Month: May 2021

What I’m Working On: May 2021

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Bodhi Leaf Washcloths

FINISHED – See my post here. These linen washcloths are addictive. I have made 15 so far and will definitely be making more.

Isler Hat and Mitts

FINISHED – See my post here. This lightweight hat and mitts set is the perfect warmth for spring! It has been raining lately, so it was cool enough to wear these yesterday.

Mood Cardigan

IN PROGRESS – I’m about halfway done with this beautiful garment (pattern on Ravelry), which is from MDK Field Guide No. 15. It goes pretty fast because it mostly consists of two rectangles made with an easy to memorize lace pattern. It will really get interesting when I’m ready to assemble the pieces and finish it off! I’m using La Bien Aimee Helix yarn in the stunning dark pink Lise colorway.

Mini Clerestory Shrug

FINISHED – I am really taken with all five of Jeanette Sloan’s designs in MDK Field Guide No. 15, and I plan to knit them all eventually. I have too many other projects ongoing to start on the Clerestory Shawl yet, but I realized it might be a good pattern to adapt as a quick little shrug for my three year old daughter. It’s a nice way to practice the two lace patterns that make up the shawl. I just finished this, so I didn’t have time yet to write a post or take good pictures, so the above photo shows how it looked after blocking.

Far Hills Scarf

IN PROGRESS – I got a lot farther with this scarf this month. I’m now over halfway done! I have 3 pattern repeats left to do, then the ribbing and finishing. Here is the pattern on Ravelry.

Garter Stripe Shawl

IN PROGRESS – This shawl is really more like a blanket…it will end up being about 3.5 feet wide by 6 feet long! From MDK Field Guide No. 13, it is a glorious meditation on color, designed by Kaffe Fassett and worked in Rowan Felted Tweed. It is going to take a long time to make, and so far I’m about 7% done.

Log Cabin Cloths

IN PROGRESS – Do you ever feel like you have to knit a certain thing right now and your other projects will justhave to wait? I got that feeling the other day, and dug into my backlog of yarn kits to start on these washcloths. The patterns are from MDK Field Guide No. 4, and the yarn is Rowan Handknit Cotton. These are fun and easy, and get the imagination going. What other combinations of squares and rectangles could I make?

Quince Quarterly Spring 2021

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If you’re new to Quince Quarterly, take a look at the enrollment info here: https://quinceandco.com/collections/subscription. I’m currently doing the Level 1 subscription, which costs $50 and tends to be a smaller project. So far, all of the Level 1 boxes I’ve received have been hat and mittens.

This quarter’s project is the Isler Hat and Mitts, by Diana Walla (here’s my Ravelry project). Both the hat and the mitts feature a lace and cable panel, with garter ridges on stockinette making up the rest of the stitches. The mitts are worked at 7 sts/in gauge, which nicely defines the cables and lace. The hat is knit at a looser 6 sts/in gauge, which makes for a looser, more open fabric. I used a US 2 needle for the mitts and a US 4 for the hat.

The yarn is the newish Owlet lace weight wool/alpaca blend from Quince and Co. It is available in 4 lovely undyed shades; I got the medium brown Papuan in my box. I really enjoyed working with this yarn. It’s soft to hold and has a nice depth of color from the mix of wool and alpaca fibers. I normally prefer brighter colors, but that isn’t an option for this undyed yarn, and I ended up loving the neutral brown, which will coordinate well with lots of colors in my wardrobe.

There were a few details I particularly liked about this pattern. First, the lace panel does not always have the same number of stitches; it varies by 2-3 stitches as one row has more decreases and the next has more yarn overs. I had in my mind that lace patterns should always keep a consistent number of stitches unless there is overall shaping happening, but clearly that isn’t true! Second, the garter stitch ridges add visual interest to the stockinette sections, and also help with counting rows and pattern repeats! Finally, the thumb gussets on the mitts are worked with a single increase per round, instead of symmetric increases on both sides of the gussets. Maybe this is common, but I hadn’t encountered many patterns with this approach, and I like the way it turned out.

This project is perfect for spring, since the lightweight yarn lends warmth without being too bulky. Unfortunately, I finished these right when it got too warm to wear them where I live! I wish I had started a month earlier. I’m sure they will be nice to have in the fall, though!

Bodhi Leaf Washcloths

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These adorable little garter stitch washcloths (my Ravelry project) are from the Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide No. 7: Ease. The design uses a sport weight linen yarn, Euroflax Sport Weight from Lofty Fiber. MDK has an exclusive collection of mini-skeins in delightful color combinations. I loved them so much I bought all 8 colorways! This is enough to make at least 40 washcloths.

St. Lucia colorway

These little beauties are quick to knit, with each one clocking in at about 45 minutes for me. Although there is a lot of shaping, the pattern is easy to memorize. I had it down pat by my third washcloth. It starts with an I-cord, then there is an increase section with a tiny bit of lace. Next you knit straight for several rows, and finally the tip of the leaf is shaped with decreases.

Santa Fe colorway

Finishing is easy, too – you attach the I-cord to make a little loop, weave in just two ends, and wet block to shape. The blocking step is key if you want the washcloth to lie flat. As it comes off the needles, it has a rounded part in the center that flattens out easily once it gets wet. The linen yarn starts out a little scratchy, but it’s supposed to soften up with use.

Sea colorway

I gave these three sets away for Mother’s Day, along with some lovely hand soaps. I have five more colorways left in my Euroflax stash, and I’m debating which of them to make into more washcloths and which I will use to try other patterns. I’m sure I will be making more of these snack-size projects in between some of my larger projects!

What I’m Working On: April 2021

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Most of my knitting time this month was spent on projects in Lettlopi yarn from the Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide No. 17. I really went on a tear, completing 5 projects and starting one more. I find it easy to do a lot of knitting when I love the projects I’m working on! It helps to have a few things going at once so I can switch around what I’m working on, depending on my mood. I also learned that it’s good to have an easy project going – something in simple stockinette or garter stitch – to work on while waiting for things like daycare pickup. I get a lot more knitting done when I can squeeze it into small chunks of time. Let’s see what I got done this month.

Daytripper Cardigan

FINISHED – See my post here. This was a fun, fast, accessible project and I am thrilled with the result. The colors are great, and when I wear it I feel brighter.

Destination Scarf

FINISHED – See my post here. This is a gift for my husband. It turns out he didn’t have a scarf before! Blue is his favorite color, so this will be a good fit for him…next winter. It’s too warm for it right now!

Trinket Mittens

FINISHED – See my post here. I am going to love seeing these pink and black mittens on my hands.

Dalleray Cowl

FINISHED – See my post here. This cabled cowl uses the limited edition Ranch 03 yarn from Brooklyn Tweed.

Swirl Hat

FINISHED – I adapted the Swirl Hat pattern in Field Guide No. 5 for DK weight yarn (Brooklyn Tweed Dapple, a merino/cotton blend) and a smaller finished size so it would fit a preschooler. This meant I cast on only 90 stitches and did fewer pattern repeats. It looks pretty cute!

Far Hills Scarf

IN PROGRESS – This is the only project I started this month that I didn’t finish. I’m making this out of the limited edition Ranch 01 yarn from Brooklyn Tweed, which I managed to get last year before it sold out. It is dyed with natural indigo, so it stains skin, at least while knitting with it. I have to pick times to work on with this yarn when I know I’ll have time to wash my hands really well! I’m about 15% done with this scarf so far. It’s a gorgeous cable pattern that looks great in this yarn.

And that’s a wrap for April! I have a lot of great projects in the pipeline for May. We’ll see if I’m able to keep up this pace!