Emery

Emery caught my eye the first time I saw it. I am a total sucker for a classic cable knit sweater. I started knitting this back in the beginning of 2014 and put it down to knit other things. I picked it up again and actually finished this in the spring when it got too warm to wear it. Now that the weather is cooling down, this is the perfect cozy sweater to throw on.

The pattern is Emery by Michele Wang for Brooklyn Tweed. The yarn I used is Cascade 220 in light gray and I knit it with size US 5 and US 7 needles.

I knit this according to the pattern but I did need to make some mods because my row gauge was significantly off. I needed to do some math to make the waist decreases, the sleeve increases and sleeve caps work. Everything turned out great and I absolutely love it. One of my favorite details is the ribbing on the v-neck. It looks so professional! I also love all of the cables which make this sweater really cozy and warm. This sweater is so classic that I am sure I will be wearing it for years to come.

What I'm Knitting Now: Honeycomb Aran

It seems that everywhere I look these days I keep seeing cable Aran sweaters. They are popping up everywhere from blogs to fashion magazines and have become popular again. I found a great pattern to knit one up for myself.

I have had this pattern in my queue since last year and decided that it was going to be the first sweater I was going to knit this fall. I love it so far and can't wait to finish it. It is taking quite a while to knit - all of those cables take some time. So far I have the back done and a little bit of the front. I am aiming to have it done in time for when the really cold weather sets in.

Sempervivum

Back in the spring, I was working on this shawl as a gift for someone. It was for my mom for her birthday. The pattern is Sempervivum. It is a Brooklyn Tweed pattern, designed by Jared Flood. The yarn I used is Cascade 220 Fingering in the color Mystic Purple. I used size US 4 needles.

I am not really a shawl person so this is the first time I have ever knit one up. I wanted to give my mom something special, pretty and intricate for her birthday and this checked all the boxes. I had a lot of fun knitting this and it definitely held my interest. With so many stitches on the needle, I messed up more than a few times and had to tink back a bit. I definitely had to pay close attention but I enjoyed knitting it so much that more shawls are in my future. I think I might be a shawl person now.

I have used this yarn before and it is a perfect substitute for Brooklyn Tweed Loft if you are looking for something that isn't too pricey. I love the color - it is a beautiful heathered purple that is great for any season. I'm so happy my mom loved it!

Work-In-Progress: Arielle

I have had my eye on this pretty little summer sweater for a very long time. I'm finally getting around to knitting it up. I think I started on it early enough that I will be able to finish it with enough time to get to wear it in season.

It doesn't have long sleeves so I have that going for me. On the other hand, it is knit with fingering weight yarn on size 2 needles so that takes up a bit of time. It has a lot of lovely details though, which are making it fun and interesting to knit.

Happy Summer Knitting!

F.O.: Bough

I'm not sure what happened, because I thought I had quite a few hand knit hats, but maybe with the move they got displaced because I couldn't seem to find any of them this past winter. My husband bought me some yarn for Christmas (upon my request) so that I could knit myself a new hat. I loved Bough when I first saw it, pom pom and all, and thought it would be perfect for the incredibly cold winters we have been experiencing.

The pattern is Bough by Leila Raabe and the yarn is Shelter by Brooklyn Tweed in the color Snowbound. I specifically requested this color to match the collar on my ski jacket and they look great together.

I love the cable and evergreen bough pattern - so wintery! And the wool is nice and warm. The hat also comes with a cowl pattern that I might knit up someday so that I will have a matching set. Love this!

Sample Knitting: Rift

Brooklyn Tweed has recently launched their second Men's Collection and I contributed a little bit by knitting the sample for Rift.

Rift is a lovely sweater designed by Jared Flood and knit in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter yarn. It is a faux raglan. The body is knit in the round with ribbing up the sides for the look of a seam. The ribbing then continues diagonally from the armholes to the neckline for the look of a raglan sleeve even though it is set in.

I really enjoyed knitting this sample. It is always a pleasure to work with Jared and always great to get to knit with Brooklyn Tweed yarn.

I like the entire Men's Collection and I am so glad that he does these. I find it difficult sometimes to find modern, well-designed sweater patterns for men and this fills that void. Some other designs in the collection I really like are:

Denali by Norah Gaughn

Sawyer by Julie Hoover

Albion by Michele Wang
All photos by Jared Flood and are used here with his permission.

Work In Progress: Some Secret Knitting

I have a new project on the needles and it is a secret because it is going to be a gift for someone. It is a bit of a different project than I am used to knitting but so far, so good! Besides, it was getting a little too heavy on the stripes around here. I had to change it up.

F.O.: Breton

I recently finished the striped sweater that I started knitting last year - just in time for spring, which is nice because it is a lighter weight sweater.

Pattern: Breton by Jared Flood from BT Fall 12 Yarn: Cascade 220 Fingering in White and Navy Needles: size US 3

This sweater took a little bit of time to knit considering it is made with fingering weight yarn. I absolutely love the Cascade 220 Fingering. It is nice and soft and light and you truly cannot beat the price. It was a fairly easy knit because it was straight stockinette but I wasn't bored knitting it because of the stripes and the also all of the design details like the French seams at the shoulder and the decreasing at the neckline and to finish it with the rolled collar.

The mods I made were minor. I had to add an inch and a half of length to the body and an inch to the sleeves. Other than that I stuck to the pattern. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. It fits like a dream and I love it. My husband thinks it is one of the best things that I have knit yet. This style is something that is so classic, I am so glad to have this addition to my wardrobe. It will definitely get a lot of wear.

F.O.: Little Mittens

Back in November when the weather started to turn cold, my twins would complain about cold hands when we went out for a walk. I had just come off of an intense month and a half of knitting a sample for Brooklyn Tweed (yet to be revealed) and I was really behind with my hat/mitten knitting. Nolan and Hayden are now 3 but they still have little hands - I could knit them up some mittens in no time!

I found some yarn in my stash and I already had a pattern so I started right away.

Pattern: Mittens by Melinda Goodfellow Yarn: Cascade 220 in Navy and Lamb's Pride Worsted in White Needles: US 5 and US 6

I am pretty lucky because all of my boys love it when I knit something for them. It makes them feel special. The entire time I was knitting these the twins kept asking if I was done yet and wanted to try them on as soon as one came off the needles. I wish I had more time to knit a lot more things for them because they totally appreciate it. I have sweaters planned for all three of them for next fall. I have my fingers crossed that I can get them done - I should start now!!

Changes

So after a looong break from this blog, I am back. Last year got a bit crazy and with everything that went down this blog had to take a back seat. After taking such a long hiatus it is a little hard to start back up because it's like, where do I begin? I will just start by telling you about my life changes that led to me ignoring this blog for so long. My husband was offered a new job so we found ourselves having to move from upstate New York to the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. This took many trips back and forth with the family, trying to get acquainted with the area and trying to find a place to live before my husband started his new job and my oldest son had to start school. We also took a trip down to Texas to visit with family for a couple of weeks before our big move. We eventually found a great house in a great neighborhood that we all love. Then came the packing - and let me tell you - this family of five has a lot of stuff. And then came the unpacking and settling in. And then came the holidays, which are a lot of fun with the kids but also a lot of work. Now that the holidays are behind us and the winter is coming to a close, things are at a lull and I wanted to get back on here because I miss sharing about my knitting. And even though I have been super busy with all of these other things I have still been knitting. Today I will share what I am working on at the moment and then I will try to catch up on everything else with later posts and try to keep on going.

This is the cabley goodness that I am knitting up right now. It is a wool sweater so I am hoping to have it finished before the warmer weather gets here.

It feels really good to be back. I will have more to share soon!