Tag: sweaters

Unraveled Wednesday: Arctic Intentions

After another long post yesterday, I’ll just say a very quick hello and share what I’m working on this work, linking up with As Kat Knit’s Unraveled Wednesday:

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My Arctic Cardigan for the first quarter of the Good Intentions club is coming along nicely. I’ve joined in my second ball of Quarry and am just about to the point of separating out the sleeves — the joys of bulky yarn!  I am a smidge worried about my gauge. The fabric feels the teensiest bit stiff, but my gauge swatch loosened after blocking, so I’m going to trust in that and carry on.  I’ll give give the yoke a quick measure to see if I need to do a little tinkering to get it to the right depth before I separate or the sleeves.  If I get really concerned, I’ll give it a quick block and check things out!

I’ve got a case of the sniffles come on and have spent the morning trying to carry on with my work — but I might take the afternoon as a “duvet day” (I’ve just learned this brilliant phrase) to rest, and spend a little quality time with my cardigan.

I’d love to hear what you’re working on this week in the comments!

Friday Favorites

Hi friends! Happy Friday!  It’s been awhile since we’ve had a Friday Favorites, and I have a long list of knitting fun to share, and a few recipes too (need to get that cooking mojo back!)

Fiber

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1: Brookings, Image [c] Marie Greene [2] De-Stress Sheep, Image from Magpie Fibers [3] Carraig Fhada, Image [c] Kate Davies Designs [4] Fruity Knitting Podcast, Image from Fruity Knitting Podcast website
  • I love the cable details and classic shapes of the recently released Brookings pullover. It’s just the kind of sweater that I * know * I would wear all the time.  I’m not quite sure when I’ll get around to knitting this, but I want to make time for it soon.
  • Also, how lovely is this In the Pines Pullover? I love the neckline, and think the pine design along the bottom is really unique.
  • Want to take better knitting photos?  Emma Davis has some great tips!
  • I have, ahem, a robust stash of yarn, we could say, so this Dear Clara really cracked me up.  (“Do you no longer use your stove because the oven is filled with yarn? Is the fridge unplugged and packed with skeins?”) But the jokes aside, I also liked the overall message — stashes are personal things, and you and only you can decide how much yarn is too much for you.
  • Interested in learning more about breed-specific yarns? I loved this handy chart detailing the differences between different types of wool on Solitude Wool’s website.  Also, I’m really excited to know about the Virginia-based wool company — I hadn’t heard of them until this week!
  • I have already sung the praises of Kate Davies Inspired by Islay club, but I just had to give a shout out to the gorgeous colorwork vest she released a few weeks ago.  I loooove the natural colors with the pop of teal.  Straight into the queue it goes!
  • Also, I stumbled across this de-stress sheep this week.  Besides being totally cute, I’ve been having some soreness in my right hand lately and imagine using this could be really soothing!
  • I know I’ve shoved a lot in this week, but the last thing I want to tell you about is the Fruity Knitting podcast.  I watched an episode a few weeks ago, and I’m totally hooked!  They produce excellent episodes with a wonderful combination of WIP discussion, interviews, and technique videos.  The episodes come out every two weeks — I’ve really enjoyed the two most recent ones, as well as starting to work through the back catalogue. (Edited to add: if you need further confirmation that Fruity Knitting’s awesome, it’s just gotten the Mason-Dixon Knitting seal of approval!)

Sustenance 

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[1] Photo by Mark Weinberg, Food52 [2] Photo from Crazy Vegan Kitchen
  • While we’re on the subject of podcasts, I also recently discovered Milk Street Radio, a fabulous cooking podcast.  I love the mix of interviews, call in questions, and tips.  Highly recommend!
  • I had this simple lentil and beef salad a few weeks ago, and it was surprisingly delicious. I actually had leftover roast beef to use up, but I think this would be equally lovely with a nice bit of fish or some roasted veggies on top!
  • I’ve been all about easy and cheap dinners, and this five-ingredient chickpea and pasta soup fit the bill.  I was a bit suspicious of it while it was cooking, but it was super tasty (and came together quickly.)
  • My mom tried this spicy buddha bowl out this week and reports it was fabulous! I am putting it on the list for next week!

Want more favorites? You can see them all here.

 

 

#mostworn: Part One

Back in November, my lovely friend Kate of Rosalind Craft Supplies had an idea.  A really good idea.  Let’s document, reflect on, and celebrate the knits we wear the most.  I’ll let her tell you more about it:

… the vast majority of knits we see on Instagram and Ravelry are new creations, fresh off the needles. What do those lovely knits look like after they’ve been worn for a while? Did the garter stitch section droop? Did that merino yarn pill? Did that dye fade? More so, I thought it was about time we cherished clothes that are looking a little worn in. With all this in mind, I’m introducing: the #mostworn blogalong.It’s a simple concept. I’m going to write about the knitwear I’ve worn the most in the past couple of years in three categories (torso, neck and feet) and take photos of their current appearance. Then I’m going to nominate two friends to do the same. And hopefully they’ll do the same. And their friends will do the same. And so on and so forth. We’ll fill the blogosphere with photos of well-worn, well-loved handknits.

(You can read Kate’s full post here, which I highly recommend!) Continue reading “#mostworn: Part One”

Friday Favorites

Hi friends, and welcome to the first Friday Favorites of the New Year!

Today, I have four great new(ish) colorwork patterns and a handful of soup recipes that I’m excited to share.

Fiber

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From left: Image [c] Kate Davies Designs; Image [c] Lovewool Knits – 2017; Image [c] Matilda Kruse; Image [c] Whitney Hayward 
I’m not sure if it’s finishing my Droving socks (more on that soon!) or starting Rail Trail, but I’ve had colorwork seriously on the brain recently!  Here are some of my recent favorites:

  • Kate Davies’ brand new sweater, The Oa.  I joined Kate’s Inspired by Islay club when it started mid-December, and I’ve loved all the patterns so far.  When the email for the Oa came in this week … well, it was all I could do not to immediately order the yarn! This is really testing my New Year’s goal of being reasonable and thoughtful about any stash additions — I know I won’t have time to knit this sweater anytime soon … but … it’s just so, so pretty! (And I do have 10% off Kate Davies purchases as part of my club membership through March 1 …)
  • These CheekyMittenKAL mittens — I love every mitten in this collection!  Why oh why are there so many awesome new patterns, complete with knitalongs, happening at the moment?  I just want to cast on all the things!
  • Another gorgeous colorwork yoke sweater, just recently out!
  • This bulky, colorwork cardigan, released last month by Quince.  Ever since it came out, I’ve been dreaming a of dark grey version, with pops of gold.
  • And … for something completely different, did you know that Thomas Jefferson kept sheep in front of the White House? Including a murderous ram? Who knew?!

Sustenance 

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Clockwise from top left, image from Cup of Jo; image by James Ransom, Food 52; image from Healthy-Delicious; Image from Smitten Kitchen 
  • I’ve pinned not one, but two curried chicken soups in the past week. I think they both look delicious — guess what I’ll be boiling up this weekend?
  • If you wanted a veg curry soup, this curried cauliflower soup looks pretty amazing.
  • Because there’s currently snow on the ground (!), and in my opinion at least, there can never be too much soup, here’s a sweet potato minestrone recipe, recommended to me by a friend, that’s also made it onto my “make immediately” list.
  • Updated to add: because of course, right after I hit publish, another to die for soup popped in my browser: chicken wonton soup!

What’s caught your eye this week?

Want more Friday Favorites? You can see previous posts here.