FO: Minnesota Hood

February 10, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

When I’d made the decision to move back, I went hunting in Ravelry for the appropriate winter headwear. Preferably not a hat. (I’ll save my hat issues for another post.) I wanted something warm that I could wrap around my whole head, but with enough style that I wouldn’t mind being seen in public.

This hooded scarf from Whimsical Little Knits 2 completely charmed me. What’s not to love about those shell details over the ears and on the scarf ends? Then, soon after, I scored this OOAK in a TFA Etsy sale. The perfect pairing of yarn and pattern.

Pattern: Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: TFA Green Label (Turquoise Water)

I won’t lie. The miles of seed stitch got a bit taxing. But I knew they would make the fabric warm — worth it, and so I kept knitting… Then I went button shopping to spur me through the final section. Hooray for 50% off sales! Not sure I otherwise could have justified the button upgrade. Best part, though? I finished it just in time for the latest snowstorm.

A New Favorite Color?

January 13, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

Back around second or third grade — after the standard adoration of pink — I picked blue as my favorite color. And loyal I was to all things blue for nearly 15 years. By the time I’d entered my 30s, though, green had overtaken it.

The other day I looked down at my WIPs and realized another change might be underway.

Hello, blue, my dear old friend!

Since this is a knitting blog and patterns matter, the projects are (clockwise from the top): Peaks Island hood, a Knitmore Girls Vanilla Sock (my first sock!), and a Fiddlehead Mitten (first mitten!).

I also have two other blue projects waiting in the wings — yes, there’s another turquoise one, but the other is a lovely color named Robins Egg Grey.

I try to hold myself to no more than three active projects at any one time. It’s an arbitrary number for sure, but one that keeps me from feeling like nothing will ever get done. Anyone else have a WIP limit for themselves? If so, what is your magic number?

Final 2012 FO: Marin

January 2, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

This last knit of 2012 just may be my favorite — and not because it was knit practically straight through in the quiet days after the holidays. (Although, I definitely loved that.)

I’ve long admired this pattern and bought it soon after it was released… Then I looked at its charts and got scared off. When I found the perfect yarn pairing last month, I gathered up my courage. Can’t tell you how glad I am that I did. I’m completely smitten with the FO.

Pattern: Marinby Ysolda Teague

Yarn: TFA Purple Label in Rock

Did I mention the yarn is 20 percent cashmere? Swoon.

Best of all? It wasn’t anywhere near as hard as I’d imagined.

Holiday FOs: Guernsey Triangle and Isla Wrap

January 2, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

Now that they’ve been unwrapped, I can post these two FOs from the month-long blackout between my last two blog posts. (I may not be blogging, but rest assured, I am always knitting! 😉

First up, one of the lovely yarn and pattern combos from the 2011 Tanis Fiber Arts Year in Colour Club. This one had my sister’s name all over it from day one. (Although I must confess, I wasn’t sure until the end that I’d be able to let it go.)

Pattern: Guernsey Triangle by Jared Flood
Yarn: TFA Red Label in Smoke

And second, a present for Izzy. She saw this yarn online right after Thanksgiving and asked for “something, anything” in it for Christmas. I was only too happy to oblige and found this nice little caplet/cowl on Ravelry. The color is actually somewhere between these two shots… Ah, the joys of snapping FO photos in winter!

Pattern: Isla Wrapby Jessica Vinson
Yarn: TFA Red Label in Frippery

FO: Nightlock Fail

October 28, 2012March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

We’ve got a first on the blog today, gentle readers. Love the yarn, love the pattern, but absolutely hate the FO.

It started off so promising. The colors in this TFA yarn are stunning and the the Merino-Cashmere blend is beyond lovely to work with. Here I am hanging out a few weeks ago at Wild Rumpus, a magical kids bookstore where chickens and cats (and lots of other critters) peacefully coexist. I grabbed a chair near the Harry Potter and was kept company by the friendly (and hungry) Bilinia while Izzy started her once/week volunteer work.

I brought in the second OOAK colorway during my visit to a (new to me) knitting group last week. And while I was a bit skeptical at the time, I was lulled by the group of kind women and the wine. It’s not that the two colors don’t work together — in fact, they echo the golds and pinks of the other strand quite well.

But now that’s it’s done, my fears are realized. Even if I hadn’t moved back to MN between purchasing the yarn and knitting it, I’m pretty sure I’d see only MN Gophers colors in the FO. 😦

Pattern: Nightlock by Lisa Mutch

Yarn: TFA OOAK Purple Label: Squash and Autumn Sunset

As you’ll see, I haven’t woven in the ends or blocked it. The decision at hand: Do I gift to a Gophers fan or frog and create two new items with the lovely (but not combined) yarn? The selfish knitter in me is leaning toward the latter since it’s my first go-round with TFA Purple Label. What would you do?

Either way, it’s chronicled here and counted as #9 in my 12 in 2012 challenge. At least there’s that…

FO: Summer Color Affection

June 10, 2012March 21, 2014 | yarn & yarns

I queued this pattern back in March shortly after I first saw it and even bought three skeins of yarn (selecting shades of my favorite colors: green, blue, purple). Then I made two swatches and couldn’t decide — indecision no doubt enhanced by the fact that I was in the middle of making some pretty big life decisions.

Thank goodness for the announcement of a TFA KAL — and the Yarn Harlot getting infected with the Color Affection bug — so that when I posted the swatch photo on Ravelry asking for help, my fellow TFA fans knew the pattern and helped me pick, with a few weeks to spare.

Even so, I got a late start casting on for the KAL since I wanted to finish up another project. But all proved well and good. This is an easy pattern to memorize and really flies off the needles — well, that is, until you get to those final, reeeaaalllllly long rows. Not that I was suffering my way through them — in fact, when I started to worry that I was running out of the Atlantic, I discovered I had read the directions wrong and had already knit an extra six rows of the three-color-stripes section.

Pattern: Color Affection by Veera Välimäki

Yarn: TFA blue label (Atlantic, Plum, Olive)

In the “bigger is better, right?” frame of mind I decided to leave them and start on the Olive border. Warning: This is one big, cozy shawl. It blocked out at more than 7 feet, not that my six extra rows really tipped the scales.

It’s sure to keep me warm this winter. But more about that in the next blog…

FO: Stained Glass Is Sweet

June 6, 2012March 21, 2014 | yarn & yarns

More than most projects, this one has quite a few miles on it. I started it before we headed off on our vacation, getting in several rows on that lovely porch swing in Carlsbad. It traveled to all the Saturday ice skating lessons and Thursday practices, and even made the trip to Santa Fe for the competition.

Mind you, when the yarn contains cashmere and silk, I’m happy to carry it anywhere. Anytime. The pattern was as sweet as the name promised. Yep, pretty much loved this project from beginning to end. What more can a knitter ask?

Pattern: Sugar Is Sweet by Rose Beck

Yarn: TFA Red Label (Stained Glass)

FO: Zuni Truffle

April 17, 2012March 21, 2014 | yarn & yarns

Not sure what it is, but I find myself liking the look of garter stitch these days.

No doubt, it’s partially tied to working with some gorgeous hand-dyed yarn. Who would have thought that bumps showcased color variations so well? While I’ve done my best to capture the greens and purples that emerge from this chocolate brown, it is even more swoon-worthy in person.

Life is also in one of those “buckle your seatbelts” phases, so the Zen-like nature of garter is not to be argued with. Evidence: Entry #3 in my 12 in 2012, which was knit in a few weeks, only to lag for nearly double that time before blocking and photographing.

Pattern: Zuni Shawl by Danielle Chalson

Yarn: TFA Blue Label Fingering (Truffle)

FO: Just Ducky Chadwick

January 30, 2012March 21, 2014 | yarn & yarns

First off, heartfelt thanks to everyone who weighed in here or on Facebook to my “to frog or not to frog?” question. As you can see in the above photo, I decided to keep my “design modification” and finish without shame.

Pattern: Chadwick by Stephen West

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts, Blue Label Fingering

(Mallard and Chestnut)

I’m a bit sad this project has come to an end — it was that perfect combination of interesting but not too challenging to knit. And the yarn… Gorgeous and so aptly named. I’m a MN-raised girl who’s always loved watching mallards on the lake. The interplay of blue and green is spot on — and makes me so happy.

Credit goes to Albuquerque, though, for today’s bright January sun and running water to pool my the shawl alongside.