blue – Yards of Happiness

Stitching Status: Bright Colorwork

I change my mind on knitting projects all the time…ALL. THE. TIME. In life I’m pretty decisive and I always know what I want but in knitting I want it all and I am constantly wanting to knit something else. I get into one thing and then BAM I see another pattern I have to make. Lately I’ve been excited about brioche and colorwork but the idea of casting on the Sunset Highway as my first real colorwork sweater wasn’t getting me excited. To be honest it makes my palms sweat with a bit of anxiety. Tiny needles, all those stitches…all that work and so many tiny stitches I might have to fix. Mind you I have the yarn and was gifted the pattern but I haven’t built up my confidence enough just yet. And I have plans to knit the Durumi colorwork sweater but it will be short sleeved and we just aren’t there yet weather wise so I’m okay waiting on that one for a bit. So when I saw that Caitlin Hunter who released Sunset Highway came out with a dk weight pullover, Tecumseh, I knew exactly what I was going to make next to finally make myself a stranded knitting sweater.

What’s always funny to me is whenever I browse through the project pages on Ravelry there’s always a lot of grey, neutrals and soft color palettes. I get it, it’s timeless and safe and can match so much. But for me and my wardrobe…that’s a no. That’s just not what I want or what I wear. Of course I immediately go for all the color. I was originally thinking of making this in wool with some Miss Babs Yowza in my stash and then I thought, why not make it with a summery blend? And there’s still a ton of Berroco Weekend DK on closeout on a couple of sites (I decided to not use up the yarn I’ve rationed our for my two summer knits and to get a different color palette)…so for about $35, I got enough yarn for a lighter weight sweater that I can wear almost all year round. YAY!
Berroco Weekend DK in spring colors
I decided on a green and blue color palette because green is my favorite color and I get so excited to knit with green. The main color (the body) will be the bright green, seedling. The secondary color (the little crosses) will be the bright blue, coast. And the tertiary color (the leaf like shape) will be the Kelly green, forest. I’m going to go ahead and swatch this one with one of the colors in my stash I know I’ll have leftovers from so that once the yarn arrives I can dive right in. I tend to knit a lot of cardigans because I like layers but I’m always wishing I had a cool pullover to throw on with jeans or wear with a skirt. I think this one might fit the bill.

So is anyone else as indecisive with their knitting projects as I am? I don’t want to be the only one with this problem.

FO: Blueberry Oatmeal

How about a bright start to this Monday? I’ve got an insanely bright blue finished object to share. Over the weekend I finished the Oatmeal sweater for my Mom, I’ve affectionately named her version Blueberry Oatmeal.
Blueberry Oatmeal sweater
I’m asked all the time if I pick the yarn or the pattern first – the answer is both. Sometimes I buy yarn that makes me say WOW and sometimes I buy a pattern an find the yarn to go with it. Prime example, I originally picked up a skein of Perwinkle Sheep’s sock yarn in this same sapphire color because I saw it and thought of my Mom. She loves cobalt blue and looks really good in that color. I am not really a sock knitter but it was the only skein on the table and I knew it needed to come home with me and that it would eventually be put to good use. The next week I saw the pattern for this awesome sweater which required dk weight yarn and sock weight yarn for the contrasting color and I already had some bright green Miss Babs in my stash. Sometimes the yarn picks me and sometimes the pattern does. So when I saw this same sapphire blue yarn on sale via Periwinkle Sheep’s Etsy shop but in an aran weight I scooped up all she had and figured I’d find a pattern to go with it.
Blueberry Oatmeal sweater
I decided since the blue is so bright and vivid the sweater shape should be kept simple. I went with the Oatmeal sweater pattern because I’ve made it before for my cousin so I knew it was a quick knit. I decided since it can run a little small to go up a size and I added increases to the side (about 6 increases in total every 2 inches) to make sure it wouldn’t be too snug around the midsection and would hang nicely. The squared neckline gives it a little interest and the quarter length sleeves make it a perfect sweater style my Mom loves. It was all a winning combo. And speaking of winning combos, I paired it with my highlighter pink clogs for these pics because why not?
Blueberry Oatmeal sweater
And as a play on brightness I thought I’d throw on my Virginie Millefiori Electric Love Lariat necklace because why not make what you wear whimsical? Also I love her jewelry and think it has this wonderfully magical quality to it. This is my second item this month using Periwinkle Sheep Intent yarn and I’m kind of in love. So much so that I’m knitting my cousin up a Carbeth sweater in the same yarn but in the colorway called Be Still My Heart. It’s seriously good yarn.

March 19, 2018 by IamDWJ Categories: blue, Color, FO: Finished Object, Knitting, Periwinkle Sheep, Sweaters, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, blue, Jane Richmond, knitting, Periwinkle Sheep yarn, sweater knitting, Yarn 20 Comments

FO: Stranded Sets

To test my stranded colorwork I decided a hat was probably the best way to start. So when my girlfriend was telling me how her toddler didn’t fit baby sized hats I decided to use that as an opportunity to test out my stranded knitting skills and make her a hat.
Finished Prism Triangle Hat
I chose the Prism hat, part of the Mad Colour collection from Tin Can Knits and I went with the triangles option. I just used the leftover bits from my husband’s shades of blue sweater I made in December.

My tension wasn’t too tight and I did my best to be neat with my floats and consistent with how I was throwing my yarn. I’m still a mess on how to hold yarn in both hands but more practice will hopefully make it more comfortable. All in all I was pretty proud with how this one turned out.
Prism hat
And I added a button to the inside of the hat to secure the pompom so that my girlfriend can wash the hat and remove the pompom.

Did I also mention how extremely helpful Jellybean was during this process? LOL she just had to be all up in my knitting this time. And because of that I decided that my girlfriend’s dog also needed a new sweater to coordinate with her human sister. You may remember them from this adorable dog and baby sweater set.
Sparkle sweater with colorwork
I actually had the same shades of the light and dark blue from my husband’s sweater in worsted weight (it’s all Berroco Vintage in dk and worsted weight) from a scarf I made him years ago and just used the leftover yarn for test knitting. The pattern is the Sparkle dog sweater that I’ve made a billion times before – it’s just a super easy top down knit.
Sparkle sweater with colorwork
I carried over the triangles pattern to a little patch on the middle just to make them coordinate. Because why not when you’ve got the chance to keep practicing. And I was fortunate enough to FaceTime with my girlfriend when they go their package and I’m happy to say that toddler and dog’s items both fit! On to the next stranded knitting project!