WIP Weekend and Knitspiration!

So, with the holidays upon us, most of us Little Beans are trying desperately to finish gifts for others. (Ahem! Like that sweater for the hubby that hasn’t been worked on in weeks!) So today's post is mostly going to feature WIP’s, as well as some potential future projects and pattern inspiration. I'm so looking forward to the knits I have planned for the new year and a little day dreaming can't hurt right?

This weekend is my first weekend in a while that I don’t have any plans! No plans = super excited to knit the weekend away! I’m planning to make some progress on “the Hubby’s” sweater (it still feels

weird to say that as we just got married in September). The pattern i'm using is Knitting Pure and Simple #105 and i’m knitting his sweater out of Plymouth Tweed. Since we no longer carry that yarn, i’d recommend Tahki Donegal Tweed as it’s about the same hand with the same gauge. The sweater coming along nicely so far.

I’ve knitted about half of the body and I am really loving this yarn color. It’s a nice warm olive green with flecks of orange. It’s the kind of color the doesn’t photograph well, but in person kinda knocks your socks off! Since the mister is pretty lanky, i’m knitting the 42” chest (which I think is a size small) but i’m going to have to add a few inches to the body and the sleeve lengths. That is the great thing about the Knitting Pure and Simple patterns, they are so easy to adjust for the wearer since they are knitted from the top-down! In retrospect, to make this a tad more interesting of a knit for me, I might have added in a cable down the center or something fun to keep my brain more engaged. Row after row of stockinette gets a little tiresome after a while! I think that’s why I haven’t worked on it much in the last few weeks!

Nicole is currently knitting a slouchy hat that is a pattern of mine i've been working on. I'm planning to share it with all of you very soon, but for now Nicole is the first to give it a try! She graciously agreed to test-knit it for me and it’s coming out really well. She’s using Taos by Crystal Palace Yarns. It’s a really great design for someone who is still new to knitting but wants to do more than just beanies. Nicole has only been knitting since this summer and she’s doing so great! I just love seeing new knitters progress--it's so much fun to see what everyone is learning!

Shevawn is working on a couple of different projects this week. She is knitting Annabella’s Cowl from Churchmouse Designs (seems like everyone around here isor has knitted this pattern, it's so popular!) and it’s coming out really pretty! She’s knittingit in Manos Silk Blends with a strand of Rowan Kidsilk Haze knitted with it. The combo of the two yarns is just so lovely!

Shevawn is also working on a pair of fingerless gloves from a really basic Handwarmer Design (another one that i'll be sharing with you all soon). When she mentioned recently that she wanted to try her hand at fingerless gloves and I offered to share my basic recipe with her. So far they are looking really great! The yarn used for these is Crystal Palace Mochi Plus and the color is Jessica’s Crayon Box.So cute!

Terry has been working on some Welted Fingerless gloves also by Churchmouse Designs in a really lovely blue color. I don’t quite remember the exact yarn she’s using but it reminds me of the Classic Elite Fresco because its so soft!

Onto some pattern and yarn inspiration! This week, we received another line of Madelinetosh Yarns-- the Merino DK. Now, I loved the Tosh yarns before, but I fell instantly in love the the Merino DK. It’s a superwash, single ply yarn and the colors seem as if they have unending dimension to them! Colors I've never noticed before were suddenly popping out at me! Ifelt like a kid in the best candy store in the world! (Well, to be fair, I feel like that most days anyway.) My eyes zeroed in on 6 gorgeous hanks of the Forestry color, and I set them aside immediately. Those 6 hanks of deep teal greens and blues are going to become a Tea Leaves Cardigan by Melissa LeBarre very, very soon. You can see many of the beautiful renditions of this pattern on Ravelry.

In other pattern inspirations, I recently saw a beautiful new pattern out there in the blogosphere that I am so excited to tell you all about! I knew exactly which new yarn I wanted to use the moment I saw it!

I should first start by saying that I read a lot of knitting blogs. A LOT. Of the ones I read regularly, Brooklyn Tweed by Jared Flood is probably one of my favorites. He’s an amazing photographer, so that right off the bat definitely draws people in. However, it's his design aesthetic that is right up my alley-- Classic but Modern. He always seems to be channeling some of the greats (ie. Elizabeth Zimmerman) in his inspiration, although his designs are always very much his. They are incredibly beautiful.

Jared's new design "Umaro" is no exception. Now usually, i’m not particularly thrown by throws (he he, get it?) but when I saw this lovely one, I knew I had to make it. I also knew that I had to make it in the new Ushya yarn by Mirasol. This will definitely be on my needles sometime soon after the new year...now to choose a color. It's going to be a gift, so I am thinking something neutral...but oh the Cranberry is so pretty too! Decisions, decisions!

So I think that’s enough knitspiration for this week! I better stop before I get too excited and put down my holiday projects entirely! Hope you all have a lovely relaxing weekend!

Happy Knitting!

Kristen