Are You Ready for Sweater Weather?

You probably know by now that I am not a huge fan of BuzzFeed, or Internet quizzes, but I couldn’t resist sharing this quiz to help you determine if you’re ready for sweater weather.

I’m pretty sure you don’t need a quiz to know if you are or aren’t, but it’s still kind of fun.

You get a point for every statement you agree with, ranging from things like “Seeing my breath create a little cloud of fog fills my heart with JOY” to “I wish I could live inside a sweater.”

It will surprise no one that my quiz results determined I was born ready for sweater weather.

If you’re ready but your knit sweater wardrobe is a little lacking, I’m going to hook you up with some great project ideas and advice through the month. For now I’d love to know if you’ve knit sweaters before and if you have any questions you’d like me to answer this month.

Or, do you have a favorite sweater pattern? Share it!

I’m excited to focus on sweaters with you this month. Let’s dive in and get cozy.

[Photo via BuzzFeed.]

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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