sea princess

Pattern: 'Sea Princess' by Elena Nodel (not yet released)

Yarn: Cascade 220 in colour 8912

I spontaneously decided to sign on to test knit this lovely pattern last week and I'm happy I did. Elena has made a very versatile sweater - sized 6m-14 yrs., 2 sleeve length choices and 3 back cable choices (this is the most elaborate version). She'll also be releasing an adult version. She also has patterns for similar pants and a skirt. Here is her designs page on Ravelry. Super cute collection!

I wanted to make something purple and warm for my sweetie as she's had a hard week. Sadly, we had to make the decision to return Gracie the dog to her home on the farm. We all miss her.

Hope you enjoy your long weekend. It's gorgeous and warm here and we have most of the dreaded leaf raking done already, so we can relax. Later, peeps.

starlight, starbright

Pattern: Starlight, Starbright by Kirsten Jensen

Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, colours #117S Winter Blue, #N80S Mountain Purple, and #144S Limestone

So my first FO of the year/decade is this one. As I mentioned, I test knit it for Kirsten and every bit of it was thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the pattern and the yarn and I finally cut my first steek (!). These late-in-the-day photos were all I could do today - I'll see if I can get better ones later. This week has had a constant crazy agenda and I got in very little knitting time or at home time at all. But here it is. And even though it's big on her my daughter loves it (I think you can tell). So do I.

christmas sweater

Pattern: Pikkuveli by Suvi Simola
Yarn: Cascade 220, colours #8400, 8914 and 2404

I tried to keep knitting for Christmas to a stress-free minimum this year, but here is something I made for my cousin's one-year-old little guy. It's the same one I made bigger and pinker for my daughter last month. I love this pattern (Suvi's a genius) and I wanted to try some boy colours.

I wish this little guy lived near us as he's such a sweetheart. Thank goodness for holidays so we can visit with those we love. Now for a snowy and relaxing week off.

pinky goodness

Pattern: Pikkuveli by Suvi Simola (not yet released)
Yarn: Cascade 220, colours 9470 (pink), 8901 (purple), and 9430 (green)

Here is the finished version of the sweater I've been test knitting for Suvi. What a gorgeous pattern. This is size 6, so it's a wee bit roomy on my 5-yr-old, but that's perfect. She can wear this for a long time. It was fast and fun and these colours never got boring. She loves it!

tests can be fun

I'm test-knitting a super cute cardigan pattern by Suvi right now. These sleeves are so fun to make. My 5 yr. old girl's tastes are all about pinks and purples, so that's what I'm using. The main colour is fuscia and the secondary is grape - I will attempt to better differentiate them in the next photos. They are far more saturated than I would normally knit with, but they were what seemed to work together from the selection my LYS offered in this particular yarn.

Have a great weekend!

warm babies are happy babies

Fibre: Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino in Just for You colourway

Here are the hat and mitts mentioned in my previous post. I managed to spin 184 yards of 2 ply worsted wt. from 4oz which made these with about 3 yds to spare. I really love CMF fibre. My sister-in-law asked me to make a hat and mitts for my great nephew (her grandson) who is nearly 1 and super cute. I hope these work.

We had an early, wet snowfall 2 days ago that took us aback, considering most of the leaves are still attached to their trees. Much of it has melted now, but it's foreboding nonetheless. I'm a landscape architect and I have sites under construction at the moment that need finishing. Like playgrounds. I'm losing some sleep right now. Knitting helps.

Hope you're having a great weekend. Happy Thanksgiving/Columbus Day!

owls

Pattern: Kid Owlet by Kate Davies

Yarn: Lamb's Pride bulky in Grey Heather

We're having unusually hot weather for this time of year, so we waited until the cool early morning to quickly throw this on for a photo. I felt a bit goofy knitting a bulky wool sweater in 30 degree celsius but I've had a huge urge lately to "nest" and try to prepare for the bitter cold I know is to come. Nesting naturally led me to owls.

This will be great over a twirly skirt for skating lessons this winter.

veste jonas

Pattern: Veste Everest by Veronik Avery
Yarn: Cascade 220 superwash

One day I asked my son if there was anything he felt like having me knit for him. He said "Yah! Actually...." and pulled out this picture of the Jonas Brothers. I searched for something similar with cables and remembered this pattern. Then I looked for blue yarn. I tried to persuade him into a tweed, but he insisted on straight-up plain baby blue. I have to say, nice as this pattern is, it's boring to knit and a bit more going on with the yarn would have helped. Oh well.

He likes it. He may even wear it.

juliet

Pattern: Juliet by Sarah Johnson and Rachel Bishop (Zephyr Style)

Yarn: Araucania Toconao

Here's a break from all the grey. This yarn is so squooshy and happy in all its random handpaintedness I felt like I was knitting with a crayon. Not that crayons are squooshy. You know what I mean. This pattern is written for grown-ups but I just went down to a 4.5mm needle from 6.5mm and used worsted instead of bulky wt. yarn. Good for a 4.5 yr. old. Fast and fun.