Woolercoaster's Wonderful World of Wool March 3-9

As we near the end of winter, here are a few knitting related news items that might help you fight those winter blahs:

1.  The patterns nominated in the Mason Dixon March Mayhem 2108 were announced this week. The categories this year are: Neck and Shoulders, Sweaters, Yokes, and Mini Skeins.  Under each category are 16 patterns with links provided. Everyone is welcome to vote on their favourites starting March 15th.  By the end of the month there is a final Champion pattern.  If you did not join in on the fun last year, you should definitely check it out.  It's a great way to discover  patterns that you might have missed in 2017.  I can guarantee that you will add some of these patterns to your queue.

2.  Stephanie Earp, a consultant at the yarn store Espace Tricot, has published a gorgeous new sweater called Galore. This sweater is knit top down and colours are changed every two rows. Isn't it stunning?  I also love the fact that it is knit in DK weight and is a great stashbuster.  The colours Stephanie chose are gorgeous, but this sweater would look wonderful in many different colour combinations.  You can get 30% off Galore until March 23rd with coupon code MADTOSH.  I am looking forward to seeing what Stephanie designs next.

©Stephanie Earp

Galore

3. Another beautiful new pattern that caught my attention is Hamble by Isabell Kraemer knit up in Rosy Green Wool Cheeky Merino Joy, a sport weight yarn.  I picked up three skeins of this yarn when I visited Haus of Yarn in Nashville. It is incredibly soft, and I regret not buying a few more skeins to make a sweater. This would have been a lovely one to knit with this yarn.  Isabell's patterns are always easy to follow and look great on.

4.  Have you seen the new Party of Five Mini Skein Sets by Sweet Georgia Yarns including Candy Shop, Salt Water Taffy and Fairytale.  So pretty.

Candy Shop Party of Five Mini Skein Set©Sweet Georgia 

5.  Newsletter subscribers received the sad news that Knit Purl in Portland is closing.  This yarn store was high on my list of yarn stores I wanted to visit.  The good news for knitters is that they have a sale for 25% off everything.  Don't miss out.

6.  Hannah Fettig's first Mystery KAL  for a worsted weight, set-in sleeve cardigan has just begun.  There's still plenty of time to join the fun, and if mysteries are not your thing, the full pattern will be released to all at the end of the month.

7.  The last thing I wanted to mention was Karen Templer's Log Cabin Log-along has finished.  She announced the winners on her Fringe Association Blog here and if you haven't checked out her Instagram feed for the Logalong, it's definitely worth a look.  #fringeandfriendslogalong 

It's great to be back sharing what has caught my attention in the knitting world.  Please visit my blog at the end of each week to check out what's new.

Happy knitting everyone!

F.O. Eventide Cardi by Hannah Fettig

I am a huge fan of Hannah Fettig and I have knit several of her patterns (Georgetown and Calligraphy Cardigan) with excellent results.  Her patterns are always easy to follow and the cardigans have become classic staples in my wardrobe.  I was delighted to hear that she published another collection in her newest book Texture.  I wanted to participate in Very Shannon's Tops, Tanks & Tees Knit-along, and after one look at the Eventide Cardi, decided I had to knit it for this KAL.

Pattern:  Eventide Cardi from the book Texture

Eventide Cardi:  open cardigan with a simple texture throughout

Designer:  Hannah Fettig

Eventide Cardi:  back piece in progress

Yarn:  String Theory Caper Sock 
80% merino/10%cashmere/10% nylon

String Theory Caper Sock

Skeins:  3.5 skeins

Colourway:  Kiwi

With any hand-dyed yarn it is a good idea to alternate skeins.  As I knit Eventide I alternated skeins for the front, back and sleeves but stuck to one skein for the ribbing around the collar.  I am a big fan of this yarn...it is dyed beautifully and, with the cashmere content, feels extremely soft.  I didn't start the fourth skein until I got to the four inches of ribbing around the collar. Let me tell you how long four inches of ribbing takes...a loooong time!

Swatching

Needles:  3.00 mm for the ribbing and 3.5mm for the rest with my Signature Needles

Modifications:  I decided to knit this cardigan shorter than the pattern suggests.  This was easy to do, as I knit two less repeats of the back and fronts of the pattern. Hannah's patterns are well written and easy to follow.

Notes:  There is a certain amount of dedication needed to finish a fingering weight sweater.  I continuously put fingering weight cardigan patterns in my queue,  forgetting how much knitting is involved.  However, once they are done I find fingering weight sweaters get the most wear in my wardrobe.  

Pre-seaming

This sweater was knit in pieces.  I got the largest piece, the back, finished first and the sleeves last.  I am not great at seaming, but this pattern made the process that much easier.  All the pieces could be matched up, through the two rows of seed stitch, which made lining up all the pieces a cinch.  If you have been nervous about seaming a sweater, I think this would be the perfect pattern to start with.  

I knit the sleeves according to the pattern, hoping for 3/4 length, however after blocking they turned out a bit too long.  Overall, I am extremely happy with this cardigan.  I can see myself reaching for this cardigan a lot.

When seaming, the seed stitch lines up making seaming easier

If you haven't checked out Hannah Fettig's latest book, Texture, I highly recommend it. I definitely see myself knitting another cardigan from this collection.

F.O. Ekua by Kirsten Kapur

Pattern:  Ekua aka TTL Mystery Sock 2017

Designer:  Kirsten Kapur

Yarn: Madelintosh Tosh Sock (100% merino)

Colourway:Button Jar Blue
Yarn: Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock (80% merino 20% nylon)

Colourway:  Silver

Needles:  2.5mm

Ekua by Kirsten Kapur

Added Notes:  These socks were part of a mystery knit along where participants received different parts of the pattern weekly for a month.  I signed up for this KAL, not knowing what the sock pattern was going to look like.  I ended up spending many precious knitting hours on a pair of socks that I wasn't really enjoying knitting.  I am not a big fan of knitting cables, especially with fingering weight yarn.  Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful and fit me well, but I learned through this process that I enjoy knitting a simpler (and quicker) pair of socks, and that I don't really enjoy a mystery KAL.  I need to know what I am knitting.   How do you feel about complicated socks and MKALs?  

No sooner had I decided to stay away from MKALs then the amazing designer Joji Locatelli came out with her Mystery Wrap KAL.  Joji is one of my favourite designers so joining is very tempting.  However, the wrap requires five skeins of fingering weight yarn, which means it is a huge project.  Reluctantly, I have decided not to participate as I want to stay focused on knitting sweaters.  I am currently participating in the very popular Tops, Tanks and Tees Knitalong hosted by Very Shannon which runs from April 10 to May 8.  From Hannah Fettig's new book Texture I am knitting the Eventide Cardi. This cardigan is knit in pieces, and I think seaming is going to be easy, as the rows of seed stitch on the separate pieces will line up perfectly. 

Eventide Cardi by Hannah Fettig

I am really trying to stay focused on my sweater knitting goal. 
However, I find it very challenging given the number of new patterns that keep cropping up on Ravelry each week.  So many temptations!  Well I better get back to my Eventide Cardi...I only have about a week left. 

F.O. Goldfinch and Some Works in Progress

Until recently I was probably the only knitter who hadn't knit one of Andrea Mowry's patterns. Happily I can say that I just finished a pattern of hers called the Goldfinch Shawl.  This well written pattern was so much fun to knit. The shawl was knit in three colours of sport weight yarn, and I enjoyed every second of it.  I definitely see another Andrea Mowry pattern in my future.  Do you have any favourites?

Pattern:  Goldfinch
Designer:  Andrea Mowry

Yarn:  O-Wool O-Wash Sport (100% certified organic merino)

Colourway: Coral Reef, Porcupine, Wood Dove

O-Wool O-Wash Sport yarn

Needles: 4.0 m

Ravelry: my notes

Notes:  This was my first time working with O-Wool and I have to say that I was impressed.  I saw this yarn for the first time at Rhinebeck last year and loved it immediately. This yarn is so squishy, it comes in some gorgeous colours, and after being blocked is super soft.  A sweater knit in this yarn would be heavenly.  

I am one of those knitters who absolutely loves blocking my F.Os.  Here is the before and after of my Goldfinch Shawl.  Can you see how the lace just opened up after blocking?  It's like magic.  The shawl grew a bit and is now the perfect size, about 70 inches across.

Before blocking

After blocking

Now that I am done the shawl I am focusing on completing two spring cardigans.  The first one is the Goode Sweater by Julie Hoover knit in Purl Soho's Linen Quill, in the Oatmeal Grey colourway.  This yarn has such an interesting combination of fibers... 50% wool, 35% alpaca and 15%  linen/flax. I am so excited to see how this knits up and blocks.

Linen Quill by Purl Soho

The second cardigan I started is from Hannah Fettig's new book called Texture.  There are so many delicious sweaters in this book.  I predict that I will be knitting more than one pattern from this collection.  I chose the Eventide Cardi, a simple cardigan with a seed stitch stripe.  I thought that this subtle pattern would be the perfect choice for yarn I have had in my stash for some time.  The yarn I chose was String Theory's Caper Sock.  This yarn line was one of the first yarns I bought years ago when I got back to knitting.  The colourways are so pretty and it was hard to choose just one colour.  The colour I picked was Kiwi, the most gorgeous tonal green.  Knitting with it brings me joy.  This yarn is 80% merino, 10% cashmere and 10% nylon, a supersoft combination.

So I am going to try to focus on these two fingering weight cardigans for the next while and not get distracted by the many beautiful patterns that get published each week on Ravelry.  Wish me luck!  Happy knitting everyone!  Thanks for stopping by.

F.O. Georgetown Cardigan and Some W.I.P.

Pattern:  Georgetown from Home and Away

Shawl:  Line Break

Designer:  Hannah Fettig 

Yarn:  West Yorkshire Spinners 100% Bluefaced Leicester DK 6.5 skeins

Colour:  Natural Brown
Needles:  4.5mm and 3.75mm for ribbing
Notes:  
1)  I really wanted a cardigan that I could snuggle into during the cold winter months.  The long range forecast in Ontario is for a very cold winter. Whatever happens I will be ready with this cozy cardigan.  I started this cardigan at the end of February and then put it away and didn't touch it until a few weeks ago. Then on my long trek to Rhinebeck I got a big chunk of it done.
2)  Hannah Fettig's pattern gives the knitter two options:  either seamed or non-seamed.  I decided to go with knitting the pieces flat and then seaming them together.  I find seamed cardigans are much more structured and the small pieces are manageable to cart around and work on.  Sometime ago I knit Hannah's Calligraphy cardigan, seamless from the top down, and I find that it continually falls off my shoulders.  I don't know if that has to do with the lack of seaming, but I am sure that it has some connection.  I also wanted to work on my seaming skills, and with this kind of yarn, it was great for hiding any mistakes.

3) I bought this yarn a few years ago on a wonderful trip to Scotland that I took with my family.  Isn't it fun to knit with yarn that you associate with good memories?  The yarn smells so sheepy too, which I love and has a lovely halo. It blocked beautifully and resulted in a very warm DK weight sweater.  It would be perfect for hats or mitts too.  Here's a child's hat I knit with this same yarn:

Gray Rose:  by Thea Colman

4)  The pattern is well written and easy to follow.  To be honest it was a bit boring, knitting all the rows of stockinette, and then 8.5 inches of ribbing for the collar.  However, I knew that it would be totally worth it, as it is one of those wardrobe staples that will get a lot of wear.

On the Needles:

Now that my cardigan is finished I have a number of items that I need to turn back and focus on. 

Antler Mittens by Tin Can Knits knit in Madelinetosh Chunky in the colourway Smokestack.  
I love the way the cables are popping on these mitts that I am knitting for a Christmas gift.  As suggested by Espace Tricot's blog I am going to knit a liner for them.  Anyone that lives in a city that has temperatures that drop down to -30 degrees Celsius knows that liners are essential to keeping warm.

Lanterns by Sylvia McFadden knit in the luxurious Sweet Fiber Yarns Cashmere DK.  As this pattern is written for a fingering weight yarn I have to adjust the pattern and figure out which needle size to go with. I started using a 4mm but I stopped because I wonder if I should be using a 3.75mm.  I have to play around with it for a bit, but I am anxious to get this gorgeous pattern done.

I hope you are all finding time to knit too!  Have a great week everyone and thanks for stopping by.

F.O. Antiquity by Alicia Plummer & A Giveaway!

Pattern:  Antiquity

Antiquity

Designer:  Alicia Plummer

Yarn:  Camellia Fiber Company CFC Flax DK (50% Alpaca 25% Flax 25% Silk

Colour:  Rose Quartz

Needles:  3.5mm KnitPro Karbonz Double Point Needles

Notes
1)  I usually knit with merino or wool blends so knitting with such a unique combination of fibers was quite an experience for me.  The yarn has a lovely sheen to it, a smooth texture and the alpaca gives it a lovely bloom.  I can't imagine how amazing a sweater would be in this yarn. Andrea, of Blueberry Hill Crafting, sweater made a Clarke Pullover with this yarn.  It must feel so luxurious to wear.  I would totally recommend this yarn and I am interested to try knitting with other yarn from Camellia Fibre Company.  Their yarn seems very unique.
2)  This pattern was easily memorized and I am so pleased with how the mitts turned out.  Since they are knit in a DK weight this pattern would be perfect for a quick gift.
3) As mentioned in a previous post this yarn was given to me by Blueberry Hill Crafting.  She posted a picture of it on Instagram and offered it to the first person who commented.  It was my lucky day.  Thank you Andrea!

In the spirit of giving, and in celebration of my three year blog anniversary, I would like to hold a giveaway for a copy of this book called Home & Away: Knits for Everyday Adventures by Hannah Fettig.  This book has so many beautiful sweaters, such as the Calligraphy Cardigan, Rosemont Cardigan and Georgetown.  To win this book simply comment below, adding your Ravelry I.D. and I will pick a name using the Random Number Generator on Sunday, September 11th and announce the winner. 

Home & Away by Hannah Fettig

I would like to thank all the people who take time to read my blog and I really appreciate those who reach out by commenting.  One thing I have learned since I began blogging is that the knitting world is full of the kindest people.  I have not only enjoyed writing my blog these past three years, I also have learned so much and been inspired by other blogs I read weekly.  Although I enjoy the speed at which I can post an Instagram photo, there is still something appealing about slowing down and writing a blog, documenting what I am working on.  So thank you everyone for stopping by!