Oops, disappeared there for a minute (month). I had been doing so well in updating fairly regularly too! I just got busy, I guess. Or rather, busy doing nothing interesting. I am still working on my Zweig sweater (finished the body and started the first sleeve!) and planning out my next projects once I finish that one. I always start closing in on the finish line and get start-itis on my next projects! It’s a problem. But I’m faithfully plodding along on the sleeve(s) and hopefully will have that done in the next couple of weeks.
My next projects are going to be sweaters. Right now I don’t really know what pattern I want to do next. I had talked previously about making Birkin, and I got the yarn for it, but I’m not sure I want to knit it next.
Here’s the yarn I chose for that one:
This is Knitpicks Palette yarn, which I have been using for Zweig and like quite a lot! It has a rustic look but is very nice to knit with. The colors are a smidge off – the light beige color is more of a warmer light brown, but close enough. I had actually ordered a different pink color but when it came, it was too Barbie pink for what I had in mind. However, years ago I apparently ordered some Palette (for what purpose I literally have no idea at this point, possibly mittens? But… not sure) and had a couple balls of Masala, which is a burnt orange and was able to swap that out. I think this collection of colors are much more “me” and look forward to working on this project.
I kind of ordered several more of Caitlyn Hunter’s patterns (Boyland Knitworks) because they are awesome and she came out with this fabulous new one called Sipila that I can’t wait to make, but also because I have become enamored of Alyeska, which is an all-over top-down colorwork sweater with unusual motifs. It kind of blends from light to dark with a contrasting pop and I went stash diving for this one thinking I could come up with something, and I do believe I have something very fun:
I don’t have quite enough of the darker green for the bottom section of the sweater so I thought, rather than buy more yarn, to either incorporate that really dark green to the far left, or the slightly variegated kelly green in the middle by fading it in. I think that will work out really nicely! The yoke will involve the mint/pink speckle at the top and the hot pink will be my “pop”.
Finally, the next sweater I have been thinking about is the So Faded sweater. This is an easy top-down raglan with garter detailing at the shoulder that “fades” into the next color by alternating colors for about 1.5-2″. I have seen a lot of these, but while I kind of like speckled yarn it isn’t my super jam so I thought I could find some variegated yarns in my stash that blended together nicely and this is what I came up with:
Hot pink to purple to black (dark gray really)! Some of these yarns have been in my stash FOREVER (here’s looking at you, Collinette Jitterbug!) so rather than “saving” them for socks or shawls or whatever, it will be nice to actually use them since they’ve spent years marinating on a shelf.
Having a huge stash of sock yarn is working out really well for these color work and blended sweaters! It’s fun to shop the stash. Because I generally try to only buy yarn at Stitches and maybe 1-2 Knitpicks orders throughout the year, tops, and here I am with yarn for two more sweaters that I just had to go into the other room for.
When I do get around to making Sipila, I will have to order at least the body yarn because I want that one to be solid or semi-solid. That might be a fun one to look for yarn for at Stitches next year. As much as I like it I clearly have a bunch of projects in front of it! There is also that Norah Gaughan Stag Head Pullover that I want to make (and have the yarn for!), though that pattern is knit flat and pieced together, which is not my favorite. Though I do really want that sweater! So, we’ll see.