Well, I promised a WIP update and here it is. I’ve gone through my current projects drawer and pulled out the ones that I would like to finish soon – we’re talking by September – and I’ve photographed them as they stand now. I have others, however, there are only a few, and a couple of them are too large to comfortably work on in California heat in the dead of summer. Here we go!
Below is a self-drafted hat that I am making from a skein of Gritty Knit’s Merinosaurus. I am hoping that I still have the hank band with the colorway, but there’s a chance it’s missing. I originally was going to make the Tinsel Mitts by Andrea Mowry, but that pattern was impossible for me to decipher so I gave up in order to make something I’ll wear a lot as I just LOVE the colors in this yarn. I started with a good amount of 2×2 ribbing so that I can fold the brim over and will be working it stockinette until I decrease at the crown. My plan is for it to be very simple and to fit with room but without being overly slouchy. Fingers crossed that I don’t run out of yarn.
Next I have my version of the Bloom Pullover by Woolbird. I love this pattern so much and only have 4 rounds left of the colorwork before I split for sleeves and continue in the grey for the body. Up until the large flowers in the colorwork I held a worsted weight superwash by Gritty Knits single, and then added a single strand of purple mohair by KnitPicks at the last rows of the colorwork to make those flowers darker. I’m not quite sure that I love the look of it, so I might end up frogging this one and choosing a different color scheme. Any opinions would be welcome! It’s a pretty fast knit and I’m enjoying the colorwork a lot. The only change I made to the pattern is to not do a folded neckline, as I am not particularly fond of how those feel on me.
Now for an exciting project (at least to me): my first steek! This year our local knitting guild’s group project is a sweater KAL. We have all year to do it and we all have chosen our own pattern to make which is really cool. A number of the members have finished theirs already, and although I started this months ago I haven’t worked on it at all since buying our new place. Not only do I love the pattern (The Secret Garden by Jamie Fosburg), but this one has a few new-to-me aspects, which is great for a challenge. First, it’s being knit in the round and steeked to open it up and make a cardigan. Another new thing to me is knitting a button band and adding buttons. I’m definitely going to add the button bands, however, I haven’t decided whether or not I wat to put buttons on it, and if so which buttons I’ll use. Lastly, this is the first time I will have used a Spincycle yarn in any of my projects, and I am really looking forward to seeing how the colors transition as I knit it up.
This cute one-skein shawlette is one that I should be done with by now, however, I made a few mistakes in the lacework and had to rip back. Actually, it wasn’t the lace that was the problem, it was that my stitch count was off by one somewhere in the beginning of the pattern, and without a good foundation the rest was skewed. So, I’ve ripped it back and will start from where I know I’m on track with the pattern. This is a fingering weight yarn that I was lucky to get my hands on, as it’s a yarn-of-the-month colorway that Gritty Knits made a while back, but in a base that I don’t subscribe for. Natasha, the owner, opens up a secret shop for her subscribers to purchase other monthly colorways if there’s an extra and I snagged this one. I’m really enjoying the way it’s working up. The pattern is Lightweight Hipster by Joji Locatelli.
Next up is a slipper pattern that was just released in the past month. It’s the Murano Slippers by Tracie Millar of the Grocery Girls YouTube channel. THis is a worsted weight pattern that knit up really quickly and fits my foot like a cozy hug. I have been looking for a nice slipper pattern that I could make for my mother-in-law who we’ll be visiting in Scotland for Christmas this year, and I think I’ve found the perfect ones. As I have mentioned before, my husband is the dyer at Anzula, and our plan is to have him dye a custom color for the slippers that I make for his mom so that we both had a hand in making them for her. Not pictured here is a finished one of the pair I’m on, but it’s just lovely. I’d never done a Turkish cast-on, but after a bit of help from my Monday night knitting group I was able to get it started and even had the right stitch count! I’ll link to my Revelry page for this one once the pair is finished.
Lastly, I have the Chaleco ESPIGA top by Aresta on my needles, and it is working up to be the prettiest lace tank I have ever seen! The pattern was recently released in English and is also available in Spanish. It calls for a DK yarn, but I’ve swapped it out for a sport weight yarn that’s 65% silk/35% linen, and it is so soft and cool on my hands. I’m about one third of the way done with it, however, once I finish the 4th lace sampler section (the one I am currently knitting), I’m going to put the stitches on hold and block everything, just to have an idea of the fabric drape and growth before I decide how long to make the body, as this one is being knit from the bottom up. It’s a very engaging knit, and each of the four sections are different enough from each other that it has a lot of visual interest too.
That’s it for the WIP parade! I’ll start to share my works in progress on Wednesdays so that I have a little bit more of a deadline for getting some knitting done. I’d love to know what you have been working on as well!
