in the lineup

I needed to wind up some more of my sweater yarn, so I also took the time to set myself up for a couple more projects. I have just two things on the needles, both garments, and that just doesn't feel right! (Though it does actually feel kinda good....) 

This first set is yarn I got sometime last year at my local yarn store. I am pretty sure it was an anniversary sale of some sort because I remember buying a bunch of this beautiful cotton yarn on a whim because it was very reasonably priced. At the time I was thinking 'blanket' but wasn't sure what kind. I've picked out what I hope will be an interesting round throw blanket project. 

These lovelies are from a stash dive I took when I saw a recent Wool & Company newsletter featuring the Clint shawl. As both a knitter and a quilter this feels like something I would really enjoy making and wearing. I am feeling inspired to use my stash yarn whenever possible right now (thanks knitting YouTube), so I sorted through my skeins, assisted by Ravelry helping to tell me quantities, to find this combination of colors that I think is unusual but will be effective. My main color will be that bright saffron yellow! 

I have these all tucked into project bags and am happy that I'll have something to cast on when the mood strikes me, no planning necessary. 

octavia sweater, finished

Yesterday I texted my mom the photo below with the caption: I have a plan.  

This sweater has been in Time Out since New Year's Even when I bound off the last stitch. I tried it on and was dismayed that despite fixing my gauge I still wasn't thrilled with the neckline. Still just kinda too big for my taste. I used every last inch of the navy yarn so I didn't have the option of continuing on or ripping back and expecting any adjustments to be smaller - conservation of mass being a law of the universe and all. I soaked and pinned it out on Monday, so yesterday it was plenty dry to try on and decide that a) the rest of the sweater actually fit way nicer after blocking (it was Not Very Nice before, another reason for Time Out) and b) the neckline isn't terrible, it should be fixable. 

I purposely wore the green version of this sweater one day this week to remind myself of how that neck turned out. It was Pretty Good, actually. I was comfortable all day and didn't really have issues with straps showing or anything feeling too stretchy. So I decided to use the same crochet chain stabilization approach with this sweater that I did with the green one. The one snag is that I had to use the coral yarn because I was out of navy, but if it peeks it just looks like a nice intentional facing detail. The neck is still a little wonky looking even after blocking (just the rolled neck) again, but it will do. I skipped the raglan stabilization I did on the green one. I can always go back and make that adjustment if I feel I need to but this version actually was at gauge so it isn't that saggy through the arm circle. 

For reference, the picture on the left is both sweaters folded the same way. I have to say I do like the 'baggier' fit of the green one quite a lot still, but I'm looking forward to wearing this one and seeing how the correctly sized garment treats me. I love this coral color in combination with the navy, and once again the striped pattern modification is very fun. Proud to have it done! 

Note: more photos to be added in a post to follow once I get some nice shots outside..

a crafty day off

Monday was a day off for me, and I spent quite a bit of it letting the creative juices flow. Before they really got going, though, I felt the need to address a couple of knitted objects that have been sitting around waiting for their final steps. On the left is my Shift cowl which needed blocking before seaming up and weaving in ends. On the right is the sweater I have been mad at since January and unsure how to address it. What I decided to do was block the entire thing to see if it improves the fit and to examine how much I need to address the neckline. I have my notes from the first one I made, so if I need to I can just try the same adjustments I made there. Here's hoping! 

Another BIG project I have wanted to tackle since last year is a new quilt. This is going to be a complex undertaking that I'm hoping I can chip away at month by month this year. I might not finish the top by the end of the year but I hope to at least make a dent. My first order or business was to get my fabrics out and remember what I have collected. Most of these are from Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove, purchased years ago along with the pattern, and some are from the stash to augment the color families where I could. 

This is Elizabeth Hartman's Desert Animals Quilt, and the way she has written the pattern, knowing which fabric of mine corresponds to the letters of hers is going to be necessary to keep everything straight. To help my sanity, I snipped little pieces of each fabric and used a glue stick to stick them on a piece of cardboard in the same kind of grid that exists in the pattern booklet. I think this is going to be a huge favor to my future self. I'm looking forward to diving into that one sometime soon. 

The last thing I did was make another Firefly Tote. I cut the canvas pieces out when I cut out the pieces for Mom's tote, and I had all of the accent fabrics chosen and piled up. It had all been sitting on the side because I wanted to make the bigger one for myself first. I was in a clean-it-up mood, so I decided that the best thing to do would be to just make the bag instead of moving the pile again!  

 

It turned out looking great. Mom and Dad bought me these fabrics on our most recent trip to Pacific Grove. I remember Mom really wanted to get us some butterfly fabric to mark the trip. This Charley Harper print is beautiful. The lining fabric is a zinnia print from Anna Maria Parry that pairs so well with that neon geometric. I'm thrilled with how this one turned out. This took me late into the night and I went to sleep pretty satisfied with the progress, planning, and clean up I got done on a relaxing day off. 

an exciting start

I spent far too many of the wee hours on Sunday getting this project started. To be fair, I had Monday off so there were very few repercussions aside from a circadian rhythm blip and one less night of solid sleep. But! I cast on my Coloring Book Raglan. I have wanted to make one of these since I saw a favorite YouTuber talk about it this fall - the boxy look plus stripes was quite appealing to my current sense of style. I showed adult restraint, though, and finished up a few things (including a new project bag for it) before caking up the yarn. 

This will be my first time working on a top down sweater (just my fifth sweater) and I am looking forward to seeing if I prefer it to bottom up. I expect the bonus of being able to try on as you go is pretty significant given my dive in and ask questions about gauge later habits. The fit also looks like it would be very forgiving in the I-don't-like-to-swatch department.

I'm using a yarn I discovered (but did not purchase) on Bay Area Yarn Crawl last year. I can remember seeing a black version, which was gorgeous, picking it up and thinking "ooh that's really soft wool. I bet I could wear a sweater out of that". This shade of dusty robin's egg blue is just beautiful and I love working with the yarn so far. I'm about halfway through the raglan increases at this point, and then it's smooth sailing down the body. I'll be combining it with some alpaca for the stripes. I'm really looking forward to seeing if that works out. 

bohemian ponies, finished

I made 10 yards of binding for this quilt. That is a lot! Though, I am amazed that 10 yards of binding can come from less than a yard of fabric. Magic. Or math. You know, same same. I was so motivated to finish this up that I spent a late evening sewing the binding on. I debated doing my usual zig zag to tack it down, but two things: 1) I was running out of bobbin and 2) I think I'm starting to prefer hand stitched binding. 

The sheer number of linear inches around the quilt did give me pause, of course, but once I started it zipped along pretty quickly. I even managed to enjoy it. Basically it's pre-snuggling under your quilt, right? I'm so glad I had enough of the border print to do the whole binding. It's not my usual approach, but I do like that it blends in on the front, and the back is framed nicely. 

Speaking of the back - that is an eye wateringly bright print from Anna Maria Perry's Welcome Home collection called London. I happened upon it online when I was cruising around Missouri Star's sales and I am grateful for the serendipity and the risk I took. It's bright and bohemian hip in a similar way to the front just like I thought it might be. I really enjoyed it while I was tacking down the binding. 

As I mentioned when I finished the top last January, the mix of fabrics was collected over time and worked out feeling very "me" with flowers, horses, and some of my favorite colors. I am most pleased about that, to be honest. Some of the fabrics come from the same collection (the mustangs and arrows) but otherwise they are all me-curated. I can't actually believe the luck that so many of the prints have the exact shade of mustardy greenish gold. It nicely ties everything together and it's a really unusual shade that I quite like. How lucky. 

I will say, it was totally worth having someone else quilt something as big as this. I am STILL working on hand quilting a queen sized quilt (and questioning my life choices) and even if I did quilt it myself in my machine, I would have put it off so long it would be another year before it was done. It was a real treat to be able to drop it off and pick up such a wonderful thing a month later. I'm sharing another closeup of the rather perfect quilting pattern. As I was piecing the top I remember feeling like the vibe was very tribal and geometric, plus horses and this quilt pattern captures that completely. 

As predicted, it did not take me long to get this finished after picking it up. I was so looking forward to sleeping under it as soon as possible! I am really proud of how this one turned out and tickled that it turned out to be the perfect fit for my room. 

it's back!

OMG. I got to pick up my quilt from the quilt shop this weekend, and I have to say it turned out even better than I imagined. The quilting pattern they helped me pick is pretty much perfect! This little cave painting horse motif gallops along and isn't too small, as I was fearing in my worst moments. To be fair, I had no idea from the drawing in the book how big or small it would be. I wonder if they adjust it based on how they think it will look? Either way, it's awesome. 

It took only about 4 weeks from drop off to text notification that it was done. I put off going to pick up until yesterday just because of logistics. The price was also not as high as I thought it would be. I don't need to longarm quilt all of my quilts, but - 5 stars, would do again. Especially for a large one!

I am really excited to have this finished up, hopefully this week. I just trimmed all of the extra batting and backing off and have measured around the edge to see how much binding I will need (lots). I also found my extra bit of the floral border fabric and, if my late evening math is correct, confirmed that I have enough to make the binding for it with a bit to spare. How lucky is that! Cannot wait. More to come. 

firefly totes, finished

These are fun to make! I finished up a couple more Firefly Totes, one for mom and one for me. I probably have at least two more in my near future, a small one for me and a large one for mom so we'll each have a set. 

After finishing up my first one in November, I quickly cut out the pieces for this second one for mom. I didn't have enough more of the gray canvas I used, but I do have a bit of this classy brown tweedy weave on a roll, so I decided that was a good option for the outer fabric which is meant to be more sturdy. I love the green zipper with the pink polka dots - it's giving Wicked! We are both big fans. I also found an incredibly cute gnome charm for the zipper pull while out shopping for webbing for the handles. The colors were serendipity. 

  

I wish there were more options for the webbing, but I ended up coming home with a navy as a neutral because the brighter colors wouldn't quite color match. Alas, but the drawstring top done up in this bright hippy bird fabric and the shock of pink and orange inside makes up for it. I used the same thick cord for the drawstring as on my original effort. 

I was planning on making myself a project version next, but I have my eye on a sweater I want to start and I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't start it until I had this bag done for toting it around as I work on it. How's that for motivation? I also had this lightweight canvas I wanted to experiment with (spoiler alert, it worked out great using interfacing) and having made the second smaller version reminded me enough of how it went to feel confident working with a new size.  

It turned out super cute, and I definitely want to make mom a bigger one also because it's a really good size. The combination of the mushrooms with the little snails is just awesome. The colors are kind of off my usual island, but it looks very spiffy and I know I'm going to enjoy using it. I had a bit of an adventure in my stash trying to find a lining fabric. I auditioned lots of things from orange to green plaid, neither of which I had enough of, but I landed on this great Halloweeny fabric with unicorns and moons on it to add even more quirk to the whole thing. I also found a fun charm for this one, it's a little turtle with a shell made out of yarn balls and on the back it says 'slow your roll' - words to live by! 

I have already wound some of my yarn into cakes and they're tucked in this bag ready for me to start. I'm really looking forward to toting this around, I just love it. I am already planning the next ones! I have fabrics picked out and partially cut for my small one (more of that brown tweedy weave), but not sure yet what I'll use for the second large one. More fireflies to come soon!  

two new cast ons

Bay Area Yarn Crawl is coming up in March and I'm happy to say that with these two latest starts I have projects going or done with nearly all of the yarn I got last year. (The exception is my doodle cowl kit that I am still planning patterns for.)

This is a rayon/acrylic yarn that is going to be a summery top. I was intrigued by the mushroomy shade of brown and am hoping I end up liking how it looks on me. I may or may not get gauge here, the yarn is both slippery and not stretchy, so I am making the XL and will feel ok frogging it and starting over if it doesn't fit. For now it is a very satisfyingly mindless knit - just a tube in the round for many rows! 

And this. I am so pleased with how this Shift is coming out, I took a chance on the colors and it is turning out just beautifully. This is another use for that same rayon/acrylic yarn (in a different color way that is beige with pops of pastels), a surprisingly rainbow second yarn that is similar in texture, and a solid color cotton. It has gone faster than I remembered my first one going, but now that I am in the section with long purl rows I'm losing speed. That's ok, though I am hoping to be able to wear this one in the Spring sometime so I'll keep trying to make progress here and there. 

a thousand pokes

Last night I picked up this quilt again and got back to hand quilting. It's not going to finish itself! It has been draped across the end of this couch for the whole winter not because it was being used, but to remind me that I have to work on it. I had one row of blocks quilted and last night I finished another row and a half. 

Today my forearm hurts a bit presumably from the many many times I gripped and yanked on the needle. I stayed up waaaaay too late working on it, but the progress is fun to see! I have 9 rows to get done, so I'll need to pace myself while still keeping some momentum going. My goal is to be done with this in 2026!

redwood hat, finished

Here's another quick finish. I actually finished it twice. I got this gorgeous shade of rust (aka redwood) at my favorite yarn shop down in Pacific Grove. I had knit a hat last year using the same yarn and wanted one for myself. What I didn't realize though was that I got the DK weight instead of the worsted weight. Ooops! 

That's ok, I thought the original was a bit big on me anyway, so I went down just one size on the pattern and then knit it as-is. I finished it in 3 days and it turned out pretty good. It blocked out even better. I was relieved to see that it grew quite a bit. Of course, the fabric is a lighter weight than the worsted weight version, but I've decided that's ok. What was kind of bugging me though was that it was just a smidge shorter than I wanted. I wore it one day to see how I felt about it and I was motivated enough to go back and rip back the crown to add one more repeat of the slip stitch pattern to the body. What I didn't realize there was that I was actually adding two repeats of the pattern because of the way the crown is worked, but in the end my mistakes still led to a hat that I love nearly as much as the original and that has been on my head pretty constantly since I finished the fix. 

I love this color and I love that I had the gumption and skill to adjust what I wanted. It's giving me some optimism about that sweater I am currently mad at and ignoring... I also really like that this pattern is out of a book I have on my shelf. I definitely have plans to air out some sewing patterns from the shelves; I'll have to find some more fun small knitting projects to tackle from that stash, too. It feels good to use what I've got. 

well that was quick

I cast on the project I saw this weekend on Monday evening and got a few inches done that first night. As predicted, it was quite a quick knit! The pattern is easy to memorize and as usual the striping makes it so easy to think "just one more row". The pattern is Washington Square, and I modified it to cast on fewer stitches and kept it one gauge instead of switching needles as I went for a more rectangle cowl vs the shaped one meant to go over shoulders. I also didn't reference how many rows to do - I decided I would just keep knitting until I rain out of my single skeins of yarn. (The sample at the shop said it was one skein each color, but when I looked at the pattern the "true" project turns out to require more.)
 

I actually had a pretty obsessive relationship with this one, though it was a bit limited by the fact that it was harder on my hands because of the chunkier yarn. Still, it didn't take very long for me to finish it up. I took it to Wednesday knit night - perfect project for chatting and catching up - and finished off the bind off when I got home. I'm not 100% pleased with the Icelandic bind off I chose, I think it's a little bit too loose and doesn't nip in the edge quite as nicely as the long tail cast on does. In the photo below you can tell which the bottom is just by the way it funnels out. I have half a mind to redo it, but I also kind of think no one will know but me? The jury is out. 

Other than that nagging detail I just love it. The color combination is stellar. The warm neutral, while difficult to coordinate with any other gray in my wardrobe, sets off the gorgeous variegated yarn so well. And apparently I was pretty smart when I got this skein of Lotus even though it sat around in my stash for so long. It is such a beautiful combination of some of my very favorite colors. I especially like the squares where the purple and blues combine, it's very reminiscent of clouds at dusk. I am very pleased with it (as you can tell from the "ta da it's finished" photo below) and have already worn it to work today! 

drop off and pick up

I got my quilt dropped off today! I am very excited and also nervous. It will take about 6 weeks to get it back, so I will have a while to stew and overthink whether I picked the right pattern and thread color. The folks at the shop were very helpful in that, so I’m pretty sure it’s going to be amazing. 

I couldn’t leave without looking around, of course, and I found a really great canvas mushroom print that I would like to use for a large Firefly Tote. The snail print on black is AMAZING and will be one of the coordinating prints for that. This shop also has lots of great Tula Pink in stock and those birds were singing my name. I ended up spending some time this evening cutting out fabrics from my stash for a couple of small Firefly Totes, but I am looking forward to playing with these soon. 

My crafty spidey sense told me that Fillory Yarn was close by - a fact I was not sure of but a quick check of the map on my phone told me I was right. Since I’d made the drive and it was just 3 miles away I figured I would pop in. I had in mind that I wanted one more color of the worsted wool I used for my dad’s sweater to combine with those leftovers and some other stash yarns to make a fair isle cowl. I didn’t find the coral color I was hoping for but got a beautiful neutral instead. Then I found a sample of a cowl that felt incredibly soft and was a really great geometric colorwork pattern. Upon inspection, it used two colors of Malabrigo Mecha, coincidentally the same as a few skeins of yarn I have had lingering in my stash for quite some time without projects in mind. I bought a neutral to mimic the sample cowl (which was neutral and yellow) and will be using a beautiful variegated purple and blue called Lotus. 

I finished the hat I started on New Year’s this afternoon (it’s blocking), so it’s a great time to start a new project. Did I pick anything that’s in my queue? Of course not, the shiny new yarn got wound, along with the much older skein to pair it with. I am looking forward to another quick knit. 

 

quilts at the ready

When I sat down to sew today I wanted to make little things, but felt like I had a couple of *ahem* larger projects staring at me from across the room. I finished a queen sized quilt top this time last year and sometime mid year purchased this bright floral fabric for the back. It has sat. So today I picked up the backing and started piecing some long seams. I have decided to have it quilted for me because I would like to use it on my bed this year, I am already hand quilting a queen sized quilt, and it makes me tired to contemplate quilting this on my machine. 

I need 3-6 inches of extra backing on all sides for the long arm folks according to their website, so this presented a bit of a puzzle for me with the 6 yards of fabric I had. I ended up adding a strip of another print down one side just to have plenty of extra wiggle room. I ironed the top again since it’s been folded for a while, and pressed seams open and ironed the entire pieced backing. Getting all of that fabric flat made me really appreciate my decision to have it quilted - so much fabric! I still have a bunch of batting on a roll, so I cut some of that too and all of the pieces are hung up and ready to go to the shop. They take walk ins, so I am hoping I can get it in this weekend or next and have it by February or March. 

The other project hanging around (literally, on my project wall) was this scrappy improv project. I’ve decided to make it into a wall hanging which made it possible to piece a couple of batting scraps together and pick a backing fabric today. I got it all quilted with just very simple vertical lines in the sashing and it is trimmed up. I haven’t bound it yet because I don’t know what I will use, maybe some scrappy strips? That black fabric was really fiddly linen so I think I would hate binding with that. I am also considering tying the middle of each square with some coordinating yarn. Stay tuned!

new year, new project

Celebrated this evening with a new year’s cast on. I did end up binding off my striped sweater last night - happy to have won yarn chicken on new year’s eve - but I don’t like the way the neckline turned out so I need to consider my options before that will be done. Bummer, but I’m not going to let it get me down. Instead I treated myself to the next project, one I’ve had in my mental queue for a bit. This will be the third time I’ve knitted this particular hat pattern, so I know it will turn out great. I’m really enjoying the color and the quick progress. What a lovely treat!