Wool here, there, everywhere!
You won't believe how many knits I've been wearing lately....
INSIDE: The total enjoyment of multiple projects on-the-go, thank goodness for knitting in cold weather, and the delights of wearing handmade.
I’m so thankful I love to knit!
I’m proud of my past self who knitted such beautiful woolen garments, shawls, hats and socks I’m wearing on rotation in these very cold days!
I’ve just bought 100% wool thermal tops and leggings to wear to keep me toasty. As you can probably tell, I really feel the cold!
Particularly my hands and feet.
While all of you in the Northern Hemisphere are just strolling around in shorts and a t-shirt in the warmer weather, today, I’m wearing:
A sheep wool beanie I knitted
A beautiful brown alpaca long-sleeved sweater I’m pretty sure is handmade
A superfine alpaca cowl I made
And my merino wool socks.
The question remains… am I writing this to you from the depths of a winter night, with the wind nipping at me?
No, I’m in the comfort of indoors, with the heater on!
If I was outside, I’d also have my puffer jacket with the hood up, and my thermal woolen leggings and long-sleeved top underneath the sweater!
On our walks, my husband sometimes gets frustrated when I can’t hear him because I’ve got so many layers on.
Well, he can hardly blame me for trying to keep warm! 😉
All I’m missing is a pair of gloves, and as my husband said yesterday…
“My transformation into ‘wooly Jodie’ will be complete.”
So be it. Winter may be cold, but it’s the perfect time be a crafter. Others have to scrounge through stores looking for more seasonally appropriate items, but us?
We can just pull out our finished projects from the cupboard! 😊
So, of course I’m going to knit some gloves. Exciting! I’ve never knitted them before, and I’m looking for a simple pattern.
If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment or press reply!
One thing I’m intrigued to find out is how you knit the thumb and fingers. I imagine they’re rather fiddly.
I’m looking down at my hands as I write this and I notice my ageing skin, it’s papery feel and wrinkles.
I’m so grateful for my hands and nimble fingers.
They’re strong, pain-free and well exercised with the knitting I do, not to mention the typing I do on my ergonomic keyboard writing Fiber Friday!
I’ve really enjoyed having multiple projects on the go. It means you have many satisfying knits you’ve completed! So here are some I’ve finished recently…
Simply Alpaca Aran: 100% Superfine Alpaca (Aldous Colorway)
I figured I had enough yarn to complete a cowl. In the past I’ve knitted a few Honey Cowls. It uses a repeating stitch pattern that looks like a honeycomb.
The Simply Alpaca yarn is so soft and hairy. I knew the drape would be lovely.
However, when I started with the honeycomb stitch, I realized the cowl would look too ‘busy.’ The stitches wouldn’t be as noticeable because of the fluffiness!
So, I broke up the honeycomb with stockinette sections.
And I’ve never been this close to winning the game of yarn chicken. I had just enough yarn on the last row to weave in the end! Phew!
I’m so pleased with the overall result. The cowl is lovely to wear and is super soft. I haven’t bothered to block it, I think it’s fine as is.
The Simply Wool Worsted in ‘Wilbur’ turned out great in my Ribelation beanie project by Anne Gagnon.
The crown decreases turned out in a cross pattern when you look from the top but I noticed my k2tog decreases are a little wonky.
Even after blocking, they’re still wonky. Perhaps my tension was a little looser?
My head is happy when wearing this squishy hat out on my ever increasingly cold walks out in nature!
I’m delighting in my current hat project that’s the result of a recent yarn tasting: High Desert Tweed in the Outlaw colorway.
It’s 89% American wool, 6% Acrylic & 5% Rayon yarn from Knit Picks.
It’s a lovely green/teal with black and oatmeal neps.
I knitted up three swatches with three different needle sizes. I started with a US 8 (5mm) needle and got 18 stitches and 25 rows in a 4x4 inch (10x10cm) swatch.
It was a looser fabric, so it’d be lovely for a cozy cardigan or sweater project.
Another swatch was to see if I could reach the pattern gauge for the Wych Elm Hat that was a suggested pattern for the High Desert Tweed yarn.
That was 22 sts and 30 rnds in 4x4 inches (10x10cm) with US 7 (4.5mm) needles.
My gauge was 20 sts and 27 rnds so I went down a needle size to US 6 (4.0mm) and I got 21 sts and 29 rounds which I thought would be ok.
I was excited to see the bobbles in the design as I love the look. I also knew the pattern would keep my interest, as described by the designer Bridgit Pupillo:
“Wych Elm Hat is a botanical themed Aran Cable beanie…featuring a central tree motif flanked by vines climbing up columns. Small bobbles and a simple but interesting texture pattern complete the hat.”
Just the right amount of “whelm”, (a phrase coined by the delightful Kavitha from
.) I hope to have this project finished by next Friday!And another question for you: Can you wear animal fibers next to your skin or do you find it’s not so comfortable?
Press reply or leave a comment!
Mystery Quote Of The Week
"Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever."
Who said this? Comment or press reply! No cheating! 😊
(You’ll find out if you were correct next week.)
Last week’s quote and author was…
“I believe that the yarn we spin is capable of mending the broken warp and weft of our life.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Comment below if you got it right.
Crafting Trivia Question Of The Week
What does WYIB and WYIF mean in knitting?
What’s the answer? Leave a comment or press reply! No cheating! 😊
(You’ll find out if you were correct next week.)
Last week’s question and answer was…
Where does the word ‘yarn’ come from?
From the Middle English ‘yarne’, which in turn came from the Old English ġearn which means ‘spun wool.’
Did you get it right? Leave a comment if you did!
I’d love to hear about what’s on your needles or hook at the moment.
Please comment below or reply to this email!
P.S. I hope you’re ready for a leisurely Sunday read. Coco & Pepper have it waiting for you on the weekend…
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Before you go…
Jodie I can’t wait to hear about your glove knitting journey. I noticed some time ago that I’ve hardly seen anyone make them, knitters typically opt for mittens but I want to see some gloves! 😊
A few months of warm weather is a nice break from winter but I’m definitely missing getting to wear most of my knits. I’ll have a deeper appreciation for them this winter.
Such a joyful post Jodie! I too feel very grateful to pull out my handknits when the cold season rolls around. Your yarn choices are so delectable. Love the look of honeycomb stitches. The thumbs in mitts can be fiddly but they also get done quickly as they are only a few rounds of knitting usually. If you decide to knit a pair, check out The Chilly Dog’s tutorial about picking up thumb stitches. It’s fantastic. Thank you for attributing ‘whelm’ to me. I was listening to the post and it was a nice surprise to hear my name called. 🤗♥️