On the Needles: Acer Cardigan and Herald

Look at this sweet linen bag that arrived in the mail this week from Jenna Rose Handmade:

Jenna Rose Traveller Pouch

The pattern is so simple but effective and I just love it. This bag was available in a smaller size but I thought this bigger size could easily fit at least two skeins of yarn plus the project I am knitting...it was exactly what I was looking for.  The best thing about this bag is it is made in Canada, and I do love to support my fellow Canadians. Jenna Rose hand screens fabric using waterbased pigments on natural and organic materials. Check out this etsy site where you too can buy one for yourself.

After finishing Caroline, my fingering weight sweater, I felt the need to knit with some thicker yarn.  I dug around my stash and came up with this Madelinetosh DK yarn in Copper Penny.  

Copper Penny

I looked through my queue and after doing a swatch decided that the Acer Cardigan by Amy Christoffers would be a good match.  This pattern has eyelets and cables and is knit bottom up.  I am really enjoying this knit although I am having to alternate three skeins of yarn because there is such variation.  Here is where I am so far:

June is an extremely busy month for me workwise, so I am not sure how fast I will get this done, but I shall try and pick this cardigan up and knit a bit everyday.

And since I can never have just one project on the go I also started a beautiful shawl called Herald by Janina Kallio.  Once again I dug through my stash and found this beautiful fingering weight skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Red Label yarn (75% merino, 15% cashmere, 10% silk) in the colourway slate.  This is a very simple pattern where the same eight rows are repeated over and over, and so I challenged myself to knit eight rows everyday.  Hopefully by the time the rows grow much longer my work pressures will lessen as we move through June and I will have time to knit the longer rows.  I think it will block out beautifully.

Tanis Fiber Arts Red Label:  Slate

And if you are wondering what happened to the first pair of socks I was knitting as part of the Sweet Fiber Sock Club I am happy to report that I am almost finished my second one.  I have enjoyed knitting every second of it...come join me next time where I will discuss my surprise at the whole fun of sock knitting.