Hedgehog Fibres – Yards of Happiness

Stitching Status: Spring Spirit

It has been freezing here in Maryland/DC even after our big snow and it’s definitely not feeling spring like at all. But I know it’s coming and I’m knitting!

Untitled — Jellybean would like to switch to her lighter layers soon.

I’ve still got my Tamsyn neutral sweater on my needles but I haven’t made much progress since I finished my Mom’s sweater. I’m working on the body of a Carbeth for my cousin but on my snow day I couldn’t resist starting something else new for myself that was swirling around in my brain. I have a swing coat I love that I bought from Anthropologie almost 2 years ago now but I’ve always known I could make something better. Plus every time I wear it everyone asks if I made it and I knew I could I just needed more confidence in making my own stuff.
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So I pulled out this Miss Babs Yowza in Dahlia (the peachy coral shade) and Hedgehog Fibres Merino DK in Bollywood and have been making up my own version of a swing coat with wide sleeves for spring. I’m doing the sleeves, trim and pockets in the variegated Bollywood shade and the body in the bright coral. I already had to frog back a few rows because the box pleat I wanted to do just didn’t work out the way I wanted but I’ve already got other ideas on how to give it the shape I want. I’m super proud of myself for even being able to frog back and just work the two rows over. Before I would’ve panicked and probably started it all over but with time comes more confidence and knowledge. I’m excited about the possibility of what I can create and I’m hoping that if I knit myself a cute spring jacket it will help usher on spring.

So what are you working on?

FO: A Vibrant Fade

Well, my first sweater of 2018 is finished and I loooooooove it. I want to wear it all the time because the colors make me so happy and it’s so soft and cozy. But of course because I went so bold on the color palette I feel like I shouldn’t wear it EVERY day but whatever, I do what I want. Let’s talk about my Comfort Fade Cardigan.
Finished Comfort Fade
I knew when I originally decided I wanted to make this cardigan that it was going to be colorful. I initially thought it would be a mix of the bright pink, orange and coral but when I put those colors together in the light they didn’t flow the way I wanted. I’ve seen a lot of muted and soft pastel fades or neutral fades but I wanted this baby to be me. So I went for all the color. And to my surprise I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on this one in person. Folks seem to like all the color. Starting at my shoulder and going down, the color order is:

Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Torchere. You may remember this color from my Colorblocked Boyfriend Cardigan a while back. This is such a gorgeous color with lots of flecks of red, pink and orange. It’s a favorite of mine.
Hedgehog Fibres Merino DK in Pucker. This is like punch you in the face orange with bits of pink running through it. It as an impulse purchase at Fibre Space one day and I’m glad I picked it up.
Miss Babs Yowza in Perfectly Wreckless. This might be my new favorite Babs colorway. It’s so good. Also I just love the gigantic skeins of Yowza – fewer ends to weave in!
And a surprise ending with Miss Babs Yowza in Ghoulish. You might remember this color from my Mom’s Christmas sweater!

Finished Comfort Fade
I didn’t realize when I saw this pattern originally and really not until I started to cast on that this was done in reverse stockinette stitch (essential wearing it on the purl side). But the color fade looks better on the reverse! So it made sense. It’s super stripey on the inside and the purl side kind of helps to blend the colors better. I added in new colors on knit rows and not on purl rows just because I liked how the blending worked but you could do it on the purl side too.
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I also knit the sleeves inside out so that I wouldn’t have to do all that purling. It was so weird to think of the knit side as the wrong side but eventually I got the hang of it.

But really what I love the most about this is the opportunity to melt all that color together. I mean look at this sleeve and cuff. It’s gorgeous! It’s so vibrant and bright and it just makes me happy. I also decided to go with the longer sleeve (not my normal) to up the coziness factor. The shawl collar is gloriously huge and I really like how she played with short row shaping in each color to help with the blending. I add a Jul Design leather closure to the front so that I can pull it closed if I want to instead of adding buttons/buttonholes.
Finished Comfort Fade
My only regret, I need pockets. I’m actually thinking about picking up stitches and then using my leftover yarn to fade a pocket to match the body and just sew it on. With something this big and cozy you just need good pockets to give it that finishing touch. Right?

So is anyone else going to make themselves a Comfort Fade Cardigan? What color palette would you choose?

January 24, 2018January 24, 2018 by IamDWJ Categories: Color, FO: Finished Object, green, Hedgehog Fibres, Knitting, Madelinetosh, Miss Babs, neon, orange, pink, red, Sweaters, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, color fading, comfort fade cardigan, kfckal, knitting, sweater knitting, Yarn 29 Comments

FO: I Found My Fade

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Well it took a few weeks and there were several mistakes but I found my fade in the Find Your Fade shawl. Sorry for the grainy pic but I wanted to take a panoramic photo on phone so I could get it all in. This baby is HUGE.

Part of what drew me in to the Find Your Fade shawl was the ability to really go crazy with color. Clearly color is my wheelhouse and I was excited to give it a try. In addition, I got gauge on the project using size 6 needles and not the suggested size 4’s. Anything below a 5 really gets uncomfortable to me so I was even happier to try it when I could use at least a size 6 needle. I had an idea of what I wanted but kind of threw it out the window and popped over to Fibre Space to see what color combos I could create on the fly. I knew I had a skein of highlighter yellow that I’d had for a long time that I wanted to use and the bright sapphire blue from my Mom’s sweater I wanted to incorporate. Everything else was up for grabs. In the end my finals colors were (from right to left):

Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Edison Bulb
Hedgehog Fibres in Genie
Hedgehog Fibres in Fly
The Lemonade Shop Mighty Sock in Charm Bomb
Periwinkle Sheep Watercolor Sock in Sapphire
Hedgehog Fibres in Dragonfly
Hedgehog Fibres in Sorry Not Sorry

Find Your Fade finished
I should note that I was not perfect at all with this pattern but it’s super forgiving (…and yes I got new glasses). My numbers were typically off on my stitch count due to the double yarnovers in the lace pattern but it was easy to adjust or do a different row in the lace depending on the amount of stitches I had at the end. I also didn’t do as many repeats because I didn’t have as much of the sapphire blue as I needed to I adjusted and made some places bigger and by the time I got to my last color I was ready to just bind-off. I’ve also noticed where some have a smooth check style I have a little bit of a hard turn near the end by the middle spine. I don’t care. You can’t see all that little mistakes when it’s wrapped up around you. And man, you can really wrap yourself up in this bad boy.
Find Your Fade finished
It’s also so big I didn’t have to hide Jellybean’s crate when I was snapping quick pics before work. LOL
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I finished it on Friday and it was dry and ready to wear on Saturday so I did! I was able to snag tickets to the Kusama Infinity Mirrors exhibit at the Hirshorn and wore it there. What an awesome exhibit. Mistakes and all I’m really happy about this piece. It’s a light weight wrap that’s kind of perfect for this time of year when the morning’s are chilly and my office is freezing. I will happily wear this and show of all my hard work.