Tag: blue sky fibers

Across the Pond Sweater

On By iswimlikeafishIn knittingLeave a comment

This past spring, I had the pleasure of test-knitting Alicia Plummer’s Community Cardigan (I wrote a post about my cardigan). Though the weather has been a little too warm for me to wear it, I have been drawn to the way each stitch caused me to slow down and enjoy the pattern I was working. Itching to work a similar pattern, I picked up In Stillness and thought: What if I worked the stitch pattern across the entire sweater?

The concept seemed simple enough, In Stillness doesn’t have waist shaping the way that many of Plummer’s sweaters do so I wouldn’t really need to worry about the textured stitches getting wonky. Once imagined, the next logical steps seemed to be choosing the yarn and then swatching for gauge.

With a small stash, you’d think I would know everything in it by heart. Or that I would have at least been able to acknowledge that I didn’t have a sweater’s worth of worsted weight yarn in there. Still, I recalled a few leftover skeins of Blue Sky Fibers Skyland from last year’s capelet KAL and was determined to make it work (this entailed buying a few more skeins, color was consistent across different dye lots!).

As predicted, it was easy to maintain the pattern across the entirety of the sweater. Other than the texture mod, my only other pattern modification was to increase two stitches on the back following sleeve separation and to skip the other waist increases. In the end, the sweater still fit as predicted by the schematic and I’m thrilled with the result. Still a little too hot to wear, but come winter I think this is going to be another wardrobe staple.

The interesting thing about suddenly taking so many pictures of oneself after a year of avoiding the camera (I didn’t really take pictures of myself while pregnant in an interest of keeping it off social media and in an attempt to maintain a healthy body image), is that it’s forced me to really look at myself again. Honestly, you don’t really realize how vain you are until you’re postpartum and you’re glaring down a pair of jeans that you want to fit again. True, all my pre-pregnancy clothes fit again now, but it’s amazing to go from thinking you had a healthy mindset around your body to realize that you had a healthy mindset as long as your body didn’t change.

Over the last several months, I’ve learned to appreciate each tired face (our kiddo’s got a cold and isn’t sleeping well) a little bit more. This is parenthood. It’s not always beautiful or perfect, sometimes I’m covered in spit-up and sometimes I’m not. Sometimes I have time to knit and sometimes I go a week without picking up my needles. It’s a dance that’s constantly changing, and yet I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Geneva’s Cowl

On By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, yarnLeave a comment
A light and dark green textured cowl laying on a table. Slipped stitches are used to make forward and back slashes and seed stitches rows are worked with alternating colors to create subtle stripping.

One of the hardest things to do as an adult is to make friends, something that’s made even hard by living rurally. I think it has something to do with learning what you want out of life, it’s not that certain people no longer fit it’s that you need to have a certain level of things in common with them. Gone are the days where the connection of both liking blue crayons is enough, which if I’m honest is a little sad.

The flip side of this difficulty is how much you come to appreciate the friends that you do have in your life and all the little things they do for you. The “how are you text messages” take on a new meaning from the days of AIM because you know the person on the other side is ok with your honest reply.

Geneva is one of our most thoughtful friends — she’s witty, and strong and provides overly detailed instructions for reheating burritos. Rugged to withstand hours of working on the farm with her animals, with textured stitches to represent the embroidery she crafts in her spare time, this cowl was designed with her in mind.

Use two skeins of Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok Tweed (one in each color) to create the single wrap shown, or grab two extra skeins to work up a double wrap. Geneva’s cowl can be found on Ravelry.

Mistborn Fingerless Mitts

On By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patterns, ravelry, yarnLeave a comment
Two mistborn mitts laid on top of one another next to a copy of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. On top of the paper back book lies a skein of Metalico in Grey.

Admittedly, I’m always on a fantasy book kick. In my mind, there is nothing better than getting lost in an unrecognizable world and observing unknowing (and sometimes unwilling) heroes begin their quest. Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson, is one of my favorite worlds to think about. Imagine a world where there were people who had superpowers as long as they had access to metal. More specifically, access to metal that could be ingested. Suddenly gold takes on a new value, especially for those who don’t have a lot of it.

In Mistborn, one of the main characters is a young woman named Vin who is raised on the streets and taken in by Kelsiver, the leader of an elite criminal team, to help take down the government. Vin must act as though she is a Nobel woman by day and use her allomancy (her superpowers) by night to learn about what’s happening in the city and eventually kill the “Lord Ruler”.

A hand wearing a blue mistborn fingerless mitt resting on top of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Below the hand is a skein of metalico yarn in grey and above the hand is pothos leaves.

As I felt Blue Sky’s Metalico and tried to envision what to make, Vin came to mind. As the series progresses, she moves from disliking the formal clothing to enjoying it, making me wonder what it would look like if she had a pair of mitts to wear by day and by night. Something textured and elegant, while being warm and cozy. I love the idea of Vin slipping on a set of these mitts just before dawning her mist cloak and fading into the night.

The pattern, which can be purchased on Ravelry, offers two different styles in the form of a short cuff and a long one. The short cuff can be made using one skein of Metalico and the long can be made using two. Metalico is soft and warm, making these mitts perfect for chilly offices or winter nights.

A Mistborn fingerless mitt knit up in blue rests on a grey table cloth surrounded by a grey skein of metalico (left), a paperback copy of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (above) and pothos (right).

Other things I made during the 2022 “Make Good Stash Down”

On By iswimlikeafishIn knittingLeave a comment

This past winter, my Local Yarn Store held their second stash down knit along (KAL). The goal was simple, work through the yarn in your stash and finish projects on your needles. I actually knit most of my yarn! By the end of the KAL I only had two or three skeins left in my hatbox. During the KAL, I made (and have already mentioned) a Sorrel Mini, my Tic Tac Toe sweater, some quick knit cowls, a couple of gradient knits, and a hat for my husband. Since the KAL took place while I was patiently waiting for our little one to arrive as well as in the early days when I had to stay awake for long stretches of time, a lot more knitting took place! In addition to those projects, I also made:

Another pair of Flip-Top Mittens, this time in Blue Sky Fibers Extra. These are super handy for taking the dog out or for any day when a little extra dexterity is important. I believe this is the ninth time I’ve worked up this pattern? It’s a quick and easy gift that everyone seems to enjoy, so I’m sure it won’t be the last time I reach for the Red is Best pattern.

Socks, of course. Prior to this project, I had never worked with Urth Uneek Fingering and if I’m being honest it made for a crazy pair of socks! Part of me thinks it could have made a beautiful shawl as well, I’m thinking something that takes advantage of long color repeats. Since Hubs picked out the yarn specifically for the purpose of adding another pair of knit socks to his collection, I tried holding the yarn double when knitting the heel and toe. With any luck, this will add an extra layer of toughness and prevent holes just a little bit longer.

A baby cardigan, in Wonderland Yarns & Frabjous Fibers Mary Ann and Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok Light, held double. In my mind, I knit the larger size so that O could wear it longer… in practice, she won’t be able to wear it until the fall. Oh well!

The final project I was able to finish (just barely) was a woven scarf to match Hubs’ hat. The plaid is a little crazy, but I’m hoping the various fibers will keep him very warm next winter.

I still can’t believe how many projects I cranked out in the three-month period, and how quickly I refilled my stash when the KAL ended. My queue is long again, which is a fun place to be.

Looking to add some Wonderland Yarn to your stash? Use the discount YARNVIP for 15% off your total purchase from Wonderland Yarns (discount not eligible on sale items, with other discounts, or on yarn clubs) :]

End of the Tic Tac Toe Sweater KAL

On By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patternsLeave a comment
Two Tac Tac Toe sweaters folded in half and laid side by side so that they form a complete sweater.

Thank you to everyone who downloaded the Tic Tac Toe sweater this past month! I’m so excited by the number of pattern downloads and can’t wait to see how different people continue to have different takes on working it up. If you haven’t grabbed the sweater for free yet, you have until this Friday with code three in a row, after that the pattern will be full price.

Grab the pattern on Ravelry.