Hi everyone! It’s been a few weeks since I had a formal shop update. I’ll be introducing some of my spring colorways tomorrow, Monday, April 6th at 8pm ET. Are you ready for spring? It’s definitely here in this area. I hope these springy colors brighten up your day! Keep reading below to see what will go into the shop. You can also see a vlog about it on my YouTube channel, agirlandherwool.
Spring Rainbow Set!
Spring Rainbow
Spring Rainbow My newest gradient set is a spring rainbow! I love the light pastel tones in this rainbow and it’s sure to brighten up any project. Each skein is a different color of the rainbow with the same color speckled on it. You can order the set in any size skeins, but all 10 skeins will be the same sizes. I also have a spring rainbow colorway. This is also a light pastel color with all of the rainbow colors speckled all over it. It’s so much fun and screams spring. If you love a lot of color that’s not completely in your face, this is the right color for you.
Speckled Orchid Speckled Orchid is definitely going to become a favorite. It has a deep green and bright pinks that totally remind me of beautiful orchids. It also has some gray in there too. When I dyed up this color, I imagined myself immersed in a garden with beautiful stone walls. It’s amazing how the colors are able to bring you to some of those magical places. I hope you enjoy it too!
Speckled Orchid
Orange Sorbet Orange sorbet is a cross between an orange creamsicle and a tropical sunset. It reminds me of both. The base is a pale orange with pinks, yellows, red and blue speckles. It is definitely all about spring and dreams of the upcoming summer season.
The shop will be updated at 8pm ET on Monday, April 6th. There are already some ready to ship skeins available and always any size skeins (and any quantity) always available. I hope to see you there!
Again, for a full run down, check out my vlog on YouTube.
I can’t imagine any fiber artist out there that doesn’t have leftovers in there stash. Am I wrong?
I think a lot of people set out to use up their leftovers or knit from stash as a way to alleviate guilt in buying yarn. I want to say flat out here, I full on encourage buying yarn. In fact, it’s the main driver in what I’m about to talk about.
I’m a minimalist in a way that I don’t hoard, I’m just fine with donating and throwing away items and I’m really cautious about all of my purchases. I really can’t stand ‘stuff.’ It stresses me out way too much and I love an empty clean look over a cluttered ‘homey’ feel.
Over time, I’ve acquired a stash, but it’s probably not the type that you are thinking of. I don’t purchase yarn on a whim and really plan my projects out ahead of time. I try not to buy anything without a purpose and this applies to my yarn purchases as well. The stash that I have is due to all the leftovers I have with the projects that I have worked on over time. This really helped drive me to open up my Etsy shop, where you choose the size of your skein. I only use about half of a skein of yarn to make a pair of socks. This means that I have a half skein for every pair of socks that I’ve knit. That number is not small.
The Stash. Most of this is leftovers
I have a giant tote bag where I throw all of my sock leftovers in. In 2020, I set out to use up a lot of these balls of yarn. I’m not kidding myself, there’s no way I would ever be able to knit all of it up, but I’d love to make some sort of dent. I’ve decided that I’m using the leftovers to knit up all kinds of charity projects.
Sock leftovers
I’ve already started on this and so below is a picture of a pair of socks I made out of Hedgehog Fibres in the Shiver colorway. This is one of the first pairs of socks I have ever made, which means that these leftovers have moved around with me a lot. It was time to turn it into something else. With the leftovers, I started a crochet scrap blanket and I knit a Newborn Vertebrae sweater and a preemie hat.
My plans for the leftovers go like this: 1. Pull a ball of yarn out of the tote bag. (This is easier said than done. That bag is a giant tangle of yarn.) 2. Crochet a stripe (there and back) into my Neat Ripple blanket. 3. Figure out how much yarn is left and decide what to make next. 4. Use the yarn to its entirety.
Yarn purchased from a pair of socks turned into a sweater, hat and part of a scrap blanket
The items that are knit after the scrap blanket will be charity items. I’ll be honest, if I have a birthday or baby shower coming up that one of these items would be good for, they might also be used for that. However, for the most part, it will be charity items.
I know there are lots of preemie hat patterns out there, which is an amazing idea because you can make a hat out of a small quantity of yarn. I’d love to hear other great ideas for patterns that are good to donate but also have lots of sizes so that you can make something based on what you have left. Let me know what you think and I’ll be keeping you all up to date throughout the year. I may devote one FO Friday of the month to these projects.
If you need a quick baby knit, this is the pattern for you! As always, here are the fun details first: Pattern:Little Thun / Emily Franck aka The Blue Mouse Yarn: agirlandherwool / DK base / Strawberry Shortcake and Mint Chip Needles: Size 5 (body) and Size 4 (hem) Cast on: 2/23/2020 Cast off: 3/1/2020 The pattern page on Ravelry can be found here.
Again, I started this project to be a shop sample because I had an upcoming trunk show and wanted to show some knits in my DK base. This pairing has been popular in the shop and I thought the two colors would be fun to use for a baby knit. I decided to knit this pattern because I primarily wanted something to show off the colorways and also to be a quick knit. I think that when I pick shop samples, it’s important to think through that people might want to knit exactly what you are showing and that means making sure I have different level of difficulties in the projects. The other projects I have to show have a lot of patterns in them and so having a simply stockinette sweater seemed like a great idea. This pattern is available in multiple children sizes and there is even an adult version as well.
This was another quick knit, but I do want to talk through a couple of things that happened while I was working on it. First would be the color changes for the stripes in the body. Keeping in mind that I was knitting this pattern for a sample, I wanted to make sure it looked nice. Maybe that sounds weird, like I wouldn’t have wanted it to look nice if it were meant to be worn, but let’s be real. A kid’s sweater doesn’t have to be perfect. Really, none of our handknits do. In any case, I was knitting the stripes and the beginning of the round is on the back of the sweater. I’m more used to it being in the side right under the armpit. It was starting to bug me that the color changes would be in a more obvious spot and so instead of creating a seam where I was carrying the yarn, I decided to cut the ends and weave them in. I figured that would be a better way to do it. It actually made it messier though because of the holes left behind when you switch yarns. I know I could have done this better, especially when weaving in the ends, but I didn’t and it’ll be fine. After blocking, it’s noticeable to me, but I think the sweater does its job of showing these colorways.
When I knit the arms, I just carried each color through the stripes and allowed for a seam to show. It’s underneath the arms though, so to me it’s fine. If I were to knit it again, I would move the beginning of the round to the side of the sweater and just carry them down and not care about the seam. For all I know, the pattern did have that direction in there and I missed it.
The other issue I had is that at first, I didn’t go down a needle size for the hems. I mostly chose not to out of laziness (I would have had to go to another room to get the needle, sheesh) and quickly regretted it. I felt like the larger hem looked sloppier and again, this was to be a shop sample and I wanted it to look nice. I ended up ripping back the hem and reknitting it at a sit and stitch. It sounds worse than it was, because remember, this is a 12 month old size sweater. It really wasn’t that much knitting to redo. I also went down a needle size for the cuffs and it looks very cute and neat.
Overall, I’m sure I’ll reknit this pattern again. It’s a simple raglan and if you didn’t do the striping, it would be very straightforward. The stripes do add that bit of helping along in terms of feeling like you make progress.
I spent a lot of time before knitting the pattern deciding which color to use at the main color. Strawberry Shortcake is a variegated and speckled yarn, which means it’s busier than Mint Chip, which is more of a semi-solid. I kept going back and forth about which one would be better to highlight as the stripes. In the end, I went with my gut and I love the combination as it is. I bet if I did it the other way, I’d be saying the same thing. I don’t think you can go wrong either way if you do have one more colorful yarn than the other. It’s without a doubt a good pattern to play with color on.
The other fun bit of information is that the name is pronounced “Toon” not “Th-un.” When I was telling my sit and stitch group about the pattern, they were looking at me like I was crazy. I headed to the pattern to see the story behind the name and learned the correct pronunciation.
Check out the pattern on Ravelry. If you like this pairing of yarn, check them out in my shop. I’ve set up a coupon code for these colors and my blog readers. Use code “BLOGREADERTHUN” at checkout for 15% off these colors. The code will work for one week only, until April 10th, 2020. It is available for Strawberry Shortcake and Mint Chip as individual skeins or in their pairing. Let me know if you have any questions!
Still hanging in there? Finding more time to craft or is everything completely turned upside down. Just know I’m thinking about everyone and hope you are all safe, healthy and happy. I’ve definitely been productive so I’m excited to fill you in on all of the projects. Definitely check out my YouTube channel to see any projects “in person.”
2 Color Socks – DONE Pattern: 2 Color Socks / Joji Locatelli Yarn: agirlandherwool / base coming soon 🙂 / Pebbles in the River and Love at First Sight Needles: Size 0 DPNs Gauge: IDK Cast on: 3/9/2020 Cast off goal: 3/31/2020 Cast off: 3/28/2020
I rarely take a lazy weekend. Between my full time job, the shop, chores and life, I don’t necessarily ever have time to ‘binge’ on much. However, I did just that this weekend. My husband says I was still very productive, but I took the afternoons off and just knit. What this means is that I finished my 2nd Two Color Sock! I think on Saturday morning, I had just finished the heel flap and turn. I’m not sure if I was still doing gusset decreases, but you get the point. By the end of the night, that sock was complete, even the ends were all woven in. I actually have them soaking so that I can block them and take better pictures soon. Look out for them on an upcoming FO Friday post.
Escarpment Cowl– DONE Pattern: Escarpment Cowl / Shireen Nadir Yarn: Juniper Moon Farms in Cumulus Dappled / Colorway TBD Needles: Size 7 Cast on: 1/26/2020 Cast off goal: None Cast off: 3/29/2020
I attended my shop’s sit and stitch on Sunday – virtually, of course – and was able to finish up this cowl. It has traditionally been my sit and stitch project and after the two hours were up, I had just a few rows left. After sitting in front of the computer screen for 2 hours, I wanted to go for a walk and while I waited for my husband to be ready, I finished it up! I have to say, I’m pretty happy with this project. It’s a yarn I probably wouldn’t normally have leaned towards (cotton and thicker), but I’m so glad I purchased it and made this cowl. It’s a cute bandana style cowl, with just a little bit of knitting to connect it in the back. It’ll make a great spring/fall accessory. Again – stay tuned for a more in depth look at this project on an upcoming Friday. I would recommend both the pattern and the yarn.
Charity Preemie Hats: Hat 1 & Hat 2: DONE Pattern: Scrappy Sock Yarn Preemie Hat / Greg Cohoon / KnittingDaddy Yarn: Cascade Heritage Prints / Philadelphia and Hedgehog Fibres / Shiver Needles: Size 3 (cascade) and Size 2 (HHF) Gauge: IDK Cast on: 3/29/2020 Cast off goal: 3/30/2020
If you’ve been reading this blog this year, you probably know that I am trying to knit up a lot of my leftovers. I will be doing a longer post about this on Saturday both here and on my YouTube channel. For skeins that I have used in the past, I’m trying to knit charity projects out of the leftovers. I had about 8 grams left of both the Cascade Heritage and the Hedgehog Fibres yarn and so I decided to knit some preemie hats. For those who don’t know, preemie hats are often knit out of leftovers because they do not take much yarn and it really means a lot for people in the NICU with their babies. I recommend checking out the pattern I used. It has a really lovely story about Greg’s premature baby and how he turned to knitting.
My plan is to donate these to a local hospital to help keep the babies warm and also bring a smile to their family’s faces. If you have suggestions about how to find a hospital in need, please let me know!
These hats took about an hour each. They really go quickly and are a fun little hat to make while watching an episode of something. I’m so happy I finally used up two skeins of yarn and have those leftovers out of the bag. I’ll do a charity recap as well to show you just how much I was able to get out of each skein.
Making preemie hats is something I want to keep up with. I was able to make the size Medium (for a ‘preemie’) out of 8 grams. For the cascade hat, I used size 3 needles, which is what the pattern called for. For the hedgehog fibres one, I went down to a 2 because the yarn is so thin. I want the hat to provide warmth for the babies and so I wanted a denser gauge than I would have gotten with the 3s. I wasn’t too concerned about gauge because the hat will find the right head and no baby is the same. Even lining it up perfectly to the measurements in the pattern doesn’t mean it’s the right size for all babies.
The pattern tells you to use DPNs, which I didn’t have in a size 3 so I knit them both magic loop. I then used stitch markers to mark where the DPNs would go, which was important for the crown decreases. Otherwise, very straightforward and an easy knit.
There’s a small and a large size as well, where the small is for micro preemies and the large is for newborn sizes. Keep in mind that babies can be in the NICU even at full size.
Let me know if you have favorite charity hat patterns that you use! This one is great and I will definitely be able to memorize it, but I’d also love to have some more in my back pocket.
Drachenfels Shawl Pattern: Drachenfels / Melanie Berg Yarn: Suburban Stitcher / Single Sock / Darkest Hour, Clementine and Sweet Adeline Needles: Size 4 Needles Gauge: IDK Cast on: 3/18/2020 Cast off goal: None
THe Drachenfels shawl has certainly been a fun knit. I LOVE the colors I chose and even though I’m only using colors A and B (dark navy and the coral) they look SO GOOD TOGETHER. Navy and pink is my all time FAVORITE color pairing and seeing these two colors together brings me more joy than anything else right now. I’m not kidding. I don’t think I’ll ever want to cast this off unless all I do is knit navy and coral together for the rest of my life.
Ok. Well. That was something.
I might have mentioned this last week, but this pattern has become my reading project. I’m hoping to use it as a way to help me get back into reading and so far that is working really well. I’ve been having a quiet reading/knitting/coffee morning to wake up for about 30 minutes before doing anything else. I also found time to work on it and read while waiting for my husband to wrap up work last Friday. I find that the garter stitches makes it really easy to read while working on it.
At this point, I’ve finished so many WIPs that this is the only one I have to work on besides my Northeasterly blanket. That means that I did cheat and knit on it a bit while NOT reading, but what can I do? One of my goals for the day is to find a new project to work on. But, that’s a story for another post.
I really don’t have too much to say on this though. The yarn is soft, I obviously love the colors and the pattern itself is in cruise control at the moment. I did have a row or two of slipped stitches, but otherwise, it’s just increasing the rows and rows of garter stitch. If you don’t know the pattern, check it out! It’s a garter stitch shawl with three colors and there’s some striping in there. Overall, it will be an easy knit, but a fun squishy shawl to wear.
PS – if you do follow my Youtube channel, you would have seen all the nonsense I went through picking out the right needle size. I’m loving knitting it with Size 4 needles.
Spinning Fiber: Created by Elsie B/ BFL and Seacell / Niagara Falls (OOAK) General Plan: Fractal Spin / 2 ply Spin on: (is there a term for this??) Sometime in early 2019. Cast off goal: Before I die??
I spun again this week and am still working my way through the first half of the braid. I’m definitely getting faster in that I can get through more during my 15 min increments. I’m hopeful that I will finish this braid before the end of the quarantine??? Maybe that’s not saying much?
Inactive 1. Neat Ripple – This is on hold until I finish up the charity items with the colors that I have used so far. 2. Northeasterly. Not completely inactive because I have knit on a few colors. I’ll plan to show an update soon.
What’s Next? I’ve stalled on my shiftalong hat by Andrea Mowry planning because I’m not sure which color to use for the main color. TBD. I’ve been talking a big game about casting on a Sock Arms sweater. I think this will also be on hold for now. It’s mostly stockinette and I’d like to keep that off the needles until I finish the Drachenfels shawl. I’m contemplating what will be next, but I think I want something complicated. Any suggestions? Let me know!!
Shop The shop is full of lots of fun ready to ship skeins. Check it out here. There are some great kits for shawls and socks along with good pairings for sweaters. Let me know if you need help with some color selections. There will be a lot of fun announcements coming soon. Keep an eye out for the details.
This post is quite a bit overdue, but there ya have it. It took me infinitely longer to write this post than it did to knit the darn hat. As always, here are the fun details first: Pattern: 103 Hat / Jennifer Lassonde aka BostonJen Yarn: agirlandherwool / DK base / Graffiti colorway Needles: Size 4 (brim) and Size 6 (rest of hat) Cast on: 3/5/2020 Cast off: 3/7/2020 The pattern page on Ravelry can be found here.
If you need a quick and fun hat to knit, go get this pattern. I really didn’t sit and knit for 2 days straight on this. It was normal knitting time, which for more has been harder and harder to come by. The texture pattern is easy to memorize and so you can take it wherever you go.
I knit this in my DK base, which is a SW merino and nylon blend. It is a very soft yarn and the texture in the pattern makes it extremely comfortable to wear. After I cast it off, I wore it around the house with me as much as possible. I don’t what it was about it, but I did not notice it being on and it was just the right amount of warmth.
I have no knitting mistakes or crazy stories to mention about it. I cast it on, followed the pattern and it was done in a breeze. The color is darker than it appears in my outdoor photos. The colors speckled in there do pop though. I love the teal and the gold that move around the hat.
Below is a WIP photo so you can see the darker tone of the Graffiti colorway.
This is definitely the truer color of the hat
Great fun knit! Check out the pattern on Ravelry and make sure to read the background story for the pattern. Jen dedicated the hat to her boyfriend and the union that he works for. If you’re interested in the Graffiti colorway, it is available in my shop! I only used 50g for the smallest size, so you don’t even need to buy a full skein.
Well, how are you? Holding up okay? I hope this short blog gives you some escape from whatever crazy life you are currently living. I hope you all are staying sane, healthy and safe. I missed last week’s On the WIP Side post, mostly because I only had 1 project, so I’m excited to fill you in on what I have been working on. Definitely check out my YouTube channel to see any projects “in person.”
2 Color Socks Pattern: 2 Color Socks / Joji Locatelli Yarn: agirlandherwool / base coming soon 🙂 / Pebbles in the River and Love at First Sight Needles: Size 0 DPNs Gauge: IDK Cast on: 3/9/2020 Cast off goal: 3/31/2020
Sock 1 is done
Sock #1 is dun dun dun duuunnnnn. Woohoo! I probably finished sock 1 in time for my original goal, but I have decided to make a complete pair. Mostly because I am reversing the two colorways for sock 2. I think that will be fun. As this is a shop sample, the more colors I can use, the better.
This sock is definitely too large for me, but that’s fine. I normally do a 52 stitch count, but I am following the pattern completely. I LOVE the look of this sock. The stripes are so fun, the lace is pretty and the texture on the foot just changes it up a bit. I’m not sure if I mentioned this last time, but I never knit a heel flap and gusset. That is not changing in the future. I just don’t love the look (it reminds me of a flap on a baby’s onesie…?) nor do I love knitting it. I get that they have the best fit, but I’m just fine with the FLK heel fit.
I have moved onto sock #2 and am just starting the lace part (right after the stripes). Hopefully it’ll be done before the end of the month!
Drachenfels Shawl Pattern: Drachenfels / Melanie Berg Yarn: Suburban Stitcher / Single Sock / Darkest Hour, Clementine and Sweet Adeline Needles: Size 4 Needles Gauge: IDK Cast on: 3/18/2020 Cast off goal: None
Freshly wound yarn…. delicious!
Last week, I took off from work on Wednesday. I needed to catch up on the shop and also take a breather day. I think it’s important right now for us all to take a break from all the media and everything right now. We need to take it seriously, but also rest and maintain happiness. Okay, so I took a day off, mostly an afternoon by the time the orders were all taken care of, and sat down to knit. I took out my sock to work on and thought “I really don’t want to knit on this.” It was the only project I really have been working on and I thought I deserved a cast on. You all know (and will know even more with an upcoming detailed post) that I want to use some of each skein in my stash this year. I don’t really keep much around because I like to buy yarn for a project and so I want to use up what I have.
I bought this yarn after winning a pattern for a three color shawl. I am not actually knitting that pattern, but that’s ok. I will be knitting the Drachenfels shawl, which is a squishy garter stitch shawl with 3 colors. The pattern calls for a sport weight, but I think using a fingering weight is fine. It’s such a large shawl that making it a bit smaller is fine by me. It’s an asymmetrical shawl where you start at one tip, increase to the point and then decrease back down. I’ve been making a lot of shawls in this shape because I love that the rows are more manageable.
I knit on the project while watching tv that afternoon. Since it’s mostly garter stitch, I plan to knit on it while reading. I’m hoping this will help me get back into reading again. For now, it means I didn’t really knit on it much.
Spinning Fiber: Created by Elsie B/ BFL and Seacell / Niagara Falls (OOAK) General Plan: Fractal Spin / 2 ply Spin on: (is there a term for this??) Sometime in early 2019. Cast off goal: Before I die??
I spun again! Check out my spinning vlog on my YouTube channel this week. If you watch this week’s Day in the Life vlog that went up yesterday, you’ll see my spinning. I finished up the teal color I was working on and am very excited to start a new color, finally!
Inactive 1. Neat Ripple – This is on hold until I finish up the charity items with the colors that I have used so far. 2. Escarpment cowl. This is my sit and stitch project. My shop is doing virtual sit and stitches, so I’m hoping to finish this up soon. 3. Northeasterly. I’ve been tired lazy.
What’s Next? I’ve stalled on my shiftalong hat by Andrea Mowry planning because I’m not sure which color to use for the main color. TBD. After shop samples, I plan to cast on the Sock Arms sweater!
Shop The shop is full of lots of fun ready to ship skeins. Check it out here. There are some great kits for shawls and socks along with good pairings for sweaters. Let me know if you need help with some color selections. There will be a lot of fun announcements coming soon. Keep an eye out for the details.
Hi everyone! I will be loading the agirlandherwool shop up with a lot of Ready to Ship skeins today Monday, March 16th at 8pm ET. This shop update is all about the mini skeins. Keep reading below to see what will go into the shop. You can also see a vlog about it on my YouTube channel, agirlandherwool.
Example of Mini Skein Set
Example of Mini Skein Set
Mini Skein Sets – One of a Kind I will be loading 5 mini skein sets. Each are 50g total on the Sock base. Each skein is 10g. These are one of a kind sets as a lot of the skeins themselves are one of a kind colors. I create these mini skeins when I test new dyes, color pairings or if I have an idea of what I want to do with a colorway. Make sure you check these out, because when they are gone, they are gone. If you like the idea of a surprise, I also have a listing for a mystery grab bag mini skein set, where you have no idea what you’re getting! It’s a lot of fun! Above are a couple of examples, but make sure you check out the shop for the complete list.
Rose Gold The Rose Gold gradient is a fun 10 skein set that gradiates from a deep burgundy/rose through a lighter pink and gold and then into a deep gold. You can order this gradient in any size skeins in the shop now or you can shop the Ready to Shop section. I used some of these skeins in my Time Trades shawl and I also have kits for that available in the shop.
The shop will be updated at 8pm on Monday, March 16th. There are already some ready to ship skeins available and always any size skeins (and any quantity) always available. I hope to see you there!
Again, for a full run down, check out my vlog on YouTube.
Another Wednesday here, which means it’s time to air out the WIPs. As with last week, I’ve been pretty monogamous and finishing up projects! I’ve been trying to complete some shop samples, but I’m making good progress there, so there will be some fun cast ons soon. Definitely check out my YouTube channel to see any projects “in person.”
January DVD Socks – DONE! Pattern: None featuring Fish Lips Kiss heel (Sox Therapist) Yarn: Desert Vista Dyeworks / Vista / Silver Linings Playbook Valley Yarns / Huntington / 50 Black Needles: Size 0 Gauge: 8 st per 1 inch Cast on: 1/1/2020 Cast off goal: None Cast off: 3/6/2020
They are done!!! Finally! I don’t know why these socks took as long as they did. I was working on them a lot during the movies, but they just dragged on for so long. I think even when I bring socks to the movies normally, I end up working on them in between as well which makes them go faster. I’ve had a lot of other projects I’ve wanted to work on and so these never got that extra time. They are done though, so that’s great.
In general, I knit these toe up, two at a time. I did a contrast heel and cuff to prolong the life of the yarn. I used leftovers from a pair I made for my husband to make these. I ended up doing a full 2 inch cuff to also make them a bit longer and hopefully help with the fit. I’ll post a FO Friday post about these socks soon, so look for more details there!
Graffiti 103 Hat– DONE Pattern: 103 Hat / Jennifer Lassonde / BostonJen Yarn: agirlandherwool / DK / Graffiti Needles: Size 4 (hem – see I learn) and Size 6 (body) Gauge: IDK Cast on: 3/5/2020 Cast off goal: 3/8/2020 Cast off date: 3/7/2020
A note from last week’s post: “That’s right. I hope to cast this off in just a few days. I’ve been pretty monogamous and a hat in a 4 day period seems reasonable? Am I crazy??”
No, Lauren, you were not crazy. If anything, I cast it off a day sooner than my original crazy goal. This pattern is so addicting that I’m not surprised it went so quickly. I really didn’t knit on it for that much time, so if you are looking for an interesting hat pattern, I’d definitely check it out! I’ve knit another of Jen’s hat designs and I found that hat went extremely quickly too.
I think it shows off the yarn really well, which is good, because it will be a sample. I will say that I didn’t take the hat off all night after finishing it. The combination of the soft DK yarn with the scrunchy pattern really was so comfortable to wear.
2 Color Socks – NEW! Pattern: 2 Color Socks / Joji Locatelli Yarn: agirlandherwool / base coming soon 🙂 / Pebbles in the River and Love at First Sight Needles: Size 0 DPNs Gauge: IDK Cast on: 3/9/2020 Cast off goal: 3/21/2020 (now I’m just getting cocky)
So look at that. I cast on a pair of socks. I have to say, I have a couple of thoughts on this: 1. They’re on dpns, which makes me so happy. 2. It’s for a shop sample that I think everyone will really love 3. I’ve never done 2 colored socks (excluding heels/cuffs/toes) and so this is different 4. The cuff has already dragged on for way too long.
I started these socks on the train yesterday during my morning commute. I decided that since it’s a shop sample, I wouldn’t butcher the pattern like I typically do with my socks and knit it as is. This means I am doing it cuff down (weird – I’ve forgotten how long my long tail needs to be. Casting on 10 stitches is way easier), I’m going to do the heel it asks for (unless I really don’t like the look, which happens with heel flaps. I can’t remember what kind of heel it is) and I’m knitting the stitch count as is. Because I have my limits, I did go down to a size 0 needle instead of a size 1 because of my inability to knit at a normal gauge.
When I use DPNs and go cuff down, which this is probably the 2nd time I’ve done it this way, I cast on using magic loop. I love my dpns but I will never subject myself to wrangling those things into a circle while being careful not to twist my stitches. Side note – I find it mildly entertaining that all designers add this warning in this exact wording. Like we’ll go after them if it happens. Back to the point – It’s a lot to ask for on dpns and so I stick with the safe magic loop until the untwisted stitches are happily joined in a circle.
So yeah, I’m working my way down the cuff and merrily on my way. The colors are working beautifully together. I’m also knitting this on my soon to be released new base and you are going to love this! You’ll hear more soon!
Spinning Fiber: Created by Elsie B/ BFL and Seacell / Niagara Falls (OOAK) General Plan: Fractal Spin / 2 ply Spin on: (is there a term for this??) Sometime in early 2019. Cast off goal: Before I die??
Hey people! Look! I spun this week! I really did. I really really really did so much that I recorded a vlog about it. I think mentioned last week that I did, but I re-recorded it so it counts here too. You’ll get to hear/see all about this project and also how I got into spinning. Check it out on my YouTube Channel, probably this weekend.
I spun a couple of times and actually made decent progress for me. I made it through one of the nests I have set up. This is kind of meaningless in words, but that’s what I did! Aren’t you proud! I’m working through the first half of the braid (ie, the first ply). I’m actually thinking I might actually get through this. Recording the vlog and talking through everything really motivated me to want to keep moving forward on it. Expect more updates!
Inactive 1. Neat Ripple – This is on hold until I finish up the charity items with the colors that I have used so far. 2. Escarpment cowl. This is my sit and stitch project, but I wasn’t able to make it this week :/ 3. Northeasterly. I’ve been tired lazy.
What’s Next? I still plan on knitting the shiftalong hat by Andrea Mowry after finishing up these socks. After shop samples, I plan to cast on the Sock Arms sweater!
Shop The shop is full of lots of fun ready to ship skeins. Check it out here. There are some great kits for shawls and socks along with good pairings for sweaters. Let me know if you need help with some color selections. There will be a lot of fun announcements coming soon. Keep an eye out for the details.
Hi everyone! I will be loading the agirlandherwool shop up with a lot of Ready to Ship skeins this upcoming Monday, March 9th at 8pm ET. Keep reading below to see what will go into the shop. You can also see a vlog about it on my YouTube channel, agirlandherwool. This week’s update is all about the colors I used in my Ashbrook Shawl! Plus, I have one OOAK colorway.
Before the Rain / 4th and Goal / Denim
Before the Rain This colorway is a tonal light blue-gray with speckles of dark gray. It will be available on the Sock base in 100g skeins. This colorway is light, but the blue definitely comes through. I think it’s a great color to use as a neutral with many other colors.
4th and Goal This colorway was originally designed as part of the Pigskin Party. I love this colorway (and so many of you do too!) that I decided to keep it as a shop regular. This colorways is a pink/brown base with lots of speckles of brown, mauve, peach and blue. It’s a fun variegated skein that would make a beautiful pair of socks or be the the highlight of a multi colored shawl. It will be available on the Sock base in 100g skeins
Denim Denim is a tonal blue with all shades of blue. It uses the same blue as 4th and Goal, which is why I love these two colors together. As a denim blue, it pairs well with lots of colors, just like blue jeans. It will be available on the Sock base in 100g skeins.
Whoops because Yay!
One of a Kind (OOAK) I made a mistake with a custom order I was dyeing up and so I added some fun color and here we have a new colorway. It is a pink/brown base with teal, green, purple and black all over it. It is available on the DK base in 100g skeins. I honestly think this would make amazing mittens, but they would also do well as a hat, warm shawl or thick socks.
The shop will be updated at 8pm on Monday, March 9th. I hope to see you there!
Again, for a full run down, check out my vlog on YouTube. You can also see more colorways that are currently in the shop as Ready to Ship skeins!
Another amazing sweater off of the needles. Here are the yarn-y details: Pattern: Pavement by Veera Valimaki Yarn: Once Upon a Corgi / Aeron Base / Color: Rodney
I can’t say enough about this project. The pattern fits so well and I’m loving how it sits on me. When I first tried it on, I was a little apprehensive about the length because I thought it was a bit too long. Now I think it is great for leggings or skinny jeans, where I like to wear longer tunics. The yarn is so soft and comfy and I love how the tweed looks with the simple, yet elegant, pattern. I love how the yarn itself is a solid color, yet the tween bits make it looks and feel more fun. The sleeves are a perfect fit and length. I did go off of the pattern here in a couple of ways: 1. The sleeves are designed to end at the elbow. I’m not one to wear sleeves shorter than full length because my wrists and hands get cold generally. Otherwise, if it is too warm for a full length sleeve, it’s probably too warm for a sweater. 2. I did my own sleeve decreases. I may or may not have discussed this before, but my upper arms are proportionally large, when compared to the rest of me. I’m a generally petite person, but my arms need their space. You can check my project page for more details on the sleeve decreases, but the idea is that I didn’t decrease for about 6 inches in order to clear my bicep. I then did a lot of increases before hitting my smaller wrists. I kept the same garter stitch cuff for the end of the sleeves.
I without a doubt will make this sweater again. It was a great knit to bring to the movies and I’m always looking for good projects for that. I am definitely hoping to continue making tunic length garments because they are perfect for leggings. I probably would knit with this yarn again also, but maybe not for another one of these sweaters. I think this yarn is a good texture for a tighter gauge. I think it would come so squishy and soft for something warm around my neck or a thicker sweater.
