Knitting

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Eye Candy: SWTC Saphira

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saphira swtcOne of the great things about all the knitting-related work I do is that I get to play with a lot of different yarns and work on a lot of different projects. I thought it might be fun for you (and keep me trying new things so I can share them) if I posted every now and then notes on what I’m working on and what I’m working with.

Today I got into a moment (OK, a couple of hours) of panic about how soon it will be time for me to turn in my book and how much knitting I still have to do before then. I also got word that an adorable set of twins — a boy and a girl now eight weeks old — are going to model for my book. Which means I need something for them to wear.

I’m planning a pair of intarsia sweaters, probably one with a flower and one with a truck, but I’m not sure yet. I’ve long known, however, that I wanted to knit them in Saphira, a bulky superwash merino from South West Trading Company. I had a tiny (and I mean tiny, what you see in the picture is all there was, I didn’t even leave enough to bind off) sample of this yarn to play with and I love the softness, the fuziness and the nice even stitches, which should be great for intarsia. It also knits up super fast, which is great for needing to make two sweaters while the kids are still the same size!

Now that I know my gauge it will be a lot easier to estimate how much yarn I’ll need and to make the charts for my intarsia designs. I guess that’s what I’ll be working on this weekend!

What have you been working with lately? Any new projects on the horizon for the weekend? Spill it!

Comments

  1. I can’t wait to see what your intarsia sweaters look like. That is so cool you are giving away a copy of Stitch London.

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.