Tag Archives: Magnolia

YOP#10 Week 1

Posted on by Elka Bolhafner
Baby X

Zoe has not picked a baby name so this project, Baby Kylie designed by Ann Klimpert, was dubbed Baby X during the knitting. From swatch to wash about 2 weeks of knitting most of which was spent on the plain garter of the body. No buttons yet since the shops are closed and I am hoping to match either the yellow stripes or the orange splotches in the yellow which naturally requires an in person purchase.

A couple of months ago I was unable to find a pattern so started organizing the Yarn Room/Guest Bedroom/Office. It is really no surprise it is such a mess given that it wears many hats. My youngest stays in the room every other weekend so it really isn’t a guest bedroom and I try to neaten up the bed at the very least. However, as many others do, when I am searching for my next project I either purchase more yarn or look for a wayward ball aka ‘toss the stash.’ And then there are the books. Right now there is the knitting book on my nightstand, 4 Barbara Walker treasuries, and an assortment of 3 other stitch treasuries either by my desk or on the bed which are my two main knitting areas in this room. Oh and two knitting books and 1 magazine on my desk proper.

During this burst of energy I thought to myself I should make a goal to focus my knitting energy upon. Baby Knitting, which is a delight, does not feel much like a goal to me since goals require striving and pushing through but Baby Garments are so cute and quick and don’t really meet any of those icky bits. And while trying to come up with a goal I realized it was close to July and July means Year of Projects. This year being the 10th so a good time to join up again. Tho one can join whenever one pleases 🙂

YOP begins with the stating of highly mutable goals and I am narrowing my goal down to one box. This is a box of yarn that was at the top of a pile of boxes of yarn right inside the doorway. I managed to unbox the other yarns and put them away in a semi-sensible order but this one contained the yarns purchased for baby garments and a partially knit garment from almost 2 years ago. Witness the box:

YOP Goal Box

At the top of the box you see yarns purchased in bright cheery colors for baby. The Lisa Souza Deluxe Sock! Quartet I showed last post plus a fun multi I picked out for a specific baby project that calls for a wildly variegated yarn. I could use either of the quartet with it but want something sturdier than cashmere so will probably use something from another yarn cache.

Lisa Souza Deluxe Sock! Quartet

TBH I am struggling with the orange since I personally do not like the color. I have tried it doubled at a semi tighter gauge, which produces a really luxuriously squishy and buttery soft fabric, but how heavy of a sweater does one need in Alabama? The orange is most definitely a goal knitting kinda project instead of a Baby Knitting project.

Woodsmen Socks

Bartlett yarns 3 ply for a gift. I started those yesterday while watching Hamilton with The Beloved. I am pretty sure his eyes were glued to the television instead of his future gift. And I believe he doesn’t actually read my blog. Either way Thank You Disney for providing us with a chance to experience Hamilton. Very enjoyable.

Rowan Felted Tweed

&

Not actually in the box…. am I already cheating?

=

Marie Wallin’s Fair Isle Club 4

This will end up to be Magnolia by Marie Wallin. I purchased the largest size kit at the time but there is something like 10″ of ease built into the pattern. Maybe more since there are size ranges involved so am making one size smaller. If you clicked on the link you will see it is kimono-ish.

Meanwhile, in non YOP news, I saw a garment on instagram with a call for test knitters. I instinctively submitted myself as a tester and here I am waiting for yarn to knit something which has a deadline and I cannot show. Which I suppose is semi-YOP related because sometime next week I will be swatching followed by pretty dedicated knitting with nothing to post other than ‘working on secret project no pics & no progress on The Box.’

For the record, regarding this Box, I was using it as the repository for new yarns since last November. I buy yarn much like I organize said yarn, that is to say, in spates. This is why the bottom of the box contains yarn I purchased almost 2 years ago and the top of the box contains yarn I purchased a few months ago. I went practically a year and a half without purchasing anything! Wait! No, that’s me being delusional….

Sadly this onslaught has lasted a few months and yarn is still incoming with plans to purchase more. The box will hopefully be emptied of its current contents and refilled with other yarn. It is not a very tall box, 6″ or so high, so it shouldn’t be hard to empty. In case you are thinking I have been strong in my knitting from stash the truth is I haven’t been knitting much. AND if I buy yarn that is for an entire adult sized garment I tend to squirrel it away elsewhere. Somewhere along the way I do hope to hit up other yarn caches. Are there caches or is it always just a cache of yarn? I am not foolishly cold sheeping, shopping from stash, or otherwise vowing to not buy yarn. I always fail at such goals.

Looking forward to yarny days and knitterly evenings

~Elka

Magnolia Border

Posted on by Elka Bolhafner
Magnolia Border

One of the good things about being opinionated is you get to change your mind. Or at least I think so. Last week I was despairing about the autumnal colors and sent a picture to my sister who drooled over the orange and rust. She was all excited until I told her the finished circumference. This sweater is meant to have 13-7″ of ease going by the for chest measurement vs sweater measurement. Very Boxy. Anyway between the drooling and the OMG I cannot wear something that large I was fired up to knit and made good headway. Right around the the pivot point I decided I loved the hand of the fabric, the colors were fab and all that good stuff. Her ugh turned into my hurray a sweater for me. Here is hoping The Sweater for Me doesn’t result in the typical 2 years to complete.

Yarny days and knitterly evenings

~Elka


Magnolia

Posted on by Elka Bolhafner
Magnolia

My current work in progress is Magnolia.  This design is by Marie Wallin and is her Fair Isle Club 4 {FIC4} offering.  I hopped on this design because I had major regrets about missing last year’s garment and the only way to get previous patterns is to join ‘The Club’. This is knit in Rowan’s Felted Tweed yarn which I have not used previously. I am unsure if I like either the colors, which are much earthier and warmer than my usual fare*, or the yarn.  I apparently lost 3 balls during my holiday travels and I hate the thought of having to purchase more!

In the non Debbie Downer front, even tho the colors are not my usual fare, the interplay of colors and the slight heatheriness/tweediness of yarn is pleasing.  Also looking at the blown up image on my PDF the collar portion is really lovely.  I also find the overall construction rather intriguing with the over arm strip. And of course I am excited to try the construction and garment shape prior to starting FIC3.  Both garments are wickedly oversized, short, open fronted ala kimono cardigans. I am gifting myself the pattern for the third garment as a  belated Christmas and requested the invoice last week.

yarny days and knitterly evenings,

~elka

*when I expressed doubts about the colors to my children they said I wear muted colors all the time anyway.  In my head I wear bright jewel tones but come to think of it the bright jewel tones happened when I was younger.  Recently, and this is turning into a long asterisk, I decided to do a style board to help me narrow down my knitting palette and it was full of burgundies and eggpanty purples and blues.  So even tho my children are used to seeing me in black, grey and navy my heart still leans towards cool tones even tho they are more blackened.