shale baby blanket

The Shale Baby Blanket is freshly washed, blocked, and off to her recipient! As is tradition with any Brooklyn Tweed pattern, this stunning pattern was a delight to knit. While it looks intricate, it's actually quite simple to master. It's a four row repeat--three of which are simple knits and purls. If you can handle knitting multiple stitches together, yarn-overs, and passing stitches over, you're golden. If not, this is a great pattern to expand your knitting skills. The pattern used about 5 skeins of yarn, and I ended up knitting 52 repeats of the lace instead of the 58 called for in the pattern. 

Since this blanket is for a tiny baby, I initially selected Knit Pick's Brava Worsted for its practicality. I wanted something that could be easily tossed into the washer and dryer, and quickly added back into rotation. I will say that, as I neared the end of the project, I began to question my yarn decision. I've knitted other children's projects with Brava before without issue, but this lot had quite a few ties-offs, knots, and frays in the middle of the skeins. And while soft, it had a strange hand to it. By the time I got to the end, the blanket had already started to look a little worn, which makes a little concerned for how this will wear over time. I'm not sure if they changed their production methods, but it was not the same knitting experience.

Which leads me to this:

I do adore this little blanket, and I'm sure it will be well-loved by one sweet baby girl. And while I love creating something that's made with the end user/practicality in mind, the time and effort put into the making is wasted if the quality of the end product is even slightly lacking. This is why I plan to buy only natural fibers from this point on. I'll use up what's in my stash, of course, but will only purchase the fibers I love the most from now on. The care and upkeep of a project knit in wool requires only slightly more thought and effort--but I'll be content knowing that, if carefully preserved, my recipients are receiving an heirloom piece that can be passed down from generation to generation. 

pattern: shale baby blanket by brooklyn tweed | yarn: knit picks brava worsted in seraphim | ravelry project page

progress + planning

January is always the longest month of the year for me, but in the best kind of way. Work abruptly quiets down, and the weekends--once packed with holiday events and family get-togethers--finally return back to normal. Over the past month, I've spent some serious time by the fireplace with my needles and a big-ol' pile of fiber. I'm about halfway through this Shale Baby Blanket, and because it's such a slow, meditative patten, I've had a lot of time to think about the future and where I want to focus my creative energy. For so long, it's been my dream to join the knitting world professionally, and I've officially decided to start planning ways to achieve that goal over the next few years. There are so many ideas running through my head, but I want to be slow and deliberate about how to move forward into this new space. There are still lots of questions to work through first: Do I want to build my own brand? (Tempting) Do I want to join the marketing team of an established fiber company? (Absolutely) Should I do both? (Could be fun...)

Either way, I think we'll eventually end up moving to Maine, the unofficial capitol of the knitting world. Last year, the hubby and I spent Christmas in Kennebunkport, and even in the dead of winter, we immediately knew it was the place for us. This year, we're planning two trips Downeast. The first will take place in the late spring--we'll fly into Bangor, then explore the entire coastline from Camden all the way up into Lubec. We can't wait to scope out some of the smaller, seaside neighborhoods and visit some of the homes I obsessively save on Zillow each weekend. We'll whale-watch, hike through Acadia, eat our weight in lobster rolls, and do the touristy, schooner-thing. Then, for Christmas, we'll rent a cabin in the mountains, to ski, watch holiday movies, and drink hot toddies by the fire. 

It's fun to plan and dream, and have nice things to look forward to...

p.s. If you have any recommendations on where to stay or what to see in Maine, we'd love to hear them! 

swatching

This past Saturday, I had the entire house to myself, which is a very, very rare treat. Besides eating nothing but carbs  all day, I spent a considerable amount of time parked on the couch watching cheesy, made-for-TV movies and swatching my Tosh Vintage yarn. When I spotted these midnight-colored speckles on a shelf at Loop, I knew right away they wanted to come home with me.

How perfect would they be worked into a cowl to go with my winter coat?

This yarn is super hardy--I kept going back and forth on the stitch pattern that flanks the lace panel, and must have ripped out my knitting at least four times. The yarn held up extremely well and showed very little evidence of my woman-handling. Can we all agree that this Optic colorway is pretty amazing? I could stare at those tiny flecks of rust and aqua nestled into the fibers for hours on end. This yarn is just a delight to knit with, and, as Steven West would say, #specklesaresohotrightnow. 

the pondhopper hat

I was pretty excited to be a part of Alicia Plummer's test knit team for her latest hat pattern, Pondhopper! This was such a quick and fun knit--perfect for those last-minute holiday gifts. The combination of cables, ribbing, stockinette, and purling added just enough variety to keep things interesting for easy, evening knitting, and resulted in a rustic, woodsy-looking hat that's perfect for walks in the woods: 

The yarn is Swan's Island Organic Washable Merino DK in the (perfectly named) Eucalyptus colorway. It's crazy soft and beautifully variegated. I ordered three skeins directly from the Swan's Island website and three different dye-lots arrived in the mail. While normally this would incite panic, I decided to just roll with it. I selected the two that were the most similar in color and alternated skeins every row, carrying the strands along the back of the piece to minimize any pooling or striping in the finished knit.

Alicia's instructions were very clear--she wanted us to "...attach the biggest pom pom you can find!" to our hats, so I whipped out my Clover pom pom maker and made this fatty:

What's great about this hat is that it's the perfect knit for beginners looking to add some new skills to their repertoire. There's a little bit of everything here, and Alicia's instructions and chart make it very easy to follow along. In case you're wondering, here's a peak at the brim, unfolded:

I'm thinking of sewing the edge of the brim to the inside of the hat so that I don't have to worry about keeping it straight, and so that you see more of the hat pattern...I'm pretty sure that's how Alicia styled it in her photoshoot. Pre-blocking, I was a little scared that the hat was too small for my head, but after a nice long lavender bath, the yarn bloomed gorgeously and fits just right. I'd really, really love to knit a cardigan out of this yarn one day...

This was a fun little project and I'm glad to finally be able to share it with you! You can grab your copy of the Pondhopper Hat pattern on Ravelry for $4. Be sure to join the Pondhopper knitalong and be on the lookout for the matching fingerless mitts pattern, too! Have a great week!

Project details on Ravelry

purl soho's classic cuffed hat

My love for the Purl Soho's Classic Cuffed Hat pattern runs deep. I've probably knit about a dozen of these over the years for friends and family members and they're always a big hit. This pattern has it all: classic styling, is quick to knit, and works well with whatever stash yarn you have available. Each Christmas, I knit up a stack of these for my nieces and nephews. Sometimes pom poms are requested, and sadly, sometimes they're not, as was the case this past holiday: 

I've started using less-expensive, superwash yarn when knitting these hats for little ones and tweens. Many of the hats have been left on school busses, felted in the laundry, or just plain-old lost in the black holes that are their bedrooms. I'm looking forward to the day when I can transition them to the Shelter yarns of this world! 

The great thing about this pattern is that depending on which yarn you use, you get a completely different hat. If you knit with a traditional merino wool, you end up with a sturdy hat that is excellent for blocking out the cold winter air. When you use a softer, superwash wool, the hat becomes a little slouchier and relaxed. This time around, I selected Plymouth's Worsted Merino Superwash Wool in the Slate Blue colorway (lefthand side):

This hat is a gift for my Aunt, who is going through chemo; I wanted something that's not only super-soft against the skin, but is also easy to take care of. The fine merino worked up into the slouchiest of all the classic cuffed hats I've knit, so I might go down a needle size for both the cuff and the body next time. (Again-must. start watching.) The Plymouth Superwash is a round, bouncy yarn with a beautiful luminosity and drape. The entire time it was on my needles, I kept thinking about how perfect it would be for a baby blanket or a shawl. 

The pattern suggests using a long-tail tubular cast on, which provides a nice, stretchy edge, but the tried-and-true long-tail cast on works just fine. I've done both with equally nice results!

While I truly believe all hats are better with pom poms, I left the pom off of this one so that my Aunt can start wearing it now and not worry about feeling too "wintery". I can always send her one to fasten on once the cooler weather hits! Speaking of cooler weather, Christmas will be here before we know it—it's almost time to start requesting color selections for this year's crop of hats! 

Have a great week...

Visit Ravelry for full project details

The Barnwood Hat

Last weekend, my second attempt at the Barnwood Hat finally came off the needles. The first one that I knit was gigantic because I was too lazy to check gauge, so for this version, I went down to size 5 needles for the ribbing and size 7 for the lace pattern. This one fits much, much better! Lesson learned: always. check. gauge.

The pattern calls for the alternate cable cast on, which I've never done before. Now that I know how to do it, I don't think I'll ever do a long tail cast on a ribbed edge with a long tail cast on ever again! Wooly Wormhead has an easy-to-follow tutorial here. As per the instructions, after casting on my stitches, I worked the first row of the hat flat before joining in the round. The alternate cable cast on gives the hat a nice, stretchy, neatly-ribbed edge. It appears as if there's no cast on at all—as if the 1x1 rib simply manifested. Clever. 

The hat is knit in The Fibre Co.'s Acadia yarn in the Mountain Ash colorway. The fiber's a soft, drapey, DK-weight blend of merino wool, alpaca, and silk. I'm so in love with this yarn. It would be absolutely gorgeous knit into a classic crewneck sweater. The silk noil (the short fiber left over from combing wool or spinning silk) gives the yarn a slight tweed effect, adding to the rustic feel of the hat. It ever-so-slightly camouflages the leaf pattern until the hat is worn. 

It's still a teeny-bit slouchy, but I think that's because my noggin's a bit small at 21". If I were to knit this for myself, I'd probably cast on for the teen version. I'm excited to pack this one up and send it out to someone very special this week!

Visit Ravelry for full project details

Beautyberry blanket

This chunky beauty is for my niece, age 13. Whenever she visits the house, she heads straight for the couch and my hand-knit Montauk blanket. She's been asking for a blanket of her own for months now, and the minute I saw Purl Soho's Beautyberry Blanket pattern, I knew it was the one for her. 

I really wanted to use the Gentle Giant that the pattern called for, but at $418 for the throw size, it was just a teeny bit out of my budget. After a little research, I decided on Knit Picks Tuff Puff, a lovely super bulky alternative that worked out to a very reasonable $71. 

The Tuff Puff yarn is super soft and a delight to knit with—it almost reminds me of sturdy roving. I originally started out pairing the White (color A) with the Marina (color B), a beautiful peacock green/blue. However, after knitting a few rows, I decided to swap it out with Silver—partly because I'm a neutrals kind-of-gal, but also because teenage girls' tastes quickly change and I wanted to knit something that would transition with her well I nto adulthood. (The Marina has now been set aside for this gorgeous cowl.) 

The pattern is pretty spectacular... The front side has a beautiful honeycomb effect, the creamy white stitches framing the silver yarn in tidy, geometric outlines. The stitch pattern combined with the large gauge of the yarn resulted in a warm, lofty knit that's perfect for midday nap sessions.  

Things got a little tricky when it came to picking up and knitting stitches for the attached i-cord border. I wish I had used a lighter hand when knitting the i-cord, as the edges of the blanket curled in a little bit once the ends were grafted. After a bit of gentle hand blocking, this seemed to resolve itself. 

Even though I calculated 13 skeins of white and 9 skeins of silver for yardage, I only ended up using 10 and 6 skeins, respectively. When joining new balls, I did a simple wet felt join, which eliminated the need to weave in all of those pesky ends. The yarn does develop a soft halo after extensive handling, but I think that just adds to the charm of the finished knit. 

Overall, this is a showstopper of a piece and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

Full project details on Ravelry.