This pattern was super easy to follow and was almost memorizable once I got into the swing of it. I’m already planning one or two more in different color combinations!

I cross-stitched this Spring Bird from Junebug and Darlin, and I can’t wait for the others to complete my set.

I also started my long-awaited project using the Avatar mini-skeins from Valkyrie Fibers, using a Mongolian yarn as the contrast, and settled on the Painting Honeycombs shawl. Not only does the color contrast, but the texture does too, and this is definitely one of my favorite makes in a while — I’m very happy with the combination of everything.

April

I knit up the most recent Beatrix Box from Little Skein in the Big Wool, the Agaric Shawl by knitboop. This was a totally addicting knit for me and I love love the color combination I picked. It hasn’t been blocked yet because, well, life happens, but I’ll get it done eventually.

I tried my hand at one million French knots in this stitch up of Junebug and Darlin’s Amethyst Floral kit (will I ever cross stitch something that Zoe didn’t design? Maybe, but not anytime soon). Very enjoyable, excellent colors, and now I just have to find a place in my shrinking wall space to hang it.

This one also isn’t going to have many pictures, but I knit a Plover cardigan by Jacqueline Cieslak using (what else?!) more yarn from Little Skein — this time, her Sugar Maple colorway from last year’s Rhinebeck. Folks, it is perfect and I should definitely block it soon, but it’s also not going to be super useful until fall, so I suppose I have some time.