neutral (black/grey/white) – Yards of Happiness

Stitching Status: Shall I Shawl?

I realized the other day that I usually work on two projects at the same time. When one stitch pattern gets monotonous I pick up something else to shake off the boredom (you know rows of stockinette can get a bit boring). So while I’m working on a secret test knit sweater I decided to also whip up a shawl.
Untitled
I started and frogged the Dotted Rays shawl in fingering weight yarn last fall.

I didn’t love this pink color palette and the fingering weight yarn wasn’t cooperating with me. BUT since cutting off all my hair and having this cooler spring weather and crazy office cold I decided I wanted to add another shawl to my rotation to keep my neck warm. I wear my Find Your Fade shawl a lot but wanted something more neutral (shocker coming from me but everything can’t be full of color). So I decided to try the Dotted Rays shawl again but in the dk weight version. At first I was going to do several colors but I kept going back to wanting something a bit more neutral that would go with everything. So I dug into my stash and pulled out this Madelinetosh DK Twist in Cosmic Silver I bought in April 2016. I have 6 skeins and this project will probably require about 4 of them, so I’ll have enough to maybe make some fingerless mitts and/or a hat for the fall too. Whenever there is a Madelinetosh sale I typically buy a sweater quantity of yarn and I intended to make this a sweater but last year I also bought the same colorway in worsted weight and made this lovely sweater for myself and Jellybean!
Baldric and Beanie
So I decided why not use all that yarn to make a huge shawl for myself? The color pops are more subtle in the dk weight but they’re there. And this is something easy to work on when my test knit gets boring or I can’t travel with my full sweater. I’d love to do a dk weight two color brioche shawl too but I just haven’t found a pattern I love. Anybody have any suggestions?

FO: Verso Test Knit

I didn’t want to share my test knit project until the pattern was released and it was finally released this week! So allow me to introduce you to Verso by Alice Caetano and you can see my project page as well.
Verso Test Knit
This is a perfect spring into summer top meant to be knit with a dk weight yarn that isn’t necessarily made with wool so that is has a nice drape to it. I knit mine with the Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Pearl yarn I bought up when they discontinued it – again, every yarn I love gets discontinued. It’s made with bamboo, merino and silk and it creates lovely light and flowy garments (as you’ll remember from this project and this project). I also love that it’s just insanely soft.
Verso Test Knit
The original version was knit in grey but of course when given the opportunity to add a second color I always take it. So I knit the sleeves in the classic red shade I had in my stash and I’m glad I did! This project taught me some new techniques (crocheted cast on) and kept me entertained even while I was in the middle of a sweater knitting road block. But really I agreed to test knit this one because it looked like something I would buy. I love the little shoulder pleat detail. It gives it something special.
Verso Test Knit
Now I’m just waiting for warmer temperatures so I can actually wear this one out! So what are you looking forward to knitting for spring?

March 16, 2018March 15, 2018 by IamDWJ Categories: Color, Crystal Palace, FO: Finished Object, Knitting, neutral (black/grey/white), red, Tees & Tanks, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, knitting, summer knitting, test knit, Verso, Yarn 4 Comments

Spring Knitting Aspirations

I’ve been off my game since the beginning of the year. But I also told myself that 2018 was going to be a year of lots of changes and I’ve definitely been making smaller changes in my life so as not to overwhelm or scare myself. I think it’s partially why I’ve been knitting small things, I can handle just a little bit at a time and I get the satisfaction of a finished object. And to be honest, knitting sweaters just hasn’t appealed to me right now – and that’s okay! But I did see this post from Alice Caetano on Instagram asking for test knitters and I volunteered. I really like her designs and I thought it might get my sweater knitting mojo back.

Spring is coming and I love a good light weight knit that I can wear to work and throughout the summer but to be honest, I’ve slogged along on this one, NOT because of the pattern! The pattern is lovely and taught me new things but I’d work on it a bit and then put it down. I just feel like my mind is somewhere else and thinking of something else small to make. Luckily, she gave me about a 6 week time period to finish this top and I’ve finished all the complex stuff (the pleat detail around the shoulder was definitely interesting) and now I’ve just got about 6 inches of the body left in straight stockinette, no increases, before I get to 2 inches of ribbing. And as I’ve been slowly working on the body I’ve been feeling like my sweater knitting mojo is coming back and I’ve started to think about what I want to knit for spring/summer. I’m also looking to my yarn stash to really use up yarn I bought but never used to work my stash down to something a bit smaller.
Berroco Weekend DK Color Palette
I’ve got a ton of Berroco Weekend DK (now discontinued) in these three colors and I’ve figured out how I want to mix and match the colors to make these two tops for spring.

When I saw Arbus by Bristol Ivy I knew it was going to be one I wanted to cast on. Her pattern construction is always so unique and keeps me engaged. I think this will be mainly the green color with the peach as the secondary color. I haven’t decided on keeping the cropped sleeve length or just making it short sleeved. We shall see.

And I know most people thing about colorwork as a winter thing but as soon as I saw Durumi by Isabell Kraemer in the latest issue of Pom Quarterly I immediately thought well that will be bright and cheery for spring and great as a short sleeved top! So I will use the peach for the top portion, make the triangles in the dark green and use the pebble color for the remainder of the body. And it will help me use up most of my stash!

In the meantime, I’m still knitting small things. I finished 10 hats and cowls this month! I even surprised myself when I did that tally. But more on that on Friday.

February 28, 2018February 27, 2018 by IamDWJ Categories: Berroco, Color, green, In My Stash, Knitting, neutral (black/grey/white), orange, Stitching Status, Tees & Tanks, Yarn 13 Comments