Finished object file: Puntilla Sweater | Skein Merino Cashmere Fingering

This is the kind of pose you end up with when your 6YO gives the directions. He thought that I could best show off the lace by holding my hands this way.

Here's another finished object for a couple of months ago but I have been wearing it so much since I finished it and it is certainly one of my current wardrobe favs. I'm talking about the Puntilla sweater designed by Joji Locatelli that I knit for the recent Skein Sweater KAL that Kristen hosted through her Ravelry group.

When Kristen first announced that she was going to offer a preorder sale for sweater lots of her yarn I was immediately hooked. I started obsessing over her colour ways and bases and dreaming of the different sweaters I could make. Then Kristen announced that she was also going to host a sweater KAL starting in May just around the time the preorders were due to be sent out. This totally sent me down the Ravelry rabbit hole. I ummed and ahhed over two patterns initially but every time I logged onto Ravelry I started adding more patterns to my short (long) list.

'Milk Glass' is a beautiful colour way but it was not quite what I expected.

Finally, I decided to make Joji Locatelli's Puntilla sweater from her recently released Authentic Collection. From the Skein update I ordered 4 skeins of MCN Sock in the 'Milk Glass' colour way on a whim because the photo of the colour looked like a soft neutral with subtle splashes of pastel purple and bluey grey. When the skeins actually arrived and I started swatching with the yarn I realised that the colour way was much deeper and variegated then I had expected. I kept looking at my swatch and I kept thinking, "I love these colours, it looks amazing." However, something still nagged at me in the back of my mind about the colour and only after I had cast on and started knitting the shoulders did I finally admit to myself that I just didn't love the colour way when I was knitting it in st st. I was troubled by just how variegated it was and I didn't feel comfortable wearing that blend of colours in a sweater that was predominately knit in st st. Luckily, I had some Skein Merino Cashmere (MC) Fingering in 'Graphite' in my stash and so I frogged what I had knit with the 'Milk Glass' and started all over again. 

The knit went fairly quickly after I got past the shoulders and the short row shaping for the neckline. I had never knit a Joji pattern before and her shoulder construction method was a style that I had never tried before either. But all credit to Joji for writing such clear instructions, because it was not tricky at all and I was surprised that in a relatively short amount of time I had a neck hole and a pair of shoulders.

It's hard taking photos in the yard without the dogs getting in the way.

Those dogs are still there in the background.

Once I had the arms holes done and had joined the work in the round I buzzed through the st st body. I knit the sleeves on short circulars, which has become my favourite method of small circumference knitting (BTW, I use 20cm Addi turbos for that) and then I finished the neck ribbing with an invisible ribbed bind off to give it a bit more stretch. Bang, the main body of the sweater was done and I was onto the lace trims. 

Here is where the 'Milk Glass' came back into play. I decided that though I didn't like the colour way in st st I was going to love it knit in lace. So I picked up the the stitches around the ribbed ends of the sweater and knit the easy to memorise lace in the beautiful 'Milk Glass' colour. I adore the little touches of mauve and bluey grey that peak through in the lace trim. I love how the lace sits at the end of my sleeves and at the bottom of the sweater giving it a touch of femininity to an otherwise boxy and androgynous garment.

I like this pattern over Joji's very popular Boxy sweaters because it is not as wide in the body and the added lace trims just gives it something a little special for the everyday. Hence this top has been my favourite one to wear as our weather has turned colder and colder in Melbourne. The MC Fingering is just so soft and cuddly, so when the weather wasn't so cold I would wear a singlet underneath and the yarn was so divine against the skin. Now that it is colder the generous boxy style of the jumper means that I can still wear it comfortably over my layers.

Thanks to Kristen from Skein for hosting such a fantastic KAL and for the awesome prize.

And, as an added bonus I won a prize from the KAL. Kristen announced me as one of the winners at the end of the KAL and she awarded me a Kimi Silks project bag. I am extra chuffed that on top of having a gorgeous new sweater to wear I won something in the KAL. Who would have thought I'd be so lucky?

Finished object file: Agate sweater | Quince & Co. Tern

Again, food was used to coerce the child to cooperate.

This one I finished a while back in March for my girl's birthday. Miss L turned 3 and this has been the perfect layering piece for her this season.

Agate is from Quince & Co.'s Lost Coast collection, a collection of children's patterns designed by Ashley Hurst. Inspired by California's Lost Coast the collection is made up of warm and cosy looking pieces that would keep the little ones snug.

I knit the pattern with the called for yarn, Tern from Q&C because I loved it when I used it from the Immie Tee that I knit for Miss L when she was a bub. The yarn is a wool and tussah silk blend and though it is a fingering weight (4ply) yarn it knits up pretty quickly. I love the muted tones that it dyes up in which gives in my opinion gives the kids' knits a bit of a sophistication. For this knit I used the terracotta colourway because I was so drawn to the sample pictures and I knew that it would be a colour that would go well with jeans and with the pinks and reds in Miss L's wardrobe.

It knit up so quickly and I had it done well before Miss L's birthday. The lace panel was easy to memorise and since the front was just stockinette stitch knit in the round I just buzzed through it. However, it was not until I finished did I realise that the lace panel didn't finish correctly. I analysed my knitting and I am pretty certain that I knit it exactly as the chart instructions but the eyelets don't line up properly. I was tempted to frog the bottom of the jumper and to reknit it. I thought about it over and over but in the end I told myself to embrace the mistake; also, I had some other knits that I was keen to get started on so I let that one go.

I tried to contact the designer and to point out my suspected errata but I have yet to hear back from her. Since I have moved on from this knit I haven't been too overly hung up about it. However, in case you decide to knit the pattern I would end knitting the main lace panel after rnd 4 and then continue knitting the panel end chart.

Ultimately, Miss L doesn't know any different and she loves it. Since her birthday I have put her in it a lot because it was a handy layer to throw on during the cooler Autumn mornings.

Finished object file: Crag hat | Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

School is back and I'm going to aim to get back into the swing of things. I must confess that I do find the balance between blogging about knitting and actually knitting hard. When on the kinder days I only get a couple of hours completely kid free during Miss L's nap I often choose to knit rather than blog because I have so much knitting I want to get through. However, since I keep starting new projects I don't think that status is going to change any time soon, so today I'm going to keep the needles aside and update the blogosphere about one of my latest finished objects.

After asking my friends and readers to help me choose between the Bartek and Crag hat patterns to make for my husband as an anniversary present (you can read about that here) I went with popular opinion and knit the Crag.

I wanted to use up the charcoal Debbie Bliss Cashmerino from my stash but after making two swatches with the aran (heavy 10ply) weight yarn I was starting to lack confidence in my choice. Using 4mm needles for the main pattern was still slightly off gauge but I didn't want to go any smaller because my hands were finding it uncomfortable knitting such heavy yarn on small needles. I kind of fudged it because I rationalised that if I kept my tension tighter for the actual knit and because the Hubs does have a bit of a big head I think I can get away with it in the end.

For the actual knit I started on 3.25mm needles for the ribbing and used a crochet cast on that my dear friend Jenny (Tatterz on Ravelry) taught me. I was leaving this present to the last minute so I decided to skip the tubular cast on because I just wanted to get onto it rather than fiddle with a third needle size and learning a new technique. 

Once I got going into the main body of the hat it was pretty easy to memorise the pattern and it would have been a really enjoyable knit if it didn't hurt my hands. I found I could only do about one set of the pattern repeat before I needed to rest my hands. 

In the end I didn't finish it in time for our anniversary but I did have it done for our time away in Marysville. The Hubs wore it when we went up Lake Mountain to take the kids tobogganing and he said it was perfectly snug and at times he had to take it off because it made him too hot. All credit for that goes to the beautiful cashmere and merino blend of the yarn. You can't go past good fibre when you want warmth.

My latest lesson that I have learnt after knitting this Brooklyn Tweed design and also the Rosebud hat is that I should substitute with either a light worsted or even a DK weight yarn rather than use aran. I have never used Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter yarn for which both these hats were designed for and I hope one day to get the chance to use it but for the time being I am definitely going to select more carefully when substituting for future BT projects.

What to knit Wednesday: Essential Winter Accessories

I'm keeping rugged up to keep out the winter chill.

When I look at the forecast for next week and seeing a series of 13 degree Celsius days for Melbourne my mind is instantly starting to work out how I am going to wool up to stay warm. My key woollen accessories are cowls, mitts, beanies and shawls and this year I am desperately wanting some handknit socks to keep my tootsies warm. My top 5 today are patterns that I have in my wardrobe or I want to add in the near future.

Image source: Purl Soho

1. Big Herringbone Cowl by Purl Soho.

For me a cowl is essential and this cowl has been on my wishlist for ages. I can see that it is designed by Purl Soho with the New York winters in mind because it is a grand long loop that can be wrapped multiple times around the neck. There is no way that the chill can get through this cowl. I also love the classic style of the herringbone stitch.

As a free pattern on their blog it is easily adapted for different yarn weights and yardages. I will probably not make it as big as the designed size but one large enough to wrap around my neck twice would be a perfect cosy accessory for me.

Can never have too many of these angora/lambswool gloves.

2. Fingerless gloves by Penelope Durston.

Not exactly a handknit but these gloves are the bomb. Penelope Durston is a Melbourne maker and designer who hand dyes these beautiful angora and lambswool blend gloves herself and sells them in her Fitzroy shop, Cottage Industry. I came across these gloves many years ago, probably after reading a Frankie Magazine and I instantly loved the vibrant colours and the delicious softness. 

I must confess that I own too many pairs of these and at least one of each of the lengths (hand, wrist and elbow length). Sadly I have lost a couple of pairs over time and I can't stop myself from buying replacements. They range from $45-$60 and are so worth it.

I love the cable panel on this hat.

3. Rosebud Hat by Jared Flood.

I wrote about this hat recently in a finished object post. It turned out much bigger than the designed sized because I did not follow gauge, but it is so cosy. The Road to China Worsted yarn from The Fiber Company is so soft and undoubtedly the cashmere, camel, alpaca and silk blend is the reason behind this. On those bitingly cold mornings this has been my go to hat this winter.

4. Pure by cabinfour.

When I purchased 300g of Ton of Wool Cormo I decided to turned this beautiful wool into this shawl. Pure is a subtly textured triangular shawl that will look perfect with the undyed cream cormo wool. The shawl is designed to represent it's name; pure, clean, unmixed and plain. The aran weight cormo is super squishy and is so cosy to touch. I just know it will turn into a wonderfully warm shawl.

5. Elementary Watson Socks by Sherry Menton.

I chose these socks because I am a fan of the BBC 'Sherlock' series. The cable pattern was inspired by the cabled jumper that Martin Freeman's Doctor Watson character wore in the first season. The nerdy part of me will take pleasure in making and wearing these cute socks and I'll also appreciate being able to keep my cold feet warm too.

Stay warm this winter if you're in the southern hemisphere like I am.