Yes, dear, we’re almost done. The catch-up posts, I mean. I can’t speak to the end of this terrible pandemic especially since I’m currently experiencing my first official bout of covid. Yes, the rapid test was positive on Friday morning, and I don’t feel great. Fortunately, it’s more like a bad cold and headache than anything else. Yay, vaccinations! Anyway, while the energy from my nap holds up, here are the shawls and sweaters I’ve finished over the last while.
Seasons Shawl
First up is the Seasons shawl, which I absolutely love, and I made for my mother-in-law. I’ve wanted to make something for Dave’s mom for years, but she is not easy to knit for. She only likes to wear cotton. Virtually anything else makes her itchy and uncomfortable. And if you’re a knitter, you know that cotton as a yarn is most often used for dish cloths. Not exactly a mother-in-law garment grade fabric… So when my Knitcrate subscription one month contained Uru.Yarn Cotton Basic (100% cotton!) in a gorgeous pink DK weight, I was thrilled and went seeking patterns.
I found the Seasons shawl, and I’m so glad I did. This shawl felt like witchcraft to knit as its construction was so unintuitive to me. I just had to trust in the pattern as I followed it, and it turned out beautifully if I do say so myself. I chose to leave it as a full-on poncho and not to stitch the sleeves as suggested because it just hangs so nicely. I’m pretty sure she liked it? I like it enough for both of us anyway, and I should probably make one for myself!
Akiko Sweater
I don’t knit a lot of sweaters partially because I get bored before I’m finished, but mostly because I haaate seaming.* But when Lily asked me to make her a sweater (or maybe I offered? I’m nice like that sometimes), fortunately she wanted something very simple.
The Akiko sweater, knit in the round to eliminate seaming and in a bulky weight yarn to knit up quickly, suited us both perfectly. I had plenty of this Cloudborn Fibers Wool Bulky Naturals in Espresso Heather on hand, and I like its rustic look with this pattern. I also liked its look here and here and here and here. Now you know I’m posting these projects out of order - this sweater was the big knit and the other projects were all with leftovers.
Potpourri
Look at this shawl! I’m absolutely in love with it. It’s just so pretty and delicate, and I adore how the colours work together. I’ve had the first skein in my stash for several years now. It’s Expression Fiber Arts Yak-Silk Lace, which is one of my all-time favourite yarns. I made this shawl with it almost 6 years ago, and it such a pleasure to wear every time. Anyway, I had the yak-silk in the Harmony colourway, and I was waiting to alight upon the inspiration of what to do with it when I stumbled on the Potpourri pattern.
My next challenge was to find the perfect complementary yarns. Online, because pandemic and my local yarn store was closed to browsing. Hmmm…. I did a lot of surfing and agonizing, but I finally landed on Fine Lace MerSiCash (70% Merino, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere) by DyeForYarn in the colourways Aged Cinderella and Burning Fuschia. SO PERFECT, right? As it turns out, Archie the Cat is also an absolute fiend for this yarn so it’s possible it is woven with just a soupçon of catnip as well. I knit this shawl over about four months with several breaks, and I’d have to practically lock it up to keep it safe from the yarn tiger.
Clonbur Cowl
The creator of the Clonbur Cowl pattern says, “This fingering-weight cowl—with both written and charted directions—was created to be a palette cleanser. Perfect for when you need something easy and engaging in your hands.” That is exactly what I needed, and this little cowl delivered. And it’s an ideal way to showcase the glorious rich and subtly varying blue-green tones of Tosh Merino Light (100% merino) in the Nassau Blue colourway.
I knit it at the cottage with my mama, and my mama happily claimed it. That’s what I call success!
Quiet Bay
Something went very wrong with the Quiet Bay shawl, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what I did incorrectly. There is a reason there is no picture of it laying flat because it’s ridiculously off-kilter. I made some kind of mistake early on and didn’t notice–or possibly unconsciously ignored it–until I was at least half-way done.
At that point, I decided to wilfully ignore it because I loved how the colours were working together and I just couldn’t face redoing it. Plus, because I couldn’t quite parse what the error was, I didn’t want to risk all the time redoing it and ending up with the same result. But it’s very pretty when wrapped just right. Just don’t ask to see it laying flat!
*What am I thinking? I currently have this Riptide sweater on the needles for me. It is knit in pieces out of fingering weight yarn and seamed together. Why. I’m about halfway done the back piece and I’m already thinking I need a palette cleanser. Anyone need a Clonbur cowl? Or maybe I’ll make another mini-sweater for a quick lil project…
