I don’t know about you, but my knitting goes through phases. Every now and then, I can’t find anything that inspires me, and I plod along on something that doesn’t thrill me until I get over it. I’m happy to say this doesn’t happen often or for very long! Right now I’m in the opposite frame of mind, where I can find a million and a half things I want to knit right this minute and all I need is four or five more pairs of hands. Every time I go on Ravelry, I’m adding 10 or 20 things to my favorites. I can’t stop! These are the latest additions, with nothing in common except that I want to start them all immediately.
The Squam Cardigan by Elizabeth Doherty is a nice useful cardigan with slip-stitch colorwork at the yoke. You can get the pattern in the linked version which is worked flat, or do it in the round with STEEKS! It has neck shaping, which is nice with a round yoke, and a gauge that would work with fingering or sport, so good to use up leftovers for the color work.
This little shawl caught my eye – it’s called Making Ripples and uses a gradient fingering with a solid or semi-solid in a nice ripple pattern. We have so many wonderful gradients in Frabjous Fibers’ Blossom right now and it would be perfect with a lovely semi-solid from Manos. Of course we just got in new semis in Fino and Alegria which I’m itching to use!
Another shawl I just favorited is this one.
I love a cozy shawl in a neutral color with lots of texture, and Hudson Ripple filled that bill perfectly. It’s done in DK and would be lovely in Shibui’s Billow, a blend of cotton and alpaca that is fuzzy but shows off texture brilliantly. The pattern has instructions for a large or small shawl and a scarf.
I’ve been working on a small shawl called The Bright Side at the shop that uses 1 skein of Frabjous’ Colorburst fingering, an assigned pooling yarn. Colors come at regular intervals and can be accented by doing clusters or bobbles or, if you want to keep it simple, just purl the accents on the knit side and knit them on the purl side. This is how mine turned out and I love it. Great travel project: one ball of yarn, one needle, one-page (free) pattern that you won’t need after 15 minutes.
Now, if you’re a crocheter, here’s a pattern, called Stem and Petals, that uses assigned pooling to create a really cute little shawl. Look at those adorable clusters!
Finally (for today) here’s Isabell Kraemer’s latest sweater called Bergliebe, done in DK or sport. As usual, the design is very wearable and knit-able, with subtle and pretty details. I would love it in one of the lovely natural colors in organic Patagonia:
May be my next sweater.
I have more ideas. Too many more! Maybe it’s this election, and I’ll be able to focus a bit better once the stress is over (fingers crossed). Meanwhile, keep knitting or crocheting – I think it helps!
