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

FO: For the Birthday Lady

My Mom isn’t subtle about what she wants me to knit for her. If she sees something I’ve made and she likes it she’ll tell me she wants it and I prefer it that way. I don’t have to guess or worry if she’ll like a piece that I’ve made because I know she wants it! Two sweaters I knew were on her list were my Louise Top Down and my Cala Luna. Since it was her birthday I decided to try to whip up a Louise Top Down for her birthday on the 9th. I finished this on the 8th just in time.
Tri-color cardigan for Mom
I had some Cascade 220 Superwash in my stash, one from my failed Flaum cardigan (still haven’t frogged it) and leftovers from my husband’s Sawyer sweater. My mom loves blue, so I thought well the body will be the camel neutral like my version and I can use the teal for the button band and bottom ribbing but what about the pop color for the cuffs?
Tri-color cardigan for Mom
I ordered a single skein of Cascade 220 Superwash in Coral and knew that would be the perfect compliment to the blue and the camel. I was right. I also forgot I had see through coral buttons that would be perfect for this one (I originally picked them up to go with my Cracked Pepper sweater but found those crazy big buttons instead). They aren’t too bold but compliment the sweater and the cuffs perfectly. It all kind of just came together and helped me whittle down my stash a bit! And the fit of the sweater?
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I got it spot on. I told my Mom last week I was making her a sweater and when she came by my house I had her try it on just to make sure it was the right size since I had just separated for sleeves. Once I knew it was the right fit, I was happy to plug away and made it just in time for dinner with her on her birthday. She’s happy and looks super cute and that makes me happy!

FO: Freestyle Fade

I have to start this post off by saying, despite it being fall it was 86 degrees in the late afternoon when I finally took photos of this sweater. I waited forever because it was just too hot to put on a sweater. Global warming, ya’ll. But I braved the warmth and put on sweater weather clothes to show you my latest FO.

On Ravelry I’ve got this listed as my Neutral to Neon Raglan but in reality I’ve been calling it my Faded Freestyle sweater. This really was a make it up as I go along sweater to just see what I felt like it should become and in the end I love the results.
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I decided to make this sweater because I put Madelinetosh dk in Snowcone Shack next to Neon Peach and thought this could be a nice pairing. I added in my leftover Miss Babs Yowza in Oyster to help stretch out the yardage but as I knit I realized my Neighborhood Fiber Co yarn I dyed in mint would be another pretty addition. It just kind of came together organically. I used my notes from when I made my last improvised top down tee in the spring and new I wanted to work on making a better scoop neck.
Faded freestyle
This was is still a bit deep (I have yet to perfect my scoop neck) but I made up for it with a considerable amount of ribbing along the neckline. And when I finished the body I decided why not pick up the little dark flecks in the Snowcone Shack and I used the last of the Druid Hill colorway I had in my stash – I like! Since I loved the i-cord edging and the sleeves from my Angelina I thought I’d bring those elements to this too, I really wanted it to be a more relaxed tunic style. And I love a loser bell sleeve, so I added a few increases to give the sleeves more flare. I love the end results and it’s so soft and has a nice drape to the fabric. These are all dk/light worsted weight yarns that work together as seen in other projects, so I knew what I was going to get.
Faded freestyle
Whenever I post sweaters like this that don’t have a pattern I’m inevitably asked to write patterns – but I’m just not there yet. Sweaters like this are me learning and growing as a knitter. I like to experiment, build on my skills and play around with what I make for myself – before I turn my work into a pattern. There’s still a lot I don’t know and I can’t even begin think about making a pattern in multiple sizes. Right now I just selfishly knit for me. So I won’t say never to pattern writing but I will say not right now. I’ve still got a lot of work I want to do before I share that with others. Now if only the temps would go down so I could wear my knits I’d be much happier.

September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 by IamDWJ Categories: Color, FO: Finished Object, green, Knitting, Madelinetosh, Miss Babs, multi, Neighborhood Fiber Co., neon, neutral (black/grey/white), orange, Sweaters, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, color theory, Find Your Fade, knitting, sweater knitting, Yarn 26 Comments

FO: Bar Harbor Test Knit

I mentioned that I finished this knit but didn’t want to do a full post until the pattern was released. Well, now it’s time!
Bar Harbor blocked
This is my Bar Harbor test knit! The pattern was released yesterday AND Alicia Plummer is having a 50% off sale! So you can grab it on sale!

I don’t do a lot of test knits but this is my second one for Alicia (this was my first). I like her pattern styles and her test knits are fairly relaxed. Plus for this one, you don’t have to know how to co any kind of colorwork! The construction to get the side panels was so clever and super simple. There’s just a tiny bit of seaming and because it’s knit on larger needles in comes together really quickly. The only reason mine took me a little longer than the norm was that I ran out of the white yarn and had to order another skein.
Bar Harbor blocked
The pattern calls for Quince and Co Kestrel but I used Berroco Maya (you may remember me using it on this pattern last year) that I already had in my stash. I love the lightness of this yarn and how breezy and great this top is especially on a hat and humid DC summer day. I also saw a gorgeous test knit using Patons Metallic yarn which is on sale and has some clearance colors too. I used this yarn a long time ago for my first North Fork that had issues but I loved the yarn and was thinking of ordering it in the blue and green and making this for my Mom! This is definitely an interesting and fun knit but still easy enough for a beginning. Let me know if you end up buying the pattern and share your finished object with me!!