wip | turtle dove sweater.

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This is my first time using a Woolfolk yarn, even though my sweater club has been sitting in a box waiting for me about half a year now (and it’s filled with Woolfolk yarn).

I’m currently rounding the finish line on the Turtle Dove sweater by Espace Tricot using Woolfolk Luft bulky yarn, in the blacks color way. This yarn is so ridiculously soft and it has a bit of a halo. I love it.

The Turtle Dove sweater is a dream of a pattern; super fast, easy to read, and the Woolfolk Luft is a perfect yarn for the project. I can’t wait to wear it; I have but one sleeve left. Here’s to hoping the dolman style sleeve doesn’t make me look like a fool.

 

f.o. | scrappy boot socks.

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It’s about that season–heavier boot socks. And so, I made another version of my favorite Purl Soho Boot Socks using a whole bunch of bits and ends from other projects. The palette isn’t the most pleasing but they’ll be hiding in boots and who doesn’t want to wear super wash merino wool on their feet?

This is a great project for stash busting–these were knit up using bits of Malabrigo Rios in frank ochre and yerba, and some Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in found pottery.

The doc is a super happy recipient.

See more of my socks here.

f.o. | eugene pullover.

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Despite my gauge being a little off on this one (and not discovering this until after I divided for the sleeves and didn’t want to rip the entire thing out), I’m really happy with the finished product and the fit of the sweater.

Eugene is so comfortable; I might gift this one for the holidays this season because despite loving it, I’m not sure I’ll wear it. I’d consider using this pattern again with different striping or even just a solid pullover.

The Eugene pullover by Whitney Hayward is part of the brilliant Cascades Collection. It’s knit up using three colors of Quince and Co. lark in glacier, bird’s egg, and slate.

You can read my project notes here. And you can see more of my sweaters here.

cook | sheet pan shrimp scampi.

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Quick but delicious weeknight dinners are my jam. I don’t like to spend more than 40 minutes but I don’t want to be completely boring or entirely routine. I like a bit of variety and I like to have a bunch of strong meals in my rotation.

I recently tried a new sheet pan recipe for shrimp scampi and it was so bomb. Instead of serving it with pasta or some other starch, this recipe called for a pile of veggies like zucchini and summer squash and bulked it up with some delicious parm toasts to serve on the side.

Everything is marinated in the same garlic, butter, hot pepper flake, lemon mixture and its only one pan. Grab the recipe here.

f.o. | eugene pullover.

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I’ve been addicted to the Cascades collection by Whitney Hayward since it was released. I’ve even knit more than one Withrow hat from it. I’d love to have every one of these items in my wardrobe.

I bought the yarn for the Eugene pullover about a year ago, but finally cast on for this sweater at the bitter end of summer. It didn’t take long to knit the body, and then I let the sleeves languish for a few weeks in favor of a hat project, a sock project, and finishing the Ramona Light cardigan.

And then yesterday, I finally finished the sleeves and the neckline. I actually really love it. The shape is short and boxy pre-blocking but still fits well. I think a good soak will get it right to the specs I’m hoping for. I could have knit this on 8s instead of the recommended 9s because my gauge was ever so slightly off, but I’m loving the fit anyways–I don’t think there was drastic impact like I anticipated when I finally noticed after nearly completing the body (gah!).

Cheers to finishing projects and feeling great about them, though I may ultimately gift this one to my mum. Next up in this collection I’d like to knit the Rainier pullover and the Holden wrap.

Finished snaps, soon. What are you finishing this fall?

My project notes are here.

f.o. | ramona light cardigan.

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It’s been nearly two years, but I finally finished my Ramona Light cardigan. This one fits like a dream even if I used buttons that may be slightly on the too small size.

The Ramona Light is knit up in Quince and Co. chickadee in the honey colorway; the fabric is light and dreamy. I love it.

My only modification to this pattern was to avoid any waist shaping for a boxier fit. Here is a snap of it before blocking.

It also feels good to say I don’t have any projects languishing on the needles from the last calendar year; I have but one or two items from years prior that have been in a box that I just don’t know what to do with yet. Will I finish them? Frog them? I can’t make that decision yet. Still, my focus on getting things on and off the needles without having a million projects going appears to be working, and at ground zero no less.

See my pattern notes here.

 

wip | ramona light cardigan.

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For some reason, this has been on the needles since 2017. I knit nearly 70 percent of it in a fury, in less than a week. And then, instead of immediately picking up the sleeve stitches and carrying on, I let it languish for more than a year.

Until now.

I finally finished this Ramona Light Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith this week. It feels great. And I really love the fit and the color, still. This often never happens when I knit a sweater, especially one that I wait so so long to complete.

The buttons I think will work, I’m not entirely sure of yet, but finished snaps of this one, hopefully, at the weekend.

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This lighter version of the original Ramona Cardigan was knit up in Quince and Co. Chickadee in the honey color way. It’s a dream; the loft of the yarn is beautiful and it’s buttery soft. Plus this sweater looks a bit green-ish, a bit tan-ish, a bit yellow, depending on the light, and I love that.

What’s a project you left on the needles forever?

See more from my knitting sketchbook here. Read my project notes for the sweater here.

sketch | summer knitting projects.

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I’ve mentioned before that in 2018, I began keeping track of my knits and the color inspirations for them in a knitting sketchbook. What started on a tiny whim has turned into a project I can’t ever see myself stopping–visualizing the garments I’m making and the potential color combinations I want to use is not only helpful and informative, but I’ve loved looking back on previous entries to see what projects I gravitated to, and what colors, at a given time.

I’ve used ravelry to keep track of my knitting for a decade (or more?); that won’t stop because the knowledge gained from other knitters there is invaluable (yarn substitutions, other color interpretations as inspiration). But to have something tangible to go to is huge.

Here is my most recent f.o. (a Flax sweater for my oldest nephew) and my current project (a Eugene sweater by Whitney Hayward). Clearly, after creating a bunch of top down stripes for my nephews, I wanted to add one to my wardrobe.

See more from my knitting sketchbook here.

make | loom beading.

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I received this amazing beaded loom kit from Purl Soho last week and decided to teach myself a new craft. I’ve done a ton of peyote style beading but never tried weaving beads on a loom.

I’m really pleased with this pattern; once the loom was set up (abysmal process), the beading work is done up really quickly. In a few short hours, I’m about halfway done with this bracelet.

Snaps coming, soon. I can’t decide if I’m going to bead on a loo regularly or not… yet.

knitting | scrappy flax sweaters.

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My sister in law loves a matching outfit on her three boys. I usually knit them all the same pattern and add personal flair for each of them (my oldest nephew, Tyler, loves yellows and greens; my middle nephew, Ryan, likes pink and orange; and my youngest nephew, Grant, likes anything you put on him at this point).

Enter their Christmas presents this year–scrappy Flax sweaters. This is my first time knitting this pattern and I have no idea what I was waiting for. It’s simple but has some interesting details to keep you entertaining, and unending sizing in good chunks for little kids so that my nephews can wear these this winter, but also grow into them further (win, win!).

I have loads of bits and ends of really super yarns like Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage and Malabrigo Rios (oh, I can’t forget the TINY bit of Tanis Fiber Arts) laying around and figured I could use them up if I made these Flax sweaters in bold stripes. Plus, if you can’t wear a yellow and pink sweater at 3 years old, when can you?

I did make a little mistake on my oldest nephew’s version–I didn’t leave the center sleeve stitches in garter stitch, instead somehow managing to use it all the way around the sleeve stitches. Whoops. The knitting hive mind has assured me it’s a small detail and no one will notice; I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to rip back when I didn’t notice this mistake until I’d basically finished the body.

At least his will be most unique, right?

The yarn is the aforementioned in colors like espadrilles, copper penny, frank ochre, azul profundo, yerba, lettuce, glazed carrots, and chris gray. It was the perfect use for a bunch of scraps in my stash.

Here’s to hoping my nephews love them. Finished snaps, soon.

summer | read.

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This was me, literally all summer. I avoided a laptop for 8 weeks (minus prepping for one conference presentation) and dove headlong, all day, into books. My best friend and pooch, Jackie B. Lee, joined me in all those stories and relaxation.

As a result, the only knitting projects I got to this summer were three kind of matching, scrappy, striped sweaters for my nephews. I read so many great stories. You can see what I was reading at my reading sketchbook here.

Any recommendations for me to read this fall?

cook | spicy linguine with clams.

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I love making linguine with clams–and I like to change it up; sometimes a red sauce, sometimes a white wine one.

This one was made with some leftover tomato sauce I had in the freezer and needed to use up. I added white wine, garlic, spicy red pepper flakes, parm, and a little basil before simmering the clams in it all.

It’s a super quick way to use up leftover sauce and easily transform it. It will be exciting that get back into cooking mode once the weather turns. That’s the only great thing about losing those summer days—new dishes.