Since I was test knitting the Tarragon sweater there wasn't a lot of other knitting going on in July, so these are mostly knits that have been lingering on the needles for a while!
Remember the #FringeandFriendsLogalong blanket scarf project? Well, it's still bimbling along in the background. Just.
In all honesty, I've barely picked it up since February! It's not because I don't enjoy making it, but I think I've conditioned myself to think of it as a long haul project so I don't feel any sense of urgency to get it done. After finishing Tarragon I was in between "big" projects, so I pulled it out of hibernation, finished off the second square, and made a start on the third square.
Each square doesn't actually take that long to make so I'm thinking about setting myself little targets for completing them, because 3 out of 36 in almost 6 months is pretty rubbish! I'm going to try for at least two squares a month, although that's still pretty glacial.
These socks have been on the needles since April! I tend to always have a pair of plain vanilla socks on the go for car journeys, cinema trips, or just for times when I need to work on something that doesn't require much thought, but this pair has been stuck at the bottom of the WIP basket more often that they've been out.
Last week I pulled them out again and managed to make some solid progress at the cinema (we saw Mission: Impossible - Fallout; super entertaining, although not my fave MI film), and on our trip to Jedburgh and Berwick. The second heel was finished during our Berwick picnic, and I finished the gusset decreases at the weekends, so it's plain sailing from here on! Let's see if I can get this one off the needles by the end of the month.
Finally, I couldn't resist the pull of a new cast on! This is the beginnings of a Dog Star jumper by tincanknits. It's actually a Christmas (gasp!) knit and will be a gift for a family friend. I'm making in the 2-4 year size so it'll hopefully be a quick-ish knit.
I can't quite believe it, but this is my first bottom up yoked project so starting with the sleeves feels oddly foreign to me! I did flirt with the idea of using Strange Brew (also by tincanknits) to play around with some charts and come up with my own yoke design, but in the end I stuck with Dog Star, mostly because I was impatiently craving a new cast on and didn't want to spend too much time in the planning stage.
I did dig around the stash to find some colours to play with for the colourwork yoke though, and squeezed in some quick chart experiments to see how the colours played off each other. I haven't swatched them all together though (although I did take a black and white photo to compare the tones), so we'll have to wait and see how they turn out!
In the queue
There are so many projects that I have swirling around my head in my mental Make list, so I'm going to try writing them down so that I can try and come up with a Plan. You might want to make yourself a cup of tea, this is going to be a long one!The Knit List
- Carbeth Cardigan by Kate Davies
Kate released her Carbeth sweater pattern in January and just about broke the internet with it. It swiftly made it to my knit list, but while I was dithering over whether the cropped length would be something that I would wear much she followed it up the cardigan version. I've had the yarn to make the cardigan since February/March, but somehow haven't quite made it to the cast on stage! As soon as Dog Star is finished this will be my next cast on! Bonus points if I manage to finish in time for the #summerofbasics - The Noma Cowl by Na Yeo
This is a fun, free pattern for a colourwork cowl. I won some beautiful milk fibre yarn from Na back in the spring, and she wrote this pattern to go with the yarn, so it's only natural that I should use her yarn to make it! - Warriston by Kate Davies
This has been in my library forever, but I'm looking forward to wearing this on walks when it gets colder. I think it'd be a great throw on jumper for that in-between time when it's too cool for a t-shirt but too warm for a coat. - Strathendrick by Kate Davies
Another Kate Davies pattern! She's really been knocking it out of the park lately. Kate released this as part of her West Highland Way pattern club at the start of the year and I knew I was going to make this as soon as I saw it. Oversized, boxy colourwork. Tick, tick, tick! - No Frills Cardigan by PetiteKnit
I love the versatility of soft, lightweight cardigans are. They’re so easy to throw on and can be relied on to work well with jeans, skirts, dresses (and pyjamas, of course).
I have a beautiful flannel grey RTW cardigan made from cashmere merino that is my cool weather staple. Seriously, I wear that thing to death in the colder months, and I think that my friends and neighbours must think that I don’t own anything else. As much I love it being in constant rotation, I’ve been toying with the idea of having a me-made alternative to turn to, and I really think the No Frills Cardigan would be perfect!
The Sewing List
- The Scout Tee from Grainline Studio
I would really love some more linen tees in my wardrobe, and after the success of my Maya top I'm keen to explore a slightly different cut. I'm thinking the Scout tee with the cuffed sleeve variation would slot in nicely. I've seen a gorgeous khaki green that would work well. - The Stowe Bag from Grainline Studio, Designed by Fringe Supply Co.
I'm always in need of project bags, and I love the style of this one. I have plenty of natural, unbleached cotton that would be perfect, but I need to pick up some bias binding. - Roberts Top by Marilla Walker
I loooove the jumpsuit view of this design, but I'm not sure I'd get much wear out of it. View D is much more my speed - I love that v-neck! Another linen project I think. Maybe navy? - The Tabor V-Neck by Sew House Seven
Oh, I do love a v-neck! I'm picturing this in a fluid jersey fabric. I do have a couple of jerseys in the stash so will have to see if any of them would work. There are so many options with this design, so it could become a good tried and true pattern! - The Lark Tee by Grainline Studio
Another Grainline pattern, but I just love Jen's designs so much! I practially live in long sleeved tees throughout autumn/winter/spring, so this could become a great regular basic in my wardrobe.
What are you working on at the moment? If you have any tips or tricks for managing your making queue down then do please let me know below!
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