Fall '17 Knitting Plans
Alright, we've talked fall/winter style inspiration, now lets talk making plans! You may have noticed I've been doing a ton of knitting over the past few years. When sewing becomes your job you don't always want to take it home with you every night, so that's where knitting comes in. It just so happens to also be a great companion to sewing as far as handmade wardrobes go! So lets dive into my current fall knitting queue*.
This sweater has been a long time coming. I first added it to my queue back in fall of 2014, then Bellows was released shortly after and I pushed Exeter back for that. After knitting Bellows, also designed by Michele Wang, I thought 'how many oversized jacket style sweaters can one person need?' Well my friends, the answer is at least 2 for sure! I wear my Bellows at home all the time, but then find myself hauling it back and forth to work and wishing I just had a giant snuggly sweater at both locations. Exeter is currently on my needles being knit up in the Bog colorway of Quince & Co. Owl. Originally I purchased the yarn for a Flaum, but that is another story for another day. I've started this one already and you can follow my progress over on my personal Instagram account, @jen_beeman.
I fell in love with the strangeness of this sweater after Karen posted about it in her Instagram Stories earlier this summer and despite it being the opposite of what I usually wear print wise, I really wanted it. I'm trying not to let my limited colorwork experience intimidate me too much, though it's difficult since this sweater is knit on US4 needles. In theory I'll be casting on with my friend Kate at Rhinebeck so she can teach me the ways of throwing colorwork. Kate if you're reading this, should I still bringing this sweater with for your expert skills?! The sweater is from the book ÅLJ Åse Lund Jensen - en dansk strikdesigner and I'm using the recommended Isager Alpaca 2 & Highlands yarns. I've just gotten my color palette all settled but not before another friend, who is also thinking about knitting this sweater, came to the rescue with a skein of Isager Alpaca 2 in the perfect charcoal grey. So now I'm all set, just need to get up the courage to cast on!
A few months back Julie mentioned she was planning a sweater club for fall and without knowing anything about it, I knew I was in. You may have noticed I'm a bit of a Julie Hoover knit fan around here. I've knit Ludlow, Martine, Benton and have a few other of her patterns in my Ravelry queue. So back to sweater club! I knew there were cardigans so I signed up immediately the Monday the club launched and good thing too because by the next afternoon all 100 spots had filled! The yarn for this sweater is Woolfolk Luft which I'm really excited to try out. It's very unusual with a merino wool center surrounded by a pima cotton cage. Can't wait to get my kit (I ordered the black one, surprise surprise) and see how it knits up!
With all these sweaters, I'm going to need a few quick projects to remind me that I still know how to finish a handknit in a reasonable amount of time! As soon as Kelbourne Woolens released this hat pattern I knew I wanted to knit one. I love a good cabled project and I've always wanted to knit a traditional cable like this. I'll be using the recommended yarn, Aranmore Light, which I already have in my stash. The Kelbourne ladies also just put up a great post about designing with this cable on their blog that I enjoyed. It's always fun to know where ideas come from!
The Rosses Why stop at one cabled hat when you can have two? I've had this pattern, also from Kelbourne Woolens, in my queue for about a year now and the recommended yarn in my stash for just as long. Going to get this one done this season as well. Plus who doesn't need another hat? I always do, especially one so potentially quick to knit and squishy! So that's my fall/winter '17 knitting queue, I've got to get busy with a list like that! What are you looking forward to knitting up this season? Let me know so I can add more to my list! *This is my dream winter queue...obviously all of these involved sweaters will not get made in one winter. I'm also writing this as the fall knit collections are releasing so I'm sure something shiny and new will catch my eye. Always too many projects and never enough time!
