So. Much. Knitting.
New designs published, a sweater finished, and another one started!
Thanks to each of you who purchased a copy of my Mezzaluna shawl pattern last week. The 20% discount runs through the end of the month, so it’s not too late to get in on the deal (no coupon code necessary). And there are still some lovely Mezzaluna kits remaining at WoolTribe, in case you want to let the experts take care of combining colors for you.
I’m back from a fruitful and friendful four days at H+H, the wholesale trade show for yarn and fabric crafts. I know you want to see what I brought home with me.
From left to right, it’s a skein of Pip Colorwork from Baa Ram Ewe, two skeins of a not-yet-released fingering-weight wool yarn from Wooldreamers, a skein of Coleman, a sport-weight silk and linen blend from Queen City Yarn, and a skein of Pelagic Worsted, a hand-dyed Shaniko wool yarn from Sea Change Fibers. I also snagged some unusual double pointed needles from Addi.
It's not quite a haul, but that’s OK. The last thing I want is to be a yarn mooch. I’m always reluctant to ask for yarn; after all, I’m not a shop owner who might become a wholesale customer. But if someone says, “Would you like to take a skein to play with?” it would be rude to decline. You can look forward to full reviews of each of these yarns in the months to come.
New Designs Published
An odd thing happened today. I went to Ravelry to pull a link to the Mezzaluna shawl pattern and saw a design I had no memory of knitting. Honestly, zero recollection. I thought it was a mistake. Maybe the yarn company was loading a bunch of new patterns and put my name on this one by mistake. Then I went back into my files and found it—the Olivia Pullover in Amano Yarns Andes. I knit this sweater 10 months (and many designs) ago.
Forgive the poor photo quality. I couldn’t get my hands on a hi-res image of the sweater on a model. Here is a close-up of the colorwork taken before I shipped the sample.
This is a stranded colorwork pullover knit in the round from the top down. The yarn is a DK-weight blend of alpaca and wool. I used just the four natural colors, but dyed colors are also available.
Just this week, Quince & Co. published the Merrytimes Kids Collection, with nautically inspired baby sweaters and hats designed by me!
Petit Marin is a striped pullover and matching cap knit in Wren, a blend of wool and cotton. For the smallest sizes, the pattern includes a button placket at the left shoulder to make dressing squirmy babies easier.
Lunenburg is a cabled cardigan and matching hat knit in Phoebe, a butter-soft sport-weight superfine merino wool. This yarn has excellent stitch definition, making the moss stitch and X-O cables pop.
You can purchase the collection (a cardigan and a pullover, each with a matching hat), or purchase each pattern separately. You can even order the pattern and the yarn together as a bundle.
Surprise! I finished a sweater for me!
Way back in January, I wrote about designing a sweater for myself inspired by a ready-to-wear sweater. It’s been sitting in a basket next to my desk, patiently waiting for me to add a round or two in spare moments sitting at the computer. When I finished a design commission a couple of weeks ago, I realized I only had one sleeve left to knit. I moved the basket to the living room, where the hard-core knitting happens.
There is no pattern for this pullover—it’s a one of a kind. I knit it from the top down in the round with two strands of hand-dyed sock yarn held together (lots of pinks from many dyers, with Knit Picks Stroll Effects as the blue/violet that runs throughout). It is mostly worked in reverse stockinette stitch, with garter stitch at the neckline, hem, and cuffs. I knit it inside out, since I knit faster than I purl.
The sweater fits perfectly, and I love it. Of course, it’s now far too hot to wear a long-sleeve wool pullover where I live. I’ll have this lovely colorful sweater to look forward to when cool weather comes again.
And started another one!
I have several sleeveless cotton and linen dresses that form my standard warm-weather work at home wardrobe. But my upper arms are not my favorite feature, so I have a couple of lightweight cotton cardigans I can throw over a dress when I need to leave the house. I wanted to add a hand-knit cardigan to that collection, and I had a sweater quantity of Knit Picks CotLin which I bought on sale several months ago.
The day before I left for the trade show last week, I shipped the finished sample of a new design and received the yarn for yet another design commission. Since I was going to be traveling, I decided to give myself a little treat. I did a little math and cast-on that summer cardigan as my travel knitting project.
With a week of knitting, I got through the body up to the armholes, divided the piece, and made a start on the upper back. (One of the pleasures of trade shows in this business is that nobody bats an eye if you knit during meetings and presentations.) I’m loving the simple texture of these garter stitch and eyelet stripes. The yarn is a delight.
This project has now been put to the side while I work on the next design commission, but I’m confident it will be complete before the summer ends.
Things that caught my eye…
The Woolmark Company produced an animated graph showing the alarming growth in the production of synthetic fibers over the past 50 years. Remember, synthetic fibers are plastics. They are a significant contributor to the rise of plastic pollution and microplastic contamination of our water and food supply.
The New York Times reported on the common problem of loosing track of the number of Substack subscriptions you’re paying for. I’m deeply grateful for each of you who choose to support my work with a paid subscription. I personally have paid subscriptions to four newsletters: Culture Study, The Daily Respite, Cultivating Color, and The Gusset.
I’m going to skip the book review this week, because this is already getting long. Thank you, as always, for giving me the gift of your time and attention.
Continue the conversation—I’m curious about what’s on your needles right now. Tell me about your current project in the comments. Link to the pattern if you’d like and tell me about your yarn choice.
Lots of eye candy in this post, Sandi! I love the hat and sweater sets for children. Several years ago I knitted what I claimed would be my last “baby project”: a hat, sweater and blanket set for a friend’s son’s first baby. My problem with knitting for children is that the ones I knit for are far away and so I don’t often know if the knitted items are ever worn. I might get a thank-you card and on rare occasions, a photo might be uploaded to Facebook, but mostly I get crickets. My friend’s son made a point of visiting his parents while I was there, to show off his new baby attired in the hat and sweater I had knitted. The blanket was brought along too so the baby could be swaddled in it. I was moved. I know I shouldn’t mind if I don’t hear from geographically distant relatives who have received knitted gifts from me, but I’m only human.
I'm working on a pullover called Autumn Alpine I got off Ravelry by Caitlin Hunter. I'm using the Cashmere Blend from Little Skein and I am loving the softness and drape of this yarn. It really is decadent and is so easy to work with. Of course, by the time im done it'll be too hot, but things take longer than I think they will.