Recent Knit FOs: Three(!) Sweaters, One Hat

Ravelry Project Page

Pattern: Brin

Yarn: Camellia Fiber Company Flax DK

Needle: US4

I hope everyone is doing okay during this unusual and stressful time. I find myself going through big spurts of energy to devote to knitting, embroidery, etc. and then other periods where it's hard to do anything at all. Something that really helped was doing my first KAL with a friend of mine. We picked Brin as the perfect late winter/spring transition sweater to knit together. 

I modified this sweater quite a bit in terms of fit. The original is quite oversized even in the smallest of sizes. I went down a yarn weight (or 2) and down a few needles sizes as well. Since my row gauge was way off, I added some rows before joining in the round and before the bottom details. Full mods are on the ravelry project page.

If I did it again I would probably add just a few more rows to the bottom. It's sooooo close to perfect length -- I might reblock it to squeeze out that extra half-inch of length. I would also do a stretchy bind off at the sleeves and bottom. 

I think this is my favorite knit to date (I feel like I say this all the time). The true test is always whether I actually find myself wanting to wear it after the initial excitement of finishing it wears off. So far, I have actually put it on multiple times since finishing (even though no one sees it since I'm home all the time). 

Ravelry Project Page

Pattern: Kinikin Cardigan

Yarn: Lots of bulky stash!

Needle: US11

I knit two versions of the Kinikin Cardigan (the other is below). I think I found Tara-Lynn Morrison's patterns just at the time I needed quick, bulky knits. The almost-instant gratification is I think one of the best parts of many of her patterns.

This second version was a great stash-buster. I had a lot of different bulky yarns floating around in my stash but not enough of one single one for its own sweater. It took some creative blocking to even out the different gauges of a few of the yarns. I also held one fingering-weight and one lace-weight yarn throughout to give the sweater some cohesion.

Ravelry Project Page

Pattern: Kinikin Cardigan

Yarn: Woolfolk Luft and Drops Brushed Alpaca Silk

Needle: US11, US15, US19

This first version of the Kinikin Cardigan was really mostly a vehicle for an embellishment technique I saw "in the wild" while visiting Toronto. A woman had a sweater on with the most beautiful applique/embroidered/felted berry branches on it. I tried to mimic that look here.

My major disappointment with this sweater is the mohair. IT SHEDS EVERYWHERE. I knit my No Frills sweater with this same mohair and it doesn't shed like this sweater does. It must have something to do with the tighter gauge on the No Frills sweater. 

That, and the fact that both sweaters tend to fall off my shoulders quite a bit, has meant that these two sweaters haven't gotten a ton of wear.

Ravelry Project Page

Pattern: Garter Ear Flap Hat

Yarn: Lion Brand Heartland

Needle: US8

Finally, I (belatedly) shipped off a baby hat to friends of mine who recently had a little boy. This pattern is my go-to for baby hats -- the ear flaps are key! It's also super quick.