Techniques/Stitches – Yards of Happiness

FO: Green & White Guthrie

I really should rename this top to Prim & Proper Guthrie because that’s what it feels like to me. It’s very lady like with the high neckline, the soft color palette and the fit. But whatever I call it, my Guthrie sweater made with cotton and a bamboo blend is finished!
Guthrie
If I did this in cotton again, I would do the entire piece on size 6 needles, just to give myself a bit more ease with cotton knitting. I started on size 5 needles because that gave me gauge but with cotton, I didn’t have a ton of give so I moved up a needle size to ensure it would fit over my chest. I’m glad I did.
Guthrie
My main modifications to this pattern were choosing the size medium instead of the large because I wanted it to be a closer fitting top, making it short sleeved and changing out the last pattern repeat on the body. I loved the circular pattern and decided I wanted to do another repeat of that before I started ribbing.
Guthrie
I have to say, I understand now why people love colorwork. It looks super intimidating and fancy but with a little bit of patience, it’s not so scary. Now I want to make this in wool (perhaps a blend so it’s not too heavy) for winter as well. I really enjoyed making this one.
Guthrie
And now I’ve got a new summer top to add to my wardrobe! YAY!

Stitching Status: Rainy Weekends

For the last 3 weeks the Maryland/DC/Virginia area has been soaked with rain. We’ve had a few days of sunshine but not nearly enough. And this weekend it was rainy and cold – so rude. The dogs are ready for me to put away their little raincoats.

Untitled — The many faces of Jellybean in her frog raincoat.

This weekend in between vet visits (they’ve detected a heart murmur in Cher, we’re not ready to medicate yet since she’s not showing signs of an enlarged heart but I’m definitely sad my girl is showing signs of aging) and rainy walks we spent a lot of our time indoors.
Untitled
There was lots of snuggling and knitting. Remember that tiny square I posted last week that was the beginning of my Askews Me Shawl? Well it blossomed into this by Sunday night.

I put aside my Togue Pond tank because it’s hard to knit a summer tank top when you feel like you will never see the sun again. Plus I find brioche knitting so soothing (here’s a link to a video of me knitting brioche with Bean in my lap). I did sneak away from my house for a bit on Saturday and got a pedicure…the shawl came with me of course.
Untitled
And across from me was the nicest woman who was also a fellow knitter! I love when I meet other people who love knitting as much as I do. So I’m now on the second section of the Askews Me Shawl and think I can probably finish it by the end of the week if I keep plugging along on it. And hopefully, the sun will come back today. I really miss it.

June 4, 2018June 4, 2018 by IamDWJ Categories: blue, Brioche, Cher, Color, Cowls & Scarves, Jellybean, Knitting, Miss Babs, My Dogs, Neighborhood Fiber Co., Techniques/Stitches, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, Askews Me Shawl, brioche knitting, knitting, Westknits, Yarn 10 Comments

FO: 1.25 Durumi Tees

I did it! I was able to whip up a tiny Durumi tee for Jellybean to coordinate with mine. I love long weekends where I can dedicate my time to foolishness.
Durumi tees
Because aren’t the silly things that make you smile the best things in life? I think so.

I had another color palette originally in mind for this sweater and then I went digging through my stash for one thing and totally forgot I still had this lovely red orange yarn leftover and that it would probably pop really well with a neutral – I was right. Add in a little touch of bright blue and you’ve got a fun piece. I’ve also been super surprised by how many people have told me ‘no one ever does colorwork with cotton’ or ‘colorwork with cotton is so difficult.’ Well, it has been pretty enjoyable for me and I’m happy to take colorwork patterns I really like and make them wearable for spring/summer.
Durumi tees
The only thing I would probably change would be to make the neck opening smaller. My friend Lavon noticed it when I showed her my work in progress and I hadn’t noticed in the pics how wide the neckline was but it doesn’t make it unwearable. I just have a mental note if I make this again.
Untitled
If you follow my Instagram stories you probably saw Jellybean’s sweater come to life over the weekend. I needed a break from the body stockinette and I picked up the yarn and did the math to make her a tiny sweater. This little yoke tickled me to no end. And since I didn’t want her sweater to blend in completely with mine I changed up the color order a bit so she’d stand out when I hold her.
Durumi tees
This is her favorite way to be held and if I hold her like this long enough she’ll rest her head on my shoulder and go to sleep. She’s such a sweet little nugget.

I also think she was over all of my photos at this point. And if you’re worried about whether or not Cher wanted a sweater… Cher and the Durumi tees
She gets super hot in the summer and overheats easily, so I knew I wasn’t making her one. And Bean is the opposite and is freezing in the AC and her belly is pretty hairless, so clothes are necessary all year. Besides, Cher just wants to sit on soft knits, not actually wear them.

And now before I start on another Pom Pom Magazine project I’ve decided I need a metallic pink Togue Pond tank to go with my rose gold clogs. Priorities!