super bulky knits – Yards of Happiness

Stitching Status: Long Weekend Productivity

I had a really good long holiday weekend over the last four days. My husband took off Friday so we got to spend an extra long weekend together. And over the weekend I paused on my Balloon Cardigan (again) and whipped up a Carlisle Cardigan instead! I wanted to use some of my leftover Macro and this cardigan was a fun project. More to come on it soon. Blocking super bulky weight yarns is a super heavy thing and it’s taking forever for this to dry.
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And I decided to whip up a heart sweater for Jellybean because the hat I made with hearts was entirely too cute.

Let’s just say she was unimpressed with her fittings. But it fits beautifully and looks cute as pie. I’ll get more pics of the actual finished object once it is blocked and dry. And over the long weekend my friend Steven sent me a pic of his dog Sophie in her sweater I made her (still no selfie of the two of them together in their knits).
Sophie
She’s such a regal pup. Also I’ve been on a super bulky knitting kick and it’s so satisfying. And many of you mentioned wanting to jump in on it but not wanting to knit with wool since you’re in warmer climates. I found Loopy Mango has Big Cotton yarn in 100 gram skeins and bigger cones in awesome colors if you’re interested in trying the super bulky knits in cotton (I may do so in the future but I need to replenish my yarn budget). That hot pink is calling my name. Also, Knit Picks makes Mighty Stitch in Super Bulky which is 80% acrylic and 20% wool so it’s not super hot. I use Mighty Stitch worsted a lot for baby projects and hats for people so they can just put it in the washer and dryer and not worry about it. It’s also a more affordable option. Just wanted to make some suggestions so you don’t feel like you’re missing out on the super bulky fun.

FO: Big & Bright

Surprise! I knit an entire sweater over a 24 hour period. Yup. I did that – and you can too! Meet the Malmo sweater, one I’ve wanted to make for a while. So how did I end up ditching my plans to finish the body of my Balloon Cardigan and knitting an entire sweater between Friday night and Saturday afternoon?

On Friday I was running errands and while I grabbed lunch I saw Fibre Space posted on Instagram that they were having a winter sale and that Berroco Macro was 50% off. I was down the street from the yarn shop so I drove right on over. I’d had this fun super bulky pattern for the Malmo sweater in my favorites since it came out but couldn’t justify the cost of the yarn but at 50% off I could. I also knew my color choices would be limited to what they had in stock so I went with what they had and I picked purple, yellow and pink for a fun combo.
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I bought more than what I needed (I may make a super bulky brioche scarf with the leftovers) because when I just did two colors for the colorwork I only needed 1 skein for each color and 3 skeins for the body. And I love this pink, it is so vibrant and gorgeous AND I had a hot pink tee in my wardrobe already that was a spot on match.
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I started knitting around 5:30pm on Friday night and got about this far by 10pm. When I picked it back up around 9:30am the next morning I knew it would be smooth sailing since it was just the body left to knit.

Also, I love floats on colorwork almost as much as I love the right side of the pattern. This is knit top down, the colorwork pattern is super simple and I knit it with size 15 needles. Large needles don’t bother my hands like some people have said, it’s the tiny needles that cramp my hands so I’m happy to knit with super bulky yarns.
Malmo Sweater
It was such a super satisfying knit to finish a sweater by 4pm the day after you cast on. Also I love short sleeved knits for layering. I live in Maryland, not Maine, so when something is a really wooly warm wool I don’t want full sleeves. I’ll only get to wear it once or twice. Now I can totally wear this before spring has sprung. This is a super soft blend of wool, alpaca and acrylic.
Malmo Sweater
So I’ve knit a sweater up in under 12 hours, this is definitely a record (remember, I knit this one in 48 hours in December), so have I convinced anyone else to give this pattern a go? You can knit it with any super bulky you like and I highly suggest you give it a go this long weekend coming up!

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019 by IamDWJ Categories: Berroco, Color, FO: Finished Object, Knitting, pink, purple, Stranded/Colorwork, Sweaters, Yarn, yellowTags: #yardsofhappiness, Berroco Macro yarn, Knitting, Malmo sweater, super bulky knits, Yarn 18 Comments

FO: Winston Pullover

Alright, back to our regularly scheduled programming – let’s talking about knitting! Despite school starting last week, January has been a pretty productive month for me thus far. I’ve been working on quick projects. And when I popped in to my local Joann’s the other day to grab some black yarn for a dog sweater, I saw this fun Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick Stripes yarn in cream and red. It immediately made me think of one of my favorite girlfriends because her sorority colors are red and white and their Founders Day was coming up. The yarn was on sale for 25% off, plus another coupon so I grabbed enough to make her the Winston Pullover.

I saw this pattern on Jane Richmond’s Instagram account a while back and thought, that could be a fun quick knit in the future. Super bulky yarn knit on size 17 needles means you can finish a sweater in a weekend or a little more. I’m also asked all the time about good first time sweater projects and Jane’s patterns are always clear and simple and this could be a less intimidating sweater to make as your first sweater.

I knew going into this that the stripes on the arms weren’t going to be the same width as the ones on the body but that didn’t bother me. I wanted to make a cozy and fun sweater for a friend. She’s a fellow professor (really, she’s the reason why I teach) and when she’s home she’s chasing after her two young daughters. This is perfectly paired with leggings and the yarn is machine washable and dryer friendly – which makes it life friendly.

She is slightly smaller than me and shorter, so I made the size 40 and it fits me. But if I wanted a bit more ease and coziness like it shows on her, I’d knit myself a 42. Thick and quick also comes in a bunch of fun colors and stripe patterns (there’s a grey and neon pink colorway calling my name) so there might be more of these quick knits for some of my friends and family in the future.

January 21, 2019January 20, 2019 by IamDWJ Categories: Color, FO: Finished Object, Knitting, Lion Brand, neutral (black/grey/white), red, Sweaters, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, bulky yarn, Jane Richmond, Knitting, super bulky knits, Yarn 27 Comments