Malabrigo – Yards of Happiness

FO: To Wakanda, With Love

I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie Black Panther yet, but if you haven’t you should. It’s good. And I’m a Marvel movie fan (I adore Tony Stark/Ironman) but because this super hero and cast were mainly black it was this wonderful sight to see. A black superhero and black women warriors…if only this had existed when I was a kid (Remember when I told you representation matters? It’s true!). The movie is based in the fictional African nation of Wakanda and the colors were just so vibrant and bold – clearly I was obsessed. So when I started working on a knitting project the weekend after I saw the movie my husband pointed out that this was my Wakanda color palette. LOL and I just embraced it.
Wakanda Forever
I used the Malabrigo Rios in Diana I picked up while in Louisville and paired it with a leftover skein of Malabrigo Worsted in Green Apple from my hat and mitts. It’s a bold mix of orange, red, yellow and green and I love how it came out. First I decided to do a worsted weight version of the Madness Hat and I like the closer fit. It’s almost like I knit up a turban. The Madness Hat takes up small amounts of yardage for each color so I knew I’d make myself a Bandana Cowl too to match.
Wakanda Forever
I can’t stop with the brioche, ya’ll. It’s my favorite. Although brioche creates a reversible fabric I always seem to like the side where the variegated color is the dominant color.
Untitled
And this time with the Bandana Cowl I shorted the length before starting the decreases to start making the point. If I did it again I’d actually cut the stitch count too so it fits a bit closer to my neck. But it’s definitely been a nice piece to throw on especially after all this insane wind we’ve been having in the DC area.
Untitled
I just love the vibrancy of this color palette. It makes me so happy to throw on bright color. And if you did see the movie you might notice Nakia’s Infinity Scarf, it’s a hand knit! And the designer made the pattern available for free on Ravelry! I don’t see myself knitting this pattern up but I can definitely see myself going to see the movie again! Wakanda forever!!

FO: Monster Paws

My green monster hat needed some matching mitts…
Monster set
So I made myself some monster paws! I feel like this shade of green was meant to be the color of a muppet. LOL

The pattern is Raw Honey and I’ve made them before a long time ago in a super bright pink and thought why not make them in a bright green this time? I prefer fingerless gloves to mittens most of the time because I’m forever walking a dog and need to be able to grab poop bags. I know, the reality isn’t pretty.
Monster paws
But at least my mitts are pretty. Also I originally made the green hat to match my plaid coat and then when I pulled out my heavy winter coat I realized the green is the same color I picked for my monogram!

I don’t normally personalize all my things but I bought this coat from Lands End last year at the end of the winter and it was so inexpensive I thought why not add my initials? Also this is the warmest coat, I wish it was full length. I’ve still got almost a full skein left of the Malabrigo worsted I used for the hat and mitts, so what should I make as the last accessory? Any suggestions for a quick cowl that just uses one skein?

December 19, 2016February 27, 2017 by IamDWJ Categories: Color, green, Knitting, Malabrigo, Mittens/Gloves, neon, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, fingerless gloves, green, knitting, Raw Honey mitts, Yarn 11 Comments

FO: Green Monster & Its Gray Cousin

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends. I did. It was nice to recharge and chill out. I also shopped online and picked up some Madelinetosh yarn because she’s had her entire store on sale for 30% off since Friday. I figured it was the best time to get a sweater’s quantity, right? And speaking of yarn, remember that skein of super bright green yarn I bought it New Orleans? Well I finally put it to good use. I knit myself a hat!

This is my favorite coat. I splurged on it (with encouragement from my husband) about 2 years ago and bought it from Boden (it’s their classic Mac style coat) and it has been the most used/worn coat in my closet. Totally making it worth the price. It is fleece lined, has fleece lined pockets, snaps and zippered closure, a removable hood AND it’s waterproof. Plus it’s a perfect length. I can wear this coat from October through December until it’s super cold and I need to pull out my Land’s End puffer coat for the super cold winter weather. I’ve struggled over the years trying to figure out what color to make my accessories for this coat and what hat pattern and I’ve never been very happy until now…

I knit the Dreiecke hat again (you may remember it when I made it for my friend Salina). I’ve knit this hat several times already but never in a solid color, which is what it needs to show off the lovely triangle pattern. But I’ve loved the shape and style of the hat so I didn’t mind not seeing the pattern. Now that you can see it, I’m wondering what took me so long to do it in a solid yarn?! Also, as someone noted on Ravelry when I posted pics, I’m wearing my Green Garter sweater in these pics.

I also thought about adding a pom pom to the hat and decided to look up a faux fur pom pom since they’re all the rage. I actually found a bright green one on sale at Joann.com and thought I’d give it a try. It’s a perfect match!

I walked into my office building the other day and someone saw me and said, “that’s a lot of color.” Yes, yes it is and it makes me happy. I also knit this same hat the other week for my cousin.

She wanted a slouchy gray beanie and I knew this would be a perfect hat. The same hat but knit in Heartland yarn and it looks completely different. In this yarn it turned out slouchier than mine since I never do a gauge swatch on hats but was perfect for what my cousin wanted. I’ve worked on a few of smaller projects this month, including the cowl I’m wearing here, so I’ve got other finished objects to share. I’ll also share the super easy pattern for my cowl as well. Having a bunch of smaller projects finished is good because I don’t want to share the Christmas projects I’m working on until after the holiday. And if you’re looking for a few quick knits I’ve got a post from last year that you can read as well. Oh and if you haven’t checked it out already, the Indie Designers are doing discounted patterns again this year. Check out all the designers and their patterns on Ravelry. Did any of you get in some quality knitting time during the long holiday weekend?