Manos del Uruguay – Yards of Happiness

Stitching Status: Distractions

I typically plan out what I’d like to knit each month in my head and for the most part, what I want to do gets executed. Things that I can’t complete get moved to the next month’s goals but this month I’ve been distracted in so many ways. First with my Aunt being ill and wanting to make her something.
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I decided to go with the Bermondsey cardigan just because it’s so easy to work up and I know what to expect. I cast on Thursday and don’t have much longer to go on the body. And I had some down time to myself this weekend and could’ve knocked it out but the color palette (my Aunt’s favorite color is green but she wears a ton of grey and black so I’m giving her all of that) and the monotony of this knit made me decide on something completely out of left field…I cast on a fingering weight yarn shawl.

This is Jellybean’s ‘WHAT??!!’ face. LOL
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I’ve had the Dotted Rays pattern in my library for a while. I usually pick up favorites when a designer has a sale and I like that this one can be done in fingering up to worsted weight but I actually chose to make it in fingering weight since I love my Find Your Fade shawl so much and how light it is when I wear it. Plus there are so many gorgeous finished objects and I’ve been dying to cast on with this Perwinkle Sheep yarns in Hot Mama (that hot pink) and the multicolored yarn is Manos del Uruguay in Alegria in Candombe that I bought in New Orleans last year – it was time to use it.

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✨ wow, what a response! thank you everyone – test spots are definitely full! ✨ good morning knitting friends! curious if anyone is interested in test knitting the SOUTH BAY SWEATER above? the pattern includes 9 sizes, has both a crew and cowl neck option, and is written for worsted – so it's a fairly quick knit. ✨ if this sounds like the project you're looking for, please leave your ravelry name below or email me at samanthamaylamb@gmail.com. i'll get back to you by the weekend. 📷: @jennifersee.studios #southbaysweater #testknit #instaknitters #knitspiration #knittersofig

A post shared by sam lamb (@samanthamaylamb) on Oct 19, 2017 at 6:11am PDT

Then add to my ever growing list I saw this test call on Instagram for this sweater that I loved when Samantha made it for a knit-a-long so I volunteered to test knit. Fortunately she doesn’t need a finished object until Dec. 1 but man I’ve still got that sweater I want to knit my sister for her birthday next month. Clearly the shawl will be picked up when I need to change things up a bit but I’ve got a lot of knitting distractions happening right now.

What about you, what you are working on?

FO: Woodstack Mittens

In January, I did my very first test knit for one of my favorite pattern designers, Jane Richmond. I lover her patterns because they’re so clean and easy to follow and her designs are still modern and fresh. I teased that I did a test knit in my January’s FO Round-up but then I never said anything else about it because I couldn’t until now!
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I didn’t know it at the time but I was test knitting the Woodstack Mittens, one pattern in Jane’s new book with Shannon Cook called Within: Knitting Patterns to Warm the Soul.
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Can I tell you when I realized that I got to test knit for this book I got really geeked out and excited. I’m a total knitting nerd and I love it.
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I actually really like knitting mittens, they’re one of my go-to quick knits for Christmas gifts and these were super quick and easy. I actually knit them in the car over a four day period after the holidays and I used almost a full skein of Manos del Uruguay Maxima yarn in Mixed Berries that I had in my stash. And after I knit these I went away to Vegas for work and these were packed away but now I think I’m going to gift them to my girlfriend Erin, because they’re a great match to the hot pink hat I knit her for Christmas last year. And sometimes the best knit is the one you give away and I can totally whip up a pair for myself in another color.

So have you checked out the patterns in within? There are a couple of cardigans and a hat I definitely want to add to my queue!

October 7, 2016February 27, 2017 by IamDWJ Categories: blue, Color, FO: Finished Object, Knitting, Manos del Uruguay, Mittens/Gloves, multi, YarnTags: #WithinKnits, #yardsofhappiness, Jane Richmond, knitting, Manos del Uruguay yarn, test knit, Within Knits, Yarn 6 Comments

The Quarter Stitch & Other Fun

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Two things I wanted to share from my vacation. First, the awesome project bag my girlfriend sewed for me and second is the yarn shop I visited in New Orleans.

When Salina saw my Field Bag in the spring she told me that she could sew up the same thing for me but with any modifications I wanted and in patterns. I like my Field Bag and use it a lot but don’t love the side handle or the drawstring. So I asked her for handles and a snap closure instead. It has interior pockets too and it’s a a great size to tote my projects around in. It’s really good to have crafty friends, am I right? She said she had another version she was working on before she left but just ran out of time and I can’t wait to see what she came up with. I love having options because I’m not a monogamous knitter but I feel like this will be the bag I use the most for my knitting on the go.
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And while we were in New Orleans I wanted to go back to a yarn shop I visited for the first time 4 years ago. I was still fairly new to knitting when I visited the Quarter Stitch in the French Quarter. It was down the street at the time from the hotel we were staying in and my husband had just shown me a cable knit scarf he’d like for Christmas. So when he and my Dad left to explore the city I ran down the street to check out the yarn shop and see if I could find good yarn for a scarf and I did. It’s a small and cozy little shop and the staffers are always super friendly (I ended up friending one on Ravelry after we shared our love of rainbows) and this time I walked out with 2 awesome skeins.
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For the next hat I intend on knitting myself I picked up a skein of Malabrigo worsted in Apple Green because I want a vividly bright hat to keep me warm. And I was sucked into this awesome tie dye looking yarn, Manos Alegria in Candombe.

I know I’m not a sock knitter but I picked up this awesome sneakers with cutouts and all I could think is that I needed awesome socks to wear with them in the fall. That’s it for my NOLA bits. This weekend I’ve got tickets with the family to see the National Museum of African American History and Culture. I’m super excited. What do you have on tap for the weekend?

September 23, 2016 by IamDWJ Categories: Malabrigo, Manos del Uruguay, Tools & Accessories, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, knitting, New Orleans, The Quarter Stitch, Yarn 11 Comments