The Easiest Toddler Cardigan Ever

 Xena took these hilarious photos of me knitting a sleeve for her cardigan with my RBF without me noticing.  I posted them in my IG stories a few days ago but also wanted to archive them here.

I look so angry when I'm knitting but I'm actually super content and relaxed.

Recently, I noticed this super cute baby-toddler cardi pattern in our Adriafil Knitcol section at work and decided to knit one for Xena.  This pattern is free with a yarn purchase at Atelier.  I highly recommend it if you need knit a gift for a baby-toddler.  It comes in sizes 0-4 years.

I knit the largest size of the pattern with 4, 50g balls of yarn.

The pattern was extremely basic and there was a lot of seaming involved which although some may consider it to be more tedious than knitting a seamless sweater, it does add structure.  When/if I can ever take knitting classes IRL again, I really want to take a finishing class.  I know there's a ton of great techniques that I haven't tried yet and I want to learn more.

Of course, when I finally finished the sweater and asked Xena to try it on, she immediately requested pockets.  Luckily I had enough yarn leftover for 2 pockets.  I cast on 21 stitches and made each pocket with 8 rows of 1x1 ribbing (like the sleeve cuffs), plus 21 rows high in stockinette.  Although, in retrospect, if I wanted completely square pockets, perhaps I only needed an additional 13 rows of stockinette...

I'd like to make Xena at least 1 more cardi in this pattern before she grows out of it.  I'm thinking of a funky fresh, marled scrappy one.

As soon as I finished Xena's cardi, I cast on a cardi for myself.  I am currently participating in the #comfortknitwithuskal and fading together the 4 different yarns I posted in my previous post.  Many might consider this combination to be too bold, intense and unconventional but that's my style!  So far, I'm already well on way to fading in the 3rd color and it looks amazing!  I can't wait to share the finished cardi!

Finally, I want to share some totally amazing gifts I just received from my fiber friends, Julia and Irina.  They are the coolest gals and they know me so well that their gifts even coordinate with each other! The yarns featured in this photo are:

Lavender Lune 75% SWM/25% nylon fingering - 200 (x2)

Black Squirrel 100% South-American SWM - Wesley Merino sock - Cheeto Dust

^^^these yarns all have black light specs!

The Hood Fibers sock minis are 85% SWM/15% nylon in Sunlight and Pink Pop.

One of the silver stitch markers is shaped like a pine cone and the other is a sand dollar, both things from nature that are very dear to me.

A Random update, socks and thangs

 Last Saturday, Irina assisted me with the Atelier Marin (San Anselmo) move to San Rafael.  We really couldn't have done it without all of her help! 

Personally, unpacking the yarn and organizing the displays this week was a lot more fun than packing them up the week before.  Judging by Amanda's daily updates in her IG stories, it looks like the shop is on track for a successful (re)opening tomorrow.  I am so jealous of all of the space, natural light and central heat and A/C they have in the new store!

I knit 2 baby Flax sweaters in the past couple months (just gifted over the past week), both with Tahki Homespun Donegal tweed that I bought from Aaron Perlstein back in the beginning of the pandemic.

This one was for baby Armen who is turning 1 in a few weeks.

This one is for my friend, Greg Foat's baby.  Greg also happens to be my favorite contemporary musician.  We used to work together (with Fryer) at Jazzman and he has releases on Jazzman and Fryer's label, Athens of the North.  Xena has literally grown up listening to all of his releases.  

Anyway, it's hard to tell from the photos but Armen's sweater is ecru and olive green and Greg's little one's sweater is silver grey and dark green.  I still have a few leftover balls and hanks of this yarn in different colors that will most likely eventually be put into use in another giant granny square blanket.

I finally unboxed my extraordinary box of Kindred Red yarn!!! There are too many colors to list but I will be sure to describe them in detail as I use them.  This is the package I was so excited to receive and it was my gift to myself to fill the void of being unable to Stitches IRL this past winter and spring.

I'm going to use 3 different Kindred Red colorways along with a hank of HHF in the upcoming Comfort Fade Cardi KAL being co-hosted by La Bien Aimee and The Grocery Girls that starts on the 19th.

I just finished knitting these socks in Bumblebee Acres Bubble Sock Yarn which is 80% SWM/20% silk.  I used the Outlander inspired "Claire" colorway.  I've never watched the show and I have no idea what it's about.  I bought this yarn at Rhinebeck a couple years ago because it looked and felt so amazing.

The 20% silk makes the socks extra soft but honestly, a little too stretchy for my liking.  I knit these socks on 1's.  I probably should've used 0's but I'm hoping they will just naturally shrink over time.

I've also ceased subscribing to this company's newsletters because a lot of their colorways are based on Harry Potter themes and I simply cannot support JK Rowling or any HP fan shit after the despicable stance she took against trans peeps.  I informed BBA of how I felt but they never replied.  That being said, I was NEVER a fan of HP nor have I ever read a single HP book or watched any HP movies all of the way through.  I wonder if Xena will even want to get into this crap when she's older.  Ultimately, as far as fantasy goes, why settle for HP when you could have Studio Ghibli?  Perhaps it's insulting to Studio Ghibli to even try to compare the two!

Some people might assume that knitting is just an innocent hobby that doesn't require any deep thought and for some people that might be true but ethically choosing which artists and companies I support and why is very important to me.  I will admit that mostly due to sheer ignorance, that wasn't always the case but as I continue to grow and learn more about the industry, I try my best to make informed choices.

Finally, I wound my hank of Tanglewood "Port of Seattle", handspun 100% cashmere yarn.

Even the cake is a work of art!  I already started my socks but I'm not going to post any photos until I'm completely finished.

That's all for now.  I have plenty of WIPs on my needles and I expect to report back soon with some interesting progress reports.

The Weekender Knit Sweater by Andrea Mowry

I have to admit that seeing multiple versions of this sweater on display at fiber festivals across the country is not only what inspired me to knit my own but also to challenge myself to knit a sweater in a much different design than a classic top down raglan. 

The Weekender sweater is designed by Andrea Mowry.  

I knit the worsted version but there's also a light version which I assume uses fingering weight yarn.

I learned 2 great new techniques knitting this sweater - a tubular cast-on and tubular bind-off, both in 1x1 rib.

These subtle details really help to give the sweater a professionally finished look.

I knit size 3 of the sweater using Knitted Wit 100% SWM Worsted yarn in Rock Candy Pink.  I bought 6, 200 yd hanks of yarn and barely used the 6th one.

I've previously knit with both DK and fingering weight Knitted Wit yarn and it's truly a pleasure to work with.  It's very soft and fluffy.

The design of this sweater is intentionally boxy with 10 whole inches of positive ease!

It's both cozy and flattering and I really love how by working the body inside out, it creates beautiful natural color blended purls on the RS with hand-dyed yarn.

I started this sweater back in early February while simultaneously working on some other projects.  I really took my time with it.  I didn't work on it everyday and mainly just picked it up when I wanted to relax.  

Once it's set up, it's a lot of mindless knitting in stockinette which makes for a great mobile project.

I love when my nails match my WIP!

The WS of this sweater is just as beautiful as the RS.

I didn't mind how the sweater looked before I wet blocked it and in retrospect, I probably could've even gotten away with just steam blocking it.

The stitches relaxed so beautifully after wet blocking though! 

Like the sweater I knit before this, I believe I could also slide into the next smaller size of this sweater for a just as flattering yet more fitted and cropped look.

In other news, I'm about to knit the fanciest pair of socks EVAR...

I've also been helping out with the Atelier Marin move.  The shop is in the process of relocating from San Anselmo to San Rafael.

I haven't forgetton that I still need to document the unboxing of the most amazing fiber-related package I've ever received but I'm about to get on a virtual tour of a potential preschool for Xena and I don't have time for it now.  Soon though, soon!

Can you feel it?

I'm unashamed to admit that I 100% jumped on the Feel the Bern bandwagon and knit the sweater that Caitlin Hunter designed based on the now infamous mittens that Bernie Sanders wore during the Biden/Harris 2021 Inauguration Ceremony.

Upon the glowing recommendation of my super cool coworker, Deanna, I had been meaning to check out the Royal Bee yarn shop down in Pacifica.  Knitting this sweater was a great excuse to see if they had the yarn to meet my needs and I was beyond sated.

The owner of the shop was so friendly and helpful!  She dyes the shop's Royal Bee yarn herself in a variety of weights.  I bought all worsted 100% merino wool yarn in the following colors:

Judy loves the Catcher in the dark rye - 003 (dark brown)

Ger say let us pralines - 005 (medium brown)

The Pacifica Coastside Collection (no other colorway info listed on the ball band)- (ecru & beige)

I also bought this hank of Sincere Sheep Napa Valley sock yarn to pair with Rich Hill Maymont sock yarn from RVA to knit the Hollingbourne stranded colorwork socks pattern from 52 Weeks of Socks.

I started this sweater a couple weeks ago back when it was raining a lot on and off.  I knit size 3 of the sweater.  I didn't make any modifications.  The overall design and layout of the pattern was very similar to the Stagecoach sweater I knit almost exactly a year ago.

I love how the sweater just looks like a wrinkly piece of shit before it's blocked.

And even while it's blocking it leaves much to be desired.  Because of the weather, it took about a week to dry.  But I was so excited to wear it to work on Saturday, that I put it on while it was still damp and proudly wore it without even weaving in the ends.  

This is only the 2nd stranded colorwork sweater I've ever knit.  My floats aren't the greatest but I am confident that my skills will improve over time.

I love the natural combination of these colorways but I am also anxious to knit a totally obnoxious high contrast neon version of this sweater.

I really love the zig zag pattern on the chest.

Most of these motifs were a pleasure to knit aside from the rows where you have to alternate 3 different colors simultaneously which can be a bit tedious.

Yesterday it was bright and sunny and in the 60s so Irina took some great photos of Xena and I outdoors in the Dogpatch.

While many people might consider a short sleeve worsted weight sweater to be a ridiculous invention, it's actually the perfect garment for "winter" in SF, where the weather is constantly changing and it is almost always guaranteed to get chilly and/or foggy at some point.

This sweater has a loose and comfortable fit but I think I could also fit into size 2 for a snugger cropped look.

 

ATM, I have no shortage of WIPs and potential projects in the works.

These are a few of the yarns I plan to be working with soon and I'll talk more about them when I'm ready.  Posting them here just helps me to get organized.

I am also expecting a very special package of the most extraordinary yarn in the universe to arrive soon and I promise to share images of it as soon as it arrives!!!