a cure for the frogging blues

I am not sure what was going through my head when I decided to cast on for this sweater with this yarn.

Both the pattern and the Quince & Co. Puffin yarn are wonderful....just not together. Don't ask me why it took knitting almost the whole body for me to notice how stiff the fabric was. I even tried it on half-way through and still decided to forge ahead. A classic case of knitter's denial. But the voice of reason could not be ignored after a second try-on. The sweater looked like a suit of armor on me. Rip-it!

So there I was, a little blue (and green) from all that frogging. I went on ravelry to find some distraction. I decided to do a project search for Puffin yarn and among the results that came back was this stylish oversized cowl. Designed with Puffin yarn. In the exact same color (Storm) that I had. Knitted on size 13 & 15 needles. Using just knit & purl stitches. Cast-on! Two days later:

 Here's how I wear it:

Nothing like a quick knitting success to cure the frogging blues! Have a Happy Easter for those of you who celebrate!


(linking up with FO Friday)

serendipity

I am sure that you can all relate to the irresistible draw of an impulsive souvenir yarn purchase. You know, that odd one skein that you love to look at but have no idea what to do with. This was mine from last year's Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

The dramatically variegated colors immediately jumped out at me. I snatched it up without a thought to what it would become. Now, almost one year later, a pattern has finally come along that I think might be well-suited to this odd skein. In fact, it was designed by the talented Kristen Finlay of Skein to show off the beautiful colors of strongly variegated yarns just like this one. See?

The little guy's spring break starts tomorrow, so this easy one-skein project will be perfect for (weather permitting) outings to the park and playground. We had a snow day on Monday so here's hoping that Mother Nature doesn't pull another trick on us.


(linking up with WIP Wednesday)

Candy Ribbon Cowl version 2.0

This is the lazy version of the Candy Ribbon Cowl. Why lazy? Because I let the variegated yarn and the stitch pattern do most of the work. Easy peasy knitting. I made this one bigger so that it can be worn a few different ways:

 I like draping it over the shoulders, almost like a shawlette:

(check out more finished knitting & crochet projects over at Tami's)

sunshine and birdsong

I woke up today to a gorgeous early spring day. Sunshine and birdsong....makes me wish that most of the day wasn't devoted to doing errands that were put off because of all the rain earlier in the week. Might try to squeeze in a short bike ride to the walking bridges later. But for now, here are some random knitting ♥'s.

♥ Have you checked out the patterns for knit.wear spring 2013? There are some really cute tank tops and even a beautiful knitted dress.

♥ Really really would love to knit something like this circular raglan wrap from Toast as seen on the ever so stylish Kate Davies. And in that exact same shade of red. Just wish that I can see the front of it.

♥ An impulsive purchase at the craft store. The yarn is Lion Brand Amazing. I fell in love with the colors (reminds me of Noro) but the fiber is ultra-fuzzy and has a mohair-like halo to it. Wasn't sure what it wanted to be until....

♥ I decided to revisit my Candy Ribbon Cowl pattern and pair the Amazing yarn with a neutral shade of Berroco Vintage.

Really liking all those shades of green with that unexpected pop of orange. This time around, I am taking better notes so that I can finally write up the pattern.


(linking up with WIP Wednesday)