I really shouldn’t. I have plenty of other projects on my needles. I have a sweater to finish this week. And shawls. But, it’s such a pretty pattern. I have the perfect yarn in my stash. I really shouldn’t. Cashmere. I can’t help myself.
Cast on.
[That’s The Plucky Knitters new Silver Spoons pattern in Bedrock Cashmere Aran]
And, don’t forget to look back through this week’s earlier posts for the KAL yarn giveaway. I’m traveling this week, so it will stay open through Friday.
Has this ever happened to you? You look around for what to knit next, and suddenly, one designer pops out at you. You may have knit a design or two of theirs before, but suddenly, every single pattern they've ever written is calling your name.
That happened to me this morning with Melissa Schaschwary of Dandelion Girl Designs. I've knit her Nevermind hat. In fact, I liked the pattern so much, I knit it again after finishing the first one. [The Plucky Knitter's Bulky Snug is THE BEST yarn for this hat, in case you're looking for a recommendation.] I think I'm going to be spending the months of February and March with her at this rate. I've managed to get it down to the following patterns and am narrowly resisting the urge to cast on all the things.
1-Timber Bay Hat. I've got a skein of the Plucky Knitter's Scholar that is just crying out to be knit into this hat. It looks cozy. And possibly like it wouldn't even leave you with hat head.
2. Puddle Duck. Oh my heavens, it is so cute! And, I've been looking for just the right sweater to knit for my daughter's goddaughter. The only reason I haven't cast on immediately is that I'm torn between using some girly variegated Elliebelly yarn I have on hand or dyeing a solid. I've got some lovely undyed Shepard's Farm worsted that I could either use in its natural state or dye up in a pretty, soft color. I can't wait to knit this one! I think she's going to need a big, tulle ballerina skirt to wear with it.
3. Sea Stones. I really, really love the comfort of Eileen Fisher's clothes, and this long vest/cardigan will be a perfect addition to the pieces I have. I've got four skeins of the Plucky Knitter's brand new merino/linen blend yarn on the way. It wants to be a Sea Stones. I know it does. I'm going to swatch the minute it gets here. It's too perfect. And look at the pockets! Melissa's clever details are amazing.
© Melissa Schaschwary
4. Clam Digger. It has stripes. It's knit at a dk weight (my favorite). I've been wanting to find a pattern where I could use my Oryx and Crake colorways together, although I'm concerned the gray and gold may be a little bit too strong in this pattern, which is meant for a little girl. I've also got some fantastic handspun from my cousin Ann that could be the right main color for this. Picking out the colors is going to be almost as fun as knitting it. I love stripes!
5. Heathered is going to make the sweetest cardigan for my Mom. She's hard to find gifts for, but loves hand knit items. Mom, if you're reading, stop now please.
It would be positively amazing in this Blue Sky Alpaca silk blend I happen to have in my stash, but it also looks like it would be divine in Plucky sport weight cashmere. Decisions, decisions. In a sport weight, this will be the perfect travel project to carry around with me.
6. The Dandelion Bib. How cute is this? And such a nice change up from gifting baby sweaters and blankets. I love to embroider, but rarely do it. The idea of doing a set of knit and embroidered bibs makes me incredibly happy.
© Melissa Schaschwary
How adorable. The pattern is cute too.
This pattern looks like a very happy way to spend a lazy weekend day. It's going to require a soft, but easily washed yarn, so perhaps a cotton or maybe a superwash. At just 42 yards of yarn, this one is perfect for using up leftovers. And lucky me, a dear friend is pregnant with her first little girl.
Melissa was nice enough to let me use her patterns and not treat me like a crazy stalker. Because it's not enough that her patterns are well written and crazy adorable. She's also incredibly nice. I'm planning on having a fun time hanging out with her patterns for the next couple of months!
I'm a little bit frustrated with my swatching efforts, so before I get to that, two random things to start your morning.
1. I just discovered the NYT's Only Ice Cream Recipe You'll Ever Need, and it is a keeper! Even better, they have a chart of the best way to do add ins. I wanted to make basil strawberry ice cream, and it would never have occurred to me to whiz up the sugar and the basil in the Cuisinart before adding it to my custard mixture. Genius!
2. I just discovered that my Mom, in her late 70's, is now on Instagram. How do things like that happen? Will I be this cool when I'm her age? (Probably not. I'm not that cool now.)
3. Swatching. It's a little bit perplexing to try and count all those mashed in stitches when you are swatching for a cabled pattern. I do like how my swatch has improved with proper care, though! Here it is as knit, all scrumbled up together. This is for one of the new sweaters in Rowan 58, Glacier.
Here it is after blocking, all relaxed and happy.
The best I've been able to figure is to put a gauge over the swatch, pin its edges, and then stretch the swatch apart to count stitches. And, doing this makes me happy, because I am good. Pattern gauge is 20.5 st = 4' and I'm getting 20 stitches to 4", so I think I can work with that. Row gauge is good as well. True confessions: A lot of the knitters I know are amazing and really good at this stuff. I'm not, but I'm okay with that. I'm a working Mom of four. I give myself permission to do my best and enjoy the process of knitting even when I flame out. But, I adore this yarn (Snug Bulky from The Plucky Knitter) and I have high hopes for this project. I WANT this sweater.
Although I want to knit some on the last square this weekend (and I did sneak in the cast on of a new project I'll show you when it's a little further along late last night), I'm also going to cast on Glacier and get to work on the first piece next week. I can't wait!
I'm violating the rule of "one project off the needles means one new one on" this week. My Frostline is finished, but I've started two more projects.
First, a Zissou Hat. It's for the Judge for Father's Day. Ssssh. Don't tell him (I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog). I've got some lovely red Plucky Knitter Bello Worsted yarn and I've played with the math-fu to convert a pattern meant for a much finer weight cotton yarn. This probably means d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r, but I'm game. When finished, it will (hopefully) look something like this.
© Lalla Pohjanpalo
Reminder: If you haven't seen Wes Anderson's movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, DO! Just drop whatever you are doing right now (take along your knitting) and get it on Netflix or Amazon.
Second new project, and still in the swatching stage, is a (hopefully) quick tank top I want to knit for the ballerina before she goes off to her summer program.
© Quince & Co.
The yarn is a fascinating Linen tape yarn from Quince, one of my favorite yarn makers and definitely my favorite for all things linen. This will require me to sew pieces together with mattress stitch, which will likely take more time than all of the knitting combined. I'm already trotting out my mantra: I love finishing up my knitting projects. Because really, like most knitters, I'm a bit adverse to finishing. But, having managed to weave in untold ends on my Frostline, I think it was something like 24 ends, this should be cake.
As may of you know, in April, we have a knitalong on the Elliebelly Ravelry Group. Adventurous April is a chance to knit with old friends, make new ones, and end up with a fantastic finished knitted object, because with the support of this group, you can get all the help you need with your knitting.
We knit for the fun of it and have very few rules. Our start date is April 1, but you can and are encouraged to gather your yarn and needles, review your pattern closely, and swatch before then. You can knit with any yarn you like, and since Elliebelly is no longer sold, there will be a few giveaways to make sure those who would like to try it have that chance (see more below). We have an Adventurous April Chat thread here if you have any questions about joining, the KAL, the patterns, or, if you just want to introduce yourself.
This year, the KAL has three categories. First, there will be a group knitting Antarktis, Janina Kallio's clever one-skein shawl pattern, which works in any weight from fingering up to a light worsted (I'm thinking about you, Plucky Primo Worsted). The sign up thread is here.
Next up is the stuffed animal/monster thread. We started out talking about my March Monkey, everyone shared their favorite toy pattern, and in the anarchy that always characterizes our KAL, we've decided to have a "knit the stuffed toy of your choice" group. The sign up thread is here and it includes lots of ideas. I'm thinking about the Wild Thing, but am equally tempted by C is for Cat.
Our last KAL sign up option is for people who want to try a new technique, but with a friendly, supportive group around them. I have always sworn I would never attempt steeks, but with Adventurous April, you never know. Any technique of your choice is the order of business here — a new cast on, first attempts at lace, beading, magic loop — challenge yourself and have an adventure. Sign ups are here.
To get you started with KAL yarn, we've got a little giveaway. First up is yarn for Antarktis. Sign up for the KAL, and then come post here in the replies. We'll have one drawing Sunday night and then two more on Friday the 20th. Winners will get their choice from among the new colorways I've been experimenting with — I can't wait to see some of them knit up! (And yes, the deep blue colorway, which is a new one, Homemade Dress, is dyed on the return of Elliebelly's Angel sock yarn if you're after some luxury.) In addition to those pictured above, there is a glazed gray colorway called Crake, and an edgy gold called Oryx. If you need a little encouragement to take the plunge and sign up, I hope this will do it.
In addition to this giveaway, there will be at least one more with yarn for the stuffed animal category. Come along and adventure knit with us!
Do you remember the 2014 Malabrigo March Knitalong? I amassed stash, cast on all the things, finished two cowls, a hat, and a sweater, went to Iceland, knit a lot while hiking, and finished one last hat just in time for Ellie to wear it home. All in all, it was a wonderful month. Knitting in Iceland! Knitting with Malabrigo!
This year, my goals are a bit more modest. I have two projects to knit and a longer term project to cast on and get started with, and then finish up later this year.
First up, Blue Mittens. Because it's surprisingly cold for Alabama in February. I plan to cast these on right at midnight on March 1 and have them knit up in time to wear for the Selma march anniversary the following weekend, because I hate having cold fingers and this bulky Malabrigo Rasta yarn is an amazing chill chaser.
Next up, Monkey Jacobus. He's going to be my first knitted stuffed animal. He's going to be adorable – you're just going to have to trust me on this one. And, I get to learn a new technique, intarsia in the round, along the way.
My last project is Hannah Fettig's Featherweight Sweater. Yes, that's a sweater knit in a fingering yarn, Malabrigo's new Mechita. I love their single-ply yarns, and I fell hard for Mechita in the Diana colorway. I'm willing to accept that this one will take a while. I'm calling it "I want to go to Marz," a goofy homage to the fact that Marz means March in Icelandic and our tour guide in Iceland played the John Grant song of this name over and over while we were in Iceland last March.
I'm looking forward to this year's Malabrigo March KAL festivities, which are hosted here on Ravelry.
Sometimes that mood hits! The perfect new pattern comes along. Or an irresistible yarn. That happened to me this week — times two. Both the perfect pattern and the perfect yarn came along. So despite an impressive array of works in progress, I'm swatching for two new sweaters.
First up is Isabell Kraemer's Criss Cross Sweater. This one went into my favorites as soon as I saw it. But when I swatched with Plucky Scholar for a vest (it wasn't going to happen, the miles of twisted rib would have killed me) and realized my gauge was spot on for Criss Cross, I knew it was meant to be. I'm in love with this Bohemian Blue colorway, and the minute I opened the yarn two days ago, I knew it had to be knit with right away.
Then there was Katya Gorbacheva's Winter Weed's sweater pattern. Its difficulty level is clearly over my head, but how could I resist?
The pattern is written for Plucky Primo Aran, and although I don't have a sweater quantity on hand, I have been hoarding the December Classics Heartstring's colorway on snug worsted. I didn't get gauge on my first try.
But I'm not horribly far off — only 1.75 stitches over four inches, so I'm going to go up a needle size and see what I can do. I love this colorway and think it will be perfect for this sweater. The verdict is still out on whether I have the skills to knit it, but I have good knitting friends to rely on in a pinch.
So it looks like I'll be casting on all the things in the next week or so. I've also got a couple of projects I want to swatch for ahead of the start of the Malabrigo March KAL. I expect to be doing a lot of prep and set up work for the sweaters as well as for Mal March, so there won't be a whole lot of knitting progress this week, but I do love having a number of projects in the works, which makes it easy to pick one up to carry around or travel with.
