Happy Holidays 2023!

On December 27, 2023November 1, 2023 By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, reflectionsLeave a comment

Happy holidays from our family to yours! We hope that you’re safe, warm, and having fun :]

PS O’s sweater is the Bumble Sweater by tincanknits, you can read more about it in this blog post.

Passionflower Sea Glass Mini

On November 8, 2023November 1, 2023 By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patterns, ravelry, yarnLeave a comment

Close up of a sea glass mini toddler sweater, knit using a 1x1 colorwork pattern in a blue to purple gradient with a light gray yarn. The sweater has spots of green, red and yellow finger paint.

No matter how you shake and dance, you’re always left with a decision to make as a maker — do you keep the leftovers, give them away or is there not enough to do either. Several months ago, in June if you want specifics, I worked up a Rosemont Sweater. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the sweater, and also because it looks like I neglected to write up a post about it, Rosemont is worked up utilizing a gradient yarn for most of the yoke, switching to a contrasting solid color for the remainder of the pattern. Partially due to the size I worked up and partially due to the amount of yoke worked up, I was left with ample leftovers of both colors — the perfect amount to work up a baby/toddler sweater depending on the pattern.

As I mentioned when finishing our daughter’s Sorrel Mini, I really like Wool and Pine’s designs and set a loose goal of knitting them all. They’re beautiful, and selfishly I think knitting a kid-size version is a quick way to determine whether or not knitting up an adult-size version will be fun! With this and knowing I had two yarns to work with, I found myself reaching for the Wool and Pine Minis ebook and wondering if one of those patterns would be a good fit. Since I wasn’t ready to cast on immediately, I tentatively added Peperomia Mini to my queue and didn’t think about it for a while. In fact, it wasn’t until I was literally rewinding my yarn and pulling needles that I switched gears to the Sea Glass Mini pattern with the goal of allowing the gradient to speak for itself rather than risk colorwork overshadowing it.

It should have occurred to me that 1×1 ribbing would be slow and prone to tangles, thankfully the project was small enough that I was finished before my wandering eye caused me to start a new project. All in all, I love the effect and think the project was worth the over-measuring (am I really not done yet?!) and focus time. I also love that it’s written to be roughly size 2-4 years. Having over a year’s worth of growth and memories in our daughter’s Sorrel Mini, it’s honestly an added bonus that this little sweater has the potential to fit for a while.

Mom and daughter matchy-matchy outfits aren’t really my thing, although I have painted our toes to match a few times now. That being said, I’m super into the way my Rosemont Sweater and her Sea Glass Mini coordinate. Her sweater also already has paint on it from daycare, which somehow added beauty I didn’t know was missing.

Two sweaters folded in half and placed an inch apart as if to create a complete sweater. The sweater on the left is the sea glass mini, knit using a 1x1 colorwork pattern in a blue to purple gradient with a light gray yarn. The sweater on the right is the Rosemont sweater, knit with a bright to dark blue gradient yoke with the remaining body and sleeves worked in a light gray. The top of the Rosemont yoke to the bottom of the sea glass mini creates a complete blue to purple gradient.

Interested in making one of your own? You can 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).

Opposite of Boredom So Faded Pint Sized

On September 27, 2023September 26, 2023 By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patterns, ravelry, yarnLeave a comment

A one and a half year old wearing a pink to yellow to blue to purple faded knit sweater is walking away from the camera.

Working a fade, whether knit or crochet, is not a new trend in the fiber world. Even Find Your Fade, which has inspired many kits over the years is almost 10 years old. In fact, if you’re including gradients in the fade world, the trend has been going on even longer. The point of a fade, however, is to choose your gradient, so for the purposes of this post, I’m not going to include them.

The other advantage of creating and using a fade set (or using one that someone else has put together) is that you have more control over the yarn’s usage. For example, gradient yarns require the least amount of manipulation when used for shawls, cowls, scarves, colorwork yokes – aka anything that doesn’t require the object to be split with stitches on hold for later. Fades, or even gradient mini skein sets, allow you to set some of the colors aside for those held stitches.

All on her own, our child has determined that she loves bold colors. Bonus points if those colors are pink, however as her preferences continue to develop it’s clear that the preference may not last as strongly forever. When I stumbled upon the Opposite of Boredom mini skein pack at Wonderland Yarns, I knew it would be the perfect match for So Faded Pint Sized and an instant favorite once completed.

Then Barbie happened. Now, I’m not saying that Barbie created a moment that made me hate these colors, I’m saying that all of a sudden the Opposite of Boredom color pallet was everywhere and I realized that I didn’t. This pallet went from something “only our daughter would love” to “actually I’d love a sweater out of these colors too”. Plus the pattern was engaging, swapping between colors meant that the body of the sweater had small “goals” to work towards rather than the “just knit to x inches”. The adult version of this sweater wasn’t really on my radar, but now it is.

My only regret with this little sweater is that I didn’t work the pink longer as suggested by the pattern.

Blossom Twill Weaving Draft

On September 20, 2023August 7, 2023 By iswimlikeafishIn ravelry, weaving, yarn1 Comment

Close up of a yellow to purple twill gradient warp wrapped around a woman's neck.

This yarn was meant to be a colorwork sweater. I had every intention of diligently dividing the single cake into the 4-ish colors that make up the African Daisy gradient in order to work the gorgeous yoke in the pattern Antique Flora by Wool & Pine. It’s hard not to reach for a black sweater in the middle of winter when the weather is dark and gloomy. I wanted to be reaching for a sweater that was only dark grey to provide a backdrop for the vibrant colors within the African Daisy gradient.

But even the best-laid plans don’t always come to pass. The truth is, the more I stared at the yarn the more I wanted it wrapped around me — an oversized shawl to cover my shoulders and bring color to my winter wardrobe.

Once the pivot was made, attention needed to be paid to using dark grey to accent the bright colors, not bring them down. This nixed using plain or a patterned weave as it would tone colors down rather than lift them up.

Even though this wrap is not as long as it could have been (my preference would have had it be about 5-6 inches longer), I love the length it is and that I have an entire gradient wrapped around my shoulders.

Make your own

Materials:

Warp – 2 x Mad Hatter by Wonderland Yarns & Frabjous Fibers (344 yrds/393 m per 4 oz; sport weight; 100% merino); sample shown in Little Bat
Weft – 1 x Mad Hatter Blossom by Wonderland Yarns & Frabjous Fibers (515 yrds/470.9 m per 6 oz; sport weight; 100% merino); sample shown in African Daisy

Don’t forget! You can 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).

Equipment:

4-shaft loom with a minimum 25-inch (50 cm) weaving width
10-dent reed

Structure:

Weave Structure: Twill

Warp Length: approximately 2.61 yards (238.7 cm) includes about 20 inches of loom waste

Warp Ends: approximately 240 ends

Ends Per Inch (EPI): 10 EPI

Picks Per Inch (PPI): 02 PPI

Finished size:

Approximately 51 in (129.5 cm) long (including fringe), 18.5 in (47 cm) wide

Weaving Directions:

Floor loom: Using a warping board, wind your warp along 2.61 yards for a total of 240 warp ends.

Warp the loom back to front using the preferred warping method according to the draft. Tie or lash the warp ends onto the front apron rod.

Using some waste yarn, weave a few picks for a header and then begin weaving according to the draft, pausing after a few inches to hemstitch the start of the scarf.

Continue for approximately 49″ and then hemstitch the end of the scarf. Treat the fringe and block using preferred methods.

Weaving draft alt text. Warp is set up across 4 shafts in a 1-2-3-4 tie up using the solid color. 4 treddles are used and attached to the shafts as follows. 1+4, 1+2, 2+3, and 3+4. Treddles are then worked 1-4 while weaving to achieve the twill pattern.

Coal and Scuttles Wrap

On August 30, 2023July 27, 2023 By iswimlikeafishIn weaving, yarnLeave a comment

A man wearing a teal shawl standing on a deck staring across a grassy backyard. The shawl has 5 different shades of grey vertical stripes.

As the mother of a toddler, finding time to weave is easier than finding time to warp my loom. Warping takes hours, while actually weaving feels like it takes minutes in comparison. It takes hours to plan and get set up, and all the while I’m reminding myself that intentionally setting aside moments to engage in the process is forcing me to engage in a slower world where time is measured by threading heddles instead of email correspondence. A slower world, like when our daughter finds a toy she loves and plays with it for 20 minutes instead of two (this is actually the best, I love watching her play while getting a few sips of tea in in the morning).

Weaving brings together color and texture in a different way than knitting, so for this wrap, I focused on long blocks of color going the length of the wrap rather than short blocks of color going the width. The weft being a solid color seems to make the blocks more dramatic, I like that the greys bring the teal down and that the teal brings the greys up. I like that there was a rhythm to working this wrap — it was the first time I used a boat shuttle and I was amazed by the difference when compared to a stick shuttle.

Close up of a man's neck with a teal shawl wrapped loosely around it. The shawl has 5 different shades of grey vertical stripes.

Thinking about summer and not ready to think about bundling yourself up for winter? Imagine yourself curling up on a cool summer night. Are you picturing yourself without a sweater, sweatshirt or shawl? Of course not. So, why wait to warp your loom or cast on until the cooler months? At the very least, fall is just around the corner.