If you have time to knit, if you’ve taken up knitting, it means you’re not worried about the essential stuff.
— Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
That quote defines my life this week…Laundry? Dusting? Meh…I have been consumed with knitting this week!
This week I have finished two infinitely wearable knits and I will take at least 6 more weeks of winter to get the maximum wearing opportunities possible for both items!
Yes, I finished my Heart Warmer Cowl, which when I saw Karen knitting hers I needed to cast on immediately! And…it is everything I wanted it to be! Warm, not tight around my neck, and it was fun to knit! (okay, outside of those bobbles… oh boy, lol) And though those bobbles were a bit of a pain to knit, wow do I like the texture they bring!
Details, if you are interested:
- Cast on in January, cast off February 3
- Yarn: Jill Draper Makes Stuff Ansel in Forget Me Not color 2 (which is sadly out of stock.) I used almost the entire skein. This yarn is a joy to knit with, it is sheep-y and light as air. This is my second project with this yarn and I wish I had more of it!
- Mods: I only did two rounds of the bobbles – instead of three. I did four repeats of the broken rib pattern, two repeats of smocking, and one and a half repeats of the grapes. I used a German Twisted cast on, and the recommended tubular bind off.
Next is my handspun Hitchhiker! Oh.my.gosh! I am absolutely in love with it! It might be my favorite thing I ever made! The fiber I used was from Amy at Spunky Eclectic and I bought it probably 5 or 6 years ago. I had 2-4 oz. braids. I can spin BFL so thin, so my goal was to get a consistent fingering weight yarn. It bloomed a bit when I finished it, so I’d say it ended up a fairly consistent heavy fingering weight yarn. (Amy sadly doesn’t have any gradient braids right now, but she does have some fiber sets that I think would work!) I love to knit, but knitting with handspun yarn just takes my love of knitting to a new level. If you don’t spin, I am sorry for you, because knitting with yarn you made is just incredible. (And when the yarn you made is practically perfect in every way… Zen Knitting FTW!)
Again, details if you are interested:
- I started spinning the yarn in December and finished the spinning in January. I spun roughly 760 yards.
- I cast on on January 23, and cast off on February 7.
- I used almost every bit of my yarn (just 7 yards left over) and managed to get 50 “teeth” a really lovely size for me!
As you can see, I am spinning a fun set of merino from HipStrings and have plans to make another Hitchhiker…this time with beads! Yes, I’d say I have caught the Hitchhiker Bug! I am about halfway through the fiber and look forward to finishing soon so I can cast on this month!
My nighttime knitting project is sleeves on my resurrected Evening Dew Cardigan. I have about a sleeve and a half to go. It might be done sooner than I imagined! Ha! Hopefully, I have a finished sweater next week!
Finally, a friend sent me the loveliest little present this week… it was a complete surprise and I stopped everything and cast on on Monday and in short order had one heart done! This, my friends, is potato chip knitting at its finest! I might have more hearts in process! lol
The reading this week, though…
The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had been stumbling around looking for another good mystery series and I think I have found it! Gabriel Allon is a fascinating character. He is unexpected and incredibly likable. The writing is good, bits of information but not so much as you solve it too early!
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was the “little book I did not know I needed”!! I listened to it, twice. Yes… twice. And when I considered listening a third time – I knew I needed to buy it, asap! I originally rated this book 4-stars, but have changed that rating to 5-stars. It is the perfect guide to help you learn how to embrace your life.
But what about you, Gentle Readers, what are you excited about making or reading this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
Your Hitchhiker is GORGEOUS in the snow – beautiful work, Kat!
And I love Brené Brown – I feel a kinship with her because she got her Masters in Social Work at the same school where I got my undergrad in Social Work and was hired just after graduating. I don’t meet too many fellow Texans with such a liberal pedigree 😉
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed knitting this week — I can’t wait to see what you share next week 🙂
Wonderful finishes Kat! Your Heart Warmer is gorgeous (I cannot wait to finish mine but I keep getting distracted…lol). And your Hitchhiker!! Wow-Wow-Wow – what a gorgeous piece. And now you have caught the bug! I’ve never read anything by Daniel Silva, so thanks for that recommendation.
Kat, the Hitchhiker is amazing and your spinning only made it better. Did you blend the fibers spinning to transition from one color to another, if so how? Is your yarn a 2ply or a 3 ply? (sorry too many questions.) I have never been a Hitchhiker fan, but yours—I could get on the Hitchhiker train!
I spun each braid from end to end, across the top. The colors in the braids did not line up perfectly, so I figured that would help me in the transitions from one shade to the next. There was only one section that the colors lined up with little transition, so I simply unwound some of that to a new bobbin, and joined in with a better color transition. It is a 2-ply yarn.
You really did a nice job! So much for me to learn, glad we are in a spinning group!
Your Heartwarmer is a lovely FO, but I really love your Hitchhiker! The colors move seamlessly from one to another and that makes the perfect Hitchhiker. Congratulations on two superb finishes, and I cannot wait to see your next handspun Hitchhiker!
I am so in love with your gorgeous Hitchhiker! Your handspun is so perfect for it. I hope you have many, many years of wearing it ahead!
LOVE your Hitchhiker!!! That is beautiful!!!
And the Heartwarmer is lovely too!!!
What an adorable little Valentine heart…so CUTE!!!
I really need to start reading more. The Gifts of Imperfection sounds like a really good book!
Lovely knitting, Kat! And it must feel so good to have a beautiful Hitchhiker in yarn you spun yourself. 🙂
Totally FULL of inspiration (as always)!! Only teeny problem…I got real excited thinking Daniel Silva had a new book out, and discovered this was his first Gabriel Allon one…with my current reading track record, I could probably reread it and love every twist and turn again!!!
Somehow I missed Karen’s cowl…yours turned out lovely!!! I might have to join the bobble-cowl-knitting-club and cast that one on, too!!
Thanks for always starting my Wednesdays happy!
I love your cowl, the yarn and textures really match up perfectly. And your handspun hitchhiker is wonderful. I agree that knitting with your own yarn that you spun makes for a really joyful project.
What a gorgeous cowl, just in time for Sunday 🙂
Oh my I love both of your projects equally!! How stunning are they?? I’ve been knitting more on my fair isle sweater than my cowl now I need to switch gears…so I can catch up with you 🙂
Your Hitchhiker is fabulous!
And the Daniel Silva book was on $2.00 in Kindle form. I’ll be reading it soon. And I put Brene’s book on my TBR. Thank you, as always, for the recommendations.
Bonny, I love your handspun Hitchhiker. I’m very impressed that you got a fingering weight yarn with BFL. It definitely likes to bloom when you wash it. I’ve yet to get anything thinner than DK when I spin BFL.
All of your projects are lovely but that handspun Hitchhiker — phenomenal! I can’t wait to see your second spin and F.O.
Three beautiful knits. I love them all. You might get your wish for plenty of winter yet to wear them. That hitchhiker is gorgeous and the heartwarmer cowl with all that texture is a work of art. As they say, knitting forever, housework whenever.
Your Hitchhiker is beautiful. I love the gradient colors.
The finished projects are beautiful! I thought the Hitchhiker was special before, but fully realizing you took this from a spin to a knitted shawl I’m even more enamored with it. Gorgeous selection of colors in the next spin.
And I know all about the trouble of bobbles. My hands and fingers hurt after doing them, but they lend such an interesting texture to a knit.
Hi
Wonderful your job for knit of heart project. Good tips. Beautiful knitting for winter wear. I am so happy.
Both of your projects are spectacular but THAT HITCHHIKER. You will be wearing a smile each and every time you put it on. xo