end of season frenzy
"will I finish knitting this wool sweater before the cold weather goes away??"
Tax day is almost here and the last of the cold weather can’t be too far behind it. We can still count on a cheeky May snowstorm here in Colorado but the beautiful warm days are starting to crowd out the cold, sweater-worthy ones.
Accordingly, that means I’m pondering what ill-advised warm weather knits I’m going to cast on and am ready to get the woolen WIPs off my needles (and lap) and into storage for the season. I’ve got a few last minute finished garments to share with you and some fun WIPs.
Esther Jacket
My first finished object is imperfect but I love it anyway. I picked up this Queensland Kathmandu Aran yarn in a going out of business sale last summer (RIP Wooden Spools) with the intention of making an Esther Jacket and for once the plan matched the execution. The yarn is 85% wool, 10% silk and 5% cashmere and is pretty unevenly spun but was perfect for the knit/purl texture of the Esther. It’s a little delicate for a everyday throw on sweater but I think it will be worth the extra care.
I was way too generous in the sleeves but I’m not planning on ripping back the 2+ extra inches. I can fold the cuffs up if they’re in the way and the length increases the cozy factor of the sweater overall.
Flower Power Pullover
I started this project all the way back in November in a fit of inspiration after seeing that
was going to knit it too. I already had this purple Knit Picks Palette and I decided to go full Scooby Doo with the contrasting green.Once I realized that I’d memorized the bulk of the chart (and saw the end of March approaching) this project went way faster. I’m relieved to have it finished but I’m not over the moon with how it turned out. I considered skipping the colorwork on the sleeves and just knitting them in the round and I think that would have been the better plan. It was hard to block out the intarsia on that small of a circumference and it puckers more than I’d like.
I have a feeling that this will benefit from sitting in my closet until next fall and that I’ll fall back in love with it once I have fresh eyes.
Zenner Socks
I bought the yarn for this project 2021 and gave up after my first two tries at the colorwork resulted in a sock that was too tight to get over my heel. Now that I’ve created a few successful colorwork socks I came back this project so that I could clear it out of my mental queue.
These turned out very cute! You can kind of tell that I held both strands in one hand on the green sock and in different hands on the blue sock (the tension is much looser on the green) but I don’t think that it’s a deal breaker. And it was fun to learn that such a small change in process could show up in the product!
Works in Progress
My needles are almost free and clear for some linen and silk projects that almost certainly won’t turn out how I want but I’ve got a couple of woolens that I’d like to finish up first.
My parents brought me a cone of yarn from a small farm in Vermont that they visited a few years ago and I’m finally putting it to use in a beige Burgos vest that will be perfect for the cool mornings that we’ll have for a while yet. I was inspired by my Doppio Sweater to hold with two laceweight strands of silk and lambswool to bulk up the gauge I could get and to get more out of my stash.
The beautiful red fisherman’s rib number is a project for a fellow Substacker
. She showed me this beautiful ready to wear bandana and asked if it was something I could knit for her and I couldn’t resist the prompt. It was fun to work out what stitch to use and how to cast on and I’m hopeful that the finished project will be a wearable accessory for her!Aside from a new sock cast on I’m resisting all siren calls to cast on warm things so that I can be ready to knit through my stash of summer yarns. Bamboo needles and plant based yarns here I come!
Check out some other recent/relevant posts of mine:
Go on, cast on that sock
Each year, I hit my stride at this point in the winter and my creative energy goes into overdrive. I have the urge to cast on new projects with wild abandon but try to keep myself focused on knitting through my existing pile of WIPs.
The particular masochism of summer knitting
Picture a knitter. Give in to the most obvious cliches and tell me: what season is this person in? What are they knitting? Are they cozy by a fire with a warm drink? For most people knitting is a seasonal hobby and the archetypical knitting projects are wooly sweaters and cozy scarves.
Winter Wrap Up
The end of the cold weather brings on panic in knitters who still have heavy sweater projects on the needles. Will this wool/mohair cabled beauty be ready before the heat forces it into a drawer? How hot is too hot for 100% alpaca??
flower pullover is toooo goood
“I decided to go full Scooby Doo with the contrasting green” was a great sentence!