January always gets me in the mood for new projects, and this year I went a little more wild than usual. Something about the holidays making me feel like I must get certain projects done leads to the following time where there are no rules and I can just do what I want - which this year seems to mean make all the things. Come and see what my new projects will be and let me know which is your favorite!
There are a lot of fun challenges circulating online right now, and I've decided to jump in on 2 of them :) This video is me going over my plans to participate in #CrochetFlip as well as #SewFrugal, so if you are interested in either of those projects click here to give me your input.
I've been having a lovely time knitting my Mohn Cardigan, and I've managed to stay completely monogamous while knitting it, which has made this project just fly by. As I near the end of this sweater though, I am entertaining what to start next, and let me tell you ... I just want to cast on all the things. After being a good girl and working through specific projects to completion before starting anything new for months and months now, I have quite the back up list of things I would really like to have in my life. I've done quite a few project planning posts since July when I started blogging again last spring (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here - goodness), and out of those planning posts with my knitting I have only made 3 of those things, lol. I'm a big believer that planning projects and acquiring the materials for them are a separate hobby from actually making things. And that's not even factoring in my sewing plans! This is just for knitting!
Anyway, I currently have a major internal struggle. I want to make all the things. I have yarn pulled out and paired with patterns in projects bags ready to go. I have swatches I made 8 months ago for a sweater that need to be redone. I have new projects I'm also excited about that I really want to cast on. In spite of all of this going on though, I have really enjoyed the speed with which I've been able to finish things lately because I was focusing on just that one project. I love efficiency, and the most efficient way to complete a project is definitely to not work on anything else until you finish the first one, you know? So the "responsible mom" side of me is not allowing my inner child to be wild and free, lol. I am going to allow myself to start more than one project because there are times when you can't carry around a sweater, but what to cast on?
The one definite project I will be starting is the Rose Street Cardigan from Squid's School of Vintage Knitting. I've been wanting to cast this on since last April, but I was being responsible and finishing my Susan Shaw Cardigan and then my 3 worsted weight sweaters from the end of the year. Now it is finally time, but I am having a quandary on my planned yarn. I still love my original plan of Knit Picks Stroll in the Duchess Heather colorway, but I was cleaning out my sewing room last weekend and came across my sweater quantity of Knit Picks Felici (now discontinued) in the Dragonfruit colorway and it got the gears a'turning. I have always loved the yarn Sydney used for her example cardigan, but every time I look up that yarn she used (even on sale), I just can't justify spending $100 or more on yarn when I have so much. This yarn is very close in color though, so it would fill that gap in my mind. But I also love the duchess heather! lol I've been planning on the duchess heather so long that I don't know if I can abandon the idea now. I'm trying to look at my sweaters I have on hand that I still fit in so that I can decide which color would work best in my wardrobe.
I have some socks I really want to make, but the responsible part of me says I have to finish the socks I cast on over a year ago first. Realistically that means I would not get to use the socks I currently want to start until next year because we have such a short window of cold days here. This project came about because I realized that all my hand knit socks are crazy bright colors and I now have a pair of boots that would expose them. I grabbed the most neutral colored yarn in my stash - Morning Bright Organic Merino in the Moonlit colorway - and matched it with the Chrysanthemum frutesens pattern by Hunter Hammersen, but I still have just one leg done on my dragon fruit socks that I really should finish first.
I inexplicably love this one skein of sock yarn I was given - I have no idea what it is because there was no label, which is a bummer - but the color is just lovely. I can't even decide if this is a "good" color to be so close to my face, but I just really want to make the Ishbel shawl with this. Almost all of my shawls have been made in variegated yarns, and while I enjoyed the projects and I love the yarn and everything, it 1) doesn't really make the patterns on a shawl stand out and 2) limits what the shawl can be worn with. I had a very hard time making an outfit for my Haruni shawl on a cold day a few weeks ago and I was pretty bummed. I started pulling out all of my hand knit shawls to see if another would work with my outfit and I didn't feel that any of them did. I don't mind them not matching when I'm outside and it's more of an outerwear item, but I was trying to wear it indoors with a black shirt. Anyway, I really want to use this yarn and I've been wanting to make up this pattern, so it seems like the perfect combo.
I also really want to make the Queen Anne's Lace Scarf but make it in a thinner yarn and use it as a belt with my New England Dress to jazz it up at the waist. I've made the dress in plain black linen, which is great, but I fell like it's a nice opportunity to make a fun accessory. This would likely be a pretty quick project, so this may get started soon if I can just decide what yarn to use.
I very much have the itch to make a stuffed animal. It's been a long time since I made one just because I wanted to and not as a gift, so of course I printed out like 8 patterns to pick from, lol. I think I want to crochet something cute, which will be a very quick project, but I also really want to make the Woolly Mammoth by Barbara Prime. But looking at Barbara's newer patterns, I absolutely love this chubby bee, lol. I would have to buy the newest Knit Now Magazine to make him though, so I'm trying to decide. I also have promised my kids I will make our Elf Doll some clothes, lol. I made the elf in 2016 and always intended to make him Christmasy.
And I am always wondering when I should start my epic colorwork project - Carivel Colorwork Sweater. I have all the yarn ready and waiting. I just need to be mentally ready to get this going, lol.
So that's the state of my head right now - craziness as you can see. This is also just the short list - I have so many plans circulating in my head all the time that I would like to make up. *sigh* I just need to focus and make some real time decisions. Anyone else find themselves in this type of pickle?
With my Christmas gift knitting finished and on its way to their recipients, I can finally focus back on my favorite makes: things for myself, lol. I've been plugging away at the Belladonna Cardigan this week in hopes of finishing it before the end of the year, which I think is pretty do-able, honestly. I stopped last night with just 1 more ribbing row and the bind off for the body, so next up is the neck and button bands before moving onto the sleeves and then int will be finished. I'm hoping the length turns out good - I'm kind of on the fence about where it stops, but I'm holding out hope for after it's blocked and has sleeves.
I really like the shaping on this sweater - instead of having shaping at the sides as usual, this one places them like front and back darts and they are hidden in the lace pattern. See how the plain sections angle down at the waist? That's the shaping. So cool. I'm very excited to see how this looks when it's all blocked out.
I'm also realizing I have a lack of neutral colored socks. I only ever wear socks in the winter and before now I had always only worn them with tall boots, so the socks were always covered. I just got some ankle boots and realized I need some socks that can be seen without being crazy colors. I have wound up a ball of a beautiful skein I won in a giveaway years ago - Morning Bright Organic Merino/Nylon Sock in the Moonlit colorway. I remember being a bit underwhelmed with it when I first won because it's a very neutral light gray color, but now that I need actual practical socks I'm glad I had it on hand. I want to use it to make a textured sock like the 2 Hunter Hammerson designs I have in the picture. Jury is still out on which design I choose, lol.
But being a person who does not like to have a bunch of WIPs at once, planning those socks made me feel guilty about not working on these socks from literally 1 week shy of a year ago. I started these at a Solar Bears hockey game because I needed a small enough project to get into the arena, but shortly after that I got very into my sweater projects and stopped making these. These are Jaywalker Socks, which I've made before, and this is Premier Fruits yarn in the Dragonfruit colorway. Isn't it so fun? This yarn and pattern combo gives me very "Dragonfruit Goes To College" vibes. Part of why I haven't worked on these is that needle. I got experimental earlier in the year and decided to try knitting socks on a shortie circular needle. Guys... I absolutely hate this needle, lol. I need to pull out my trusty carbon fiber double pointed needles and just blast through this project. I'm trying to decide if I need to make myself finish these before starting the gray pair...
So that's what's going on with me this week. I'm doing all the Christmas things with my kids and working a lot but I always make at least some time for my hobbies to keep me sane. How are things going for your holiday this year?
Well friends, I've got the fall knitting bug. It's the time of year where I start bugging my extended family about their favorite colors to wear so I have enough time to get gifts made before Christmas. This year I'm planning on using the Sentro machines to make hats and scarves and whatnot for those who live in cold placed, so I'm making sure I have the right colors and sizes of yarn on hand. I've been plugging away at the sleeves on my Susan Shaw cardigan and man I am so ready for that thing to be done. It's going fine, but at this point I've had to redo so many things to fit that I've knitted that sweater 1.5 times since March and I'm just ready to be making something else. I have the lovely Rose Street Cardigan waiting in the wings as my next fingering weight sweater project, but I've just recently felt the need to have a worsted weight project on the go again. Everything I have going right now is fingering weight and even my most recent finished project is a lace weight shawl, so it's time for some thick and quick satisfaction.
I started looking through my Ravelry stash and matching up patterns with yarn I have on hand. I have quite a few sweaters in my queue, but I just didn't quite feel the draw for those at the moment. I felt like finding new inspiration, so I spent a little time doing just that. I'm trying to visualize my wardrobe I am currently wearing and decide what patterns and yarns would integrate into that in the foreseeable future, which is no easy task let me tell you, especially when you are trying to work through a huge yarn stash. I only want to make plans with things I have on hand, but are the things I have on hand the right color and weight and quantity to make up a sweater that will get lots of wear? It's all a big puzzle that I am trying to figure out.
The one I have actually cast on is the Belladonna by Andi Satterlund. This pattern is no longer available, but I was lucky enough to get it while I still could. I love Andi's vintage designs - fitted style, cropped length, some kind of interesting lace or cable but not too crazy. This pattern really didn't excite me too much when it first came out, but now it's been so long since I knit one of her designs that I've changed my mind about it. When I searched my stash for the required yardage, I discovered that a yarn I was given in March would be the perfect match and close to the same color as the example. I have 750 yards of Dream in Color Classy in the Spring Tickle colorway, which I really thought would not be enough for a full sweater so I never considered it before. This sweater only uses 690 yards in my size, but I usually extend her designs for my long waist, so I'm thinking 750 yards might be perfect to make this up.
The other contenders for what I would knit include another of Andi's patterns called Chuck. This one is a cropped, fitted cable knit pull over. I have knit very few pullovers because it's just so dang warm here all the time, but they are saying this will be a cold winter and that has me a little more excited about knit wear that stays on all day. I have 3 skeins of Cascade 220 in the Palm colorway that I bought when I first started knitting and didn't realize that only 660 yards probably wasn't enough for a sweater. Lo and behold! This sweater says it requires 680 yards. I'm thinking I could make the sleeves shorter or possibly make contrasting ribbing and neckband? Not exactly sure there, but I tend to come out with excess yarn when I knit Andi's patterns anyway. But again - will this color work for my wardrobe? Particularly with it being a cropped pullover? So it would really need to have an established outfit to be worn with. This would be cute on top of a pinafore that I plan on making, but we will see if I actually make that happen. I also have potentially just enough of Must Be Merino yarn in the Tobacco or Rust colorway that would work as well. I have been all about wearing mustard and ochre yellow tones, so the tobacco would fit that wonderfully.
Next up I have a sweater quantity of Chic Sheep yarn in Creme de Menthe which would make a lovely thicker sweater. The problem is I just can't figure out what design I like for the sweater itself, so it has sat in my stash for years. I'm trying to decide between Sorcha by Andi Satterlund, Vignette by Amy Herzog, Analeigh by Irina Anikeeva, and the Lydia Military Spencer by Annie Modesitt. They all have interesting patterning in some way - which is not as common as you'd think. So many bigger sweaters are just plain stockinette and that is so boring for me to make. The first 3 all have cables or lace to make things interesting, and the 4th one is from Jane Austen knits and is modelled after a spencer jacket from the Regency era, which would be really cool since I have been making other regency clothes. Will I actually use up this yarn I bought in 2018?
I'm also feeling really drawn to another set of Dream in Color Classy that I was given in March. I have 5 skeins of the Happy Forrest colorway and I just love everything about this color. I think it would be a great over piece in general and I'm really feeling this green would look great in a cabled sweater. I like Fickle Heart by Justyna Lorkowska, which has a chunky cable design all over and a hood. I can't quite decide if that's "the one" for this yarn though.
Anytime I plan sweaters, I always come back to this one. I got the Louisa Harding Cardigans book for Christmas the year I learned to knit. I had seen it in Barnes and Noble and fell in love. I've had it all these years but have yet to actually make a single sweater from the book. I know! This sweater has always been in my plans - the Viola. This is actually similar to a lavender cotton sweater I had back in college that stretched out horribly and I had to get rid of it at some point. I loved the sailor collar style then, so when I saw this pattern I wanted to make a new version ... but then I looked up how much the appropriate yarn would cost. The original yarn is long discontinued, and I can find it on ebay and Ravelry, but it would take something like 15 balls, so even secondhand it would cost me over $80 and I'm very limited on available color choices. It's just not something I can justify. I check for this yarn periodically and I check prices with the Knit Picks equivalent (Shine) anytime there is a big sale, but it still just isn't do-able. I still would love to make this up, so now I'm contemplating just using some 100% wool from my stash and not worrying about the difference in drape and not having a shine. I have this Cloudborn Wool Worsted in Teal Heather I've had for years as well as a single skein of Rozetti Bamboo Glam in Poolside that I inexplicably picked up from Tuesday Morning on a whim. It would be nice to finally have these skeins of yarn used as well as to have this design to wear, so we will see.
Finally I keep contemplating the Dalloway Blouse by Syndey Crabaugh. She has it designed after a vintage Jiffy knit pattern, so it's supposed to be a very quick knit. I have a bunch of Louisa Harding Simonetta mohair yarn that I immediately thought would be great for this top, but Syndey said that it would be very hot and that really made me reconsider it as a summer make. Now that I may be up against a cold winter (for Florida), I'm tempted to make it. It's so hard to deny myself a quick make after being so diligent with my longer term makes this year.
It's really hard coming into colder times as a knitter and knowing that many of my hand knits are too big for me now. I've knit a lot of Andi Satterlund's designs over the years, but as they are all designed to be fitted and now I've lost weight, they really look pretty sloppy now. A few of them are mentally relegated to be unraveled if I want a new sweater in that color of yarn, but they will live their life as is until that day. I will love having one of Andi's designs back in my rotation again this winter :) I will certainly only be able to make maybe one of these sweaters now, but it's nice to feel like there's a tentative plan if the mood strikes to cast something on.
Why is it that once I commit to a large scale project, all I can think about is all the things I want to make once that large project is done? It seems unfair, right? I'm still in Regency sewing mode and will be for quite a while, plus I have some pieces to make for my kids' Halloween costumes, so now is the perfect time to be planning what clothing I want to make after those are done, right? That's what my brain seems to think, anyway. I'm getting very much into a more historical inspired daily wardrobe, so that's essentially the vibe I'm going for with my plans. Some things are patterns I want to make but haven't chosen fabric for yet, some are fabrics and ideas I know I want but haven't chosen a pattern yet, etc. Al states of planning are occurring, s I really need t step up the progress with the current projects so I can crank some f these out. Here are some of my favorite plans at the moment.
I have been in full scale Regency sewing mode the past few weeks and things are progressing but also halting.
Friends, the sewing flood gates are officially opened in my mind. After YEARS of not sewing any clothes, I've produced 3 wearable items in a week. Now I can't be stopped - I have sewing planning constantly on the brain. I'm working toward things that will be practical for me to wear as well as use fabrics and patterns in my stash, so these are my plans for what will be happening in the near future.
First up is a white Gable top. I snagged 6 yards of Laguna Jersey in white at the Sewing Studio sale last month, and what a great basic this will be! I am ALWAYS looking for good white shirts and they are few and far between in thrift stores. This one will be happening first on this list for sure.
I'm not the greatest at diving into a fingering weight sweater and working on it monogamously until it's done. Fingering weight sweaters tend to be my background knits - the project I always have going that I can grab in between the gift making and other shiny things that take my fancy. Since starting this sweater on March 7th, I've knit a shawl and 2 amigurumi, finished a bolero and a different fingering weight sweater, and crocheted an amigurumi and a tote bag. Not bad, frankly, lol. But I've managed to get all those other projects finished so I've had more time to devote to knitting this up.
I knew when I started this that it would be a background item because it would take a little more brain power than I'm used to. Being a vintage pattern from the 1940s, this doesn't exactly hold your hand, and I'm adjusting the size up for myself since this was only written for a 34-36" bust, which I am not. I figured the back would be the easiest piece to start with, and so far it's looking very nice. I'm about to shape the area above the arm holes. Also I just love this yarn. Knit Picks Stroll never disappoints with me. It's so smooth and soft, I just love it, so I'm very excited to have this as a finished object.
In new ideas (or at least resurrecting of older ideas), I watched a podcast yesterday about plant based fibers for summer, and it really got me thinking about the Cotton et Lin yarn I have in my stash. I picked up several skeins of coordinating colors in the Hobby Lobby clearance this spring figuring I would make a striped cardigan of some kind with them.
I have 4 colors - 3 skeins of Apple Cider, 2 skeins of Chintz, 1 skein of Fern, and 1 skein of Rouge. I'd rather not use the Apple Cider color simply because I have enough skeins to make a separate project on its own in that color, but I'm trying to decide. These are much more muted tones than I usually go for with knitting, but I am really liking the combo together. I'm trying to make a lacy cardigan so I can get decent wear out of it in Florida. I'm thinking either the Hetty pattern by Andi Satterlund (which I've made before here) or the Liesl cardigan by Ysolda Teague, which I've always wanted to make.
I had still have the Tierney cardigan by Andi Satterlund in this lovely Bernat Cassino I thrifted several months ago on my mind. This one feels more fall in color than the Cotton et Lin, so who knows. We will see how the mood strikes me.
What are you working on this week? Anything exciting?
