Tag: quince quarterly

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!

What I’m Working On: March 2021

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Watercolor Cowl

FINISHED – I used some of the Rowan Felted Tweed I had leftover from my Cityscape Scarf to make a Watercolor Cowl (my Ravelry project). I had 13 colors, so I used one for the center squares and the edging, and the other 12 for the large squares. I didn’t follow a predetermined color ordering, but I made sure to use each of the 12 colors in every two pattern repeats. I also made sure to only use each pairing of colors once, so every square is unique.

The construction of this cowl is simple but effective. It is knit as a long rectangle, then the cast on edge is sewed onto the side. This results in a pretty point in front and not too much bulk in the back. It kind of looks like a bandanna. The edging is worked in applied I-cord around the top and bottom circumferences. It really ties the whole look together!

Novae Hat and Mittens

FINISHED – See my post about Quince Quarterly Winter 2021.

Daytripper Cardigan

IN PROGRESS – This one is so much fun! It is part of the Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide 17: Lopi, which is full of designs using the Icelandic yarn Lettlopi. I am late to the party and had never heard of this yarn, but I love it. It is very sturdy and it comes in lots of gorgeous colors. The Daytripper Cardigan uses 7 colors in a stranded colorwork circular yoke and a steek for the front opening. A big part of the fun is deciding what colors to use and in which order. MDK shared a coloring template that I used to try out several combinations. Here is the one I settled on (left half of the sketch).

And here is what it looks like so far! I’m done with the colorwork yoke and just divided the sleeves and body. You can see the steek stitches in the middle; these will be hidden by the button band.

Yarn Purchases

I have been letting myself buy any yarn I want lately. Part of me is planning ahead for all the things I want to make, and part of me doesn’t want to miss out on limited edition yarns. Plus, the sentiment on my new favorite shirt really says it all 😆.

In particular, I’ve decided that I want to try all the yarns Brooklyn Tweed has ever produced. I’ve been a fan since they came out with their first yarn, the worsted weight Shelter. Now they have something like six core yarns, and continue to produce special limited runs of new yarns every year or so. They just released their latest, Ranch 03, a sport weight merino from a ranch in Colorado, which comes in some amazing bright colors. I ordered two skeins each of three colors: Sorbet, Fathom, and Reef (left to right in picture below).

The first limited edition yarn Brooklyn Tweed made, a few years ago, was the lace weight Plains. It has been sold out for a while. I realized in order to meet my goal I would need to find it somewhere, so I found a yarn store online that still had a few skeins in stock and ordered them right away. I think I’ll use them for one of the patterns that was designed specifically for Plains when it was released.

Finally, I saw that Purl Soho had released a brand new baby camel yarn, Simply Camel. It looked interesting so I scooped up one skein. Good thing, since it’s out of stock now! This will just be enough to make a hat or some hand warmers. I love the natural warm caramel color, and it’s very soft.

Quince Quarterly Winter 2021

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This quarter’s Quince Quarterly is a hat and mittens set made from the bulky Puffin yarn. The pattern is called Novae, by Sarah Pope, and features a Danish star motif and brioche stitch. Here’s my Ravelry project.

The Mittens

The mitten cuffs use brioche stitch instead of traditional ribbing. The star motif is pared down to just an hourglass shape around the wrist. The backs of the hands continue with more brioche, while the palms and thumbs are in stockinette. One interesting feature is the asymmetrical decrease for the fingers. It follows the natural hand shape more closely than mittens typically do.

The Hat

Like the mittens, the hat brim uses brioche stitch instead of ribbing. The Danish star emerges from the brim and finishes on a stockinette background. Both the hat and the mittens also use a tubular cast on, which looks really polished.

And for a fun touch, I added a giant pom pom on top! This was my first time making a pom pom. The QQ box included a pom pom maker, so it was a nice opportunity to try the technique. I found some great tutorials at Loome. Here is what the hat looks like with the pom pom:

Overall, this was a fun project with some new techniques, and it was nice that it was so fast to make with the bulky yarn.

What I’m Working On: February 2021

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Wow, another month has passed already! This month I managed to finish three knitting projects, despite the short month and starting back to work last week.

Cityscape Scarf

FINISHED – This scarf (Ravelry, pattern) was so much fun! As a first intarsia project, it was very straightforward since all the shapes are squares and rectangles, nothing complicated. I got into a good rhythm of cutting new lengths of yarn every 12 rows to coincide with the color changes. I used the felted join method when a color spanned two 12-row sections. The felted join is surprisingly easy! All it takes is a little water and some friction, and the two pieces are magically connected. I definitely need to use this technique in future projects. My favorite part about the scarf was the fabulous colors of Rowan Felted Tweed, and fortunately I have plenty left for at least one more project! The only thing I changed from the pattern was the border: I used the Ultramarine colorway to knit a garter stitch border on all four sides.

Galloway Hat #2

FINISHED – I finished this just in time to squeeze into February – I just blocked it today (Ravelry)! I used the same colors of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie as the first Galloway Hat, in a different order. As I mentioned last month, the yellow ended up being more prominent than I wanted. I also used smaller needles than last time (US0, 1, 2) so it ended up a little smaller.

Novae Hat

FINISHED – This hat is from Quince Quarterly Winter 2021, which also includes matching mittens (Ravelry, pattern). Knit in bulky Puffin yarn, it came together quickly. The hat features brioche stitch in place of the usual brim ribbing. I think I will add a pom pom, but I need to finish the mittens first to make sure I don’t run out of yarn!

Watercolor Cowl

IN PROGRESS – Just this afternoon, while holding a sleeping baby, I started my Watercolor Cowl (pattern). I’m using the same colors of Rowan Felted Tweed from my Cityscape Scarf. Instead of using the colors for the center squares and neutrals for the large areas, I’m using a neutral colorway (Boulder) for the central squares and the 12 other colors in the large areas. I’ll also do the edging in Boulder to tie it all together.

Quince Quarterly Fall 2020

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In the past few years, subscription boxes have become popular for all kinds of products. I regularly get a couple different food boxes, and in the past I’ve tried the Birchbox beauty supply box and personal styling from Stitch Fix. I recently learned about Quince and Co.’s subscription program Quince Quarterly, which provides a brand new knitting pattern and corresponding yarn, four times a year. I heard about Quince and Co. years ago, but somehow have never gotten around to trying any of their yarns. As soon as I learned about Quince Quarterly, I had to sign up — it’s the perfect way to experience new yarns. Plus it’s so fun to get a mystery box in the mail every few months!

Quince Quarterly has two options: Level 1 for $45 and Level 2 for $90. I got the Level 1 box this time, though I’m tempted to upgrade to Level 2 in the future. Look at all the fun stuff that came in this box! There are three skeins of Quince Owl yarn (50% wool, 50% alpaca) in yellow, blue, and oatmeal; a brand new pattern for mittens and a hat; and two rolls of washi tape. I have never used washi tape before, so I am open to any advice on what to do with it! The pattern is called Albizia, written by Pam Allen, and it is printed beautifully on high quality card stock and paper with full-color photos and charts. One cool thing about the Quince Quarterly program is the patterns are exclusive to subscribers for the first six months, so this one won’t be available for purchase until April 2021.

I was anxious to get knitting, so I got the yarns wound up right away. I could tell that it was going to be a delight to work with this Owl yarn; it is rustic and squishy, and the colors look great together. I started out by making a stockinette swatch in a single color. My gauge looked good, so I began the hat. After a few rounds of the stranded color pattern, I realized my mistake: stranded colorwork gauge is not the same as gauge for a single color! There was no way the hat was going to fit my head, so I ripped it out and started over with a swatch in the color pattern. I had to go up one needle size from the recommended US8 to US9.

Both the hat and the mittens start with a simple rolled edge. The colorwork starts after just a few rounds and continues throughout, aside from a few sections where just one color is worked for a few rounds. I haven’t done colorwork in years, so I am happy that this pattern pushed me to do it again.

The pattern emphasizes the rustic feel of the Owl yarn. It is primarily knit in stockinette, with enough color changes to keep the work interesting. One detail I love is the well-placed purl stitches occurring just after color changes; they really make the previous color pop.

The mittens have a different but complementary pattern. I knitted mine with a US8 needle, one size down from what I used for the hat. The thumb is constructed from a simple waste yarn section with no gusset. I typically prefer patterns with a thumb gusset, but in this case the waste yarn approach really works, especially as it doesn’t require increases to be worked in conjunction with the colorwork pattern.

As recommended by the designer, I minimized blocking to preserve the stitch texture. The only thing I did was apply a little bit of steam at the cast-on edges to flatten them out a bit. From start to finish, this project only took a little over a week. That is the nice thing about knitting accessories with worsted weight yarn! It helps to have such an engaging pattern, too.

Overall, I’m really happy with my first Quince Quarterly box. I can’t wait for the next one! Oh, and I was planning to give this project as a gift, but the more I look at it the more I think maybe I’ll keep it for myself…