Category: knitting

I sure didn’t need to buy yarn for another project but here we are: Harmony was having their anniversary sale so I wanted to support them and they’d just stocked some super-soft and lovely sky blue alpaca blend.

I’ve been eyeing some of the hood patterns that have come out in the last year or so. They seem very chic and they won’t flatten out your hair like a beanie. (I remember my mom hated hats that flattened her hair too–may the circle be unbroken.)

So I think this yarn will become a Harris Hood…someday. Right after I finish the endless stripe sweater and about 20 socks.

I’m deep in Sleeve Island/SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) territory over here, but when I pile it all up, it DOES look like a lot of knitting:

Considering I didn’t really have any meetings in July and spent most of it at the pool (without knitting), I guess the sweater’s coming along OK? But all the socks are stalled out at parts where I have to pay attention, so I guess I’d better watch an MST3K rerun and get the second one started so I can have mindless meeting knitting again.

I started my version of the Gap crazy stripe sweater mid-January and I’m just striping along over here.

The beginning wasn’t meeting knitting–I had to pay attention to increases on both sides–but now that we’re in the round and I have the hang of the sleeve increases, I can zoom (Zoom, heh) along.

I’m using the Aros Sweater pattern like I planned and the shaping is just lovely on it. My yarn is a 72% cotton + merino and baby alpaca blend, so hopefully it won’t give me sensory issues to wear when it’s all finished.

I haven’t bought yarn for a bright stripe sweater because 1) I’m still worried about making something that would be too itchy to wear and 2) I discovered almost a sweater’s worth of neutral beige yarn in the stash. It’s 100% wool and also neutral, which is why it never got made into a sweater, but maybe it could make a nice vest?

I like this basket weave one a lot but I’d need to get another lightweight yarn to carry with the yarn I have to get gauge, which defeats the purpose of using up yarn without buying anything. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This one would work without buying anything but I’m not sure about the style–it’s not cabled, not one texture, not a full sweater, not a traditional vest shape. I think it would be fun to knit, though. 

I’m still knitting socks during meetings over here. It looks chaotic but having lots of pairs in different stages of progress means I always can match my sock to the meeting content.

If I can get 3 out of the 4 here finished, that’ll be 6 pairs for the year. Not bad!

Who else spends a not-negligible amount of time thinking about GAP’s holiday collections of 1999 and 2000? Just me? It was all so good, though. I didn’t own this sweater–I think it sold out before I could scrape together $48–but it haunts me.

 

Sewing/textile influencer Martha Moore recently posted about the third striped sweater she’d knit. They’re all giving 1999 Gap Crazy Stripe Sweater and that gave me Ideas.

 

The pattern Martha used is from PetiteKnit, the designer whose pattern gave me such a gorgeous finish on my green vest. It’s called the Aros Sweater (yes, you can make a dress; I won’t, I just liked the stripe colors in the dress more).

 

Thinking about what colors I’d use in my stripes is, of course, the best part. Every time I use the hot water bottle in its stripey cover, I get happy. So what if I used that as a jumping off point?

The only impediments are my unfinished summer sweater, the pile of sock yarn to knit up, and finding a yarn that isn’t the least bit itchy (but not spending $480 on hand-dyed cashmere; I have more money than I did at 19 but not that much).

I did decide to try a summer sweater after I posted about it last month and yeah, a sweater on 3.5mm needles is taking forever. I can only think of my progress in terms of socks–this is at least a pair’s worth of knitting but I’m not even to the bottom of the armholes.

I picked this pattern from last month’s roundup. It doesn’t look like much at the moment but I’m hopeful. It also looks a little rough, but that’s cotton yarn for you–once it gets blocked/steamed, it’ll smooth out. But the squishy 2×1 rib is really pleasing and the yarn I picked has some nylon so it shouldn’t just bag out with wearing (a danger of cotton).

There are at least 8 more weeks of sleeveless weather left (probably more) so the race is on. Click-click, tiny needles!

I was so pleased with my fuzzy winter vest that now I’m thinking about making a summer version–a little knitted shell with some texture.

Are these all knit on sock-size needles so will take me all summer? Yep. Do I want the cabled look but don’t actually want to do any cabling? Also yep. But sometimes the planning is the most fun.

Vest Taipei by MochiKnits, really cabled but really nice.

 

Lost Tank by Friday Knits, not cabled but the rib adds some interest (and is faster to knit).

 

Uri Tank by Daughter Judy Patterns (yes, she designs sewing and knitting patterns!)–I’d do this in a fuzzy yarn to get some texture and I think it would be very “fashion Muppet.”

 

Lined Loop Top by Other Loops, note the styling with the big loose pajama-y pants–a great WFH lewk.