brooklyn tweed –

Knitting

On my needles: Fort sweater

July 26, 2014

Back in May some my favorite knitting friends on Instagram (@byannieclaire and @karentempler) began putting together a KAL (knit-along) centered around knitting a sweater for your man, deemed #knittingforhimalong. Karen wrote a lovely post here and here about the KAL as well as some really helpful sweater knitting tips and tricks.

I recently finished my first adult sized sweater which also happened to be only the second thing I’ve ever knitted for myself. Similarly, I have never knit something for my husband David, though have wanted to for a long time, but struggled with finding something he really liked the design and style of. With the start of this KAL, we spent several nights looking over patterns and finally settled on Fort, a Brooklyn Tweed pattern and chose a gorgeous dark blue shade of Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter.

My initial plan was to begin this sweater as I was working to complete my own sweater, but I just couldn’t make myself do it. I know it sounds funny to many, but I’ve always been a monogamous knitter for fear I’ll lose interest in one of the projects and not finish them. (In recent weeks I’ve taken a leap and started a second WIP…more on this later.) So I got a little late start, but on a recent road trip I managed to swatch and make some progress on this lovely beast of a sweater (K2, P2 x 1 million rows). 🙂 It’s going excellent so far, I’m in love with Shelter and the stitch definition is really beautiful. David approves wholeheartedly and we’re excited for those freezing San Francisco Winters when he can wear it. Totally kidding, but surely there will be plenty of opportunities in this sweater’s life for loving wear. 🙂

Make sure to follow along on our KAL journey on Instagram, #knittingforhimalong

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Knitting

Finished objects: My first knitted sweater

July 2, 2014

So excited! Today I have a guest blog post up on Fringe Association, where I share a little about my journey as a knitter and how it brought me to knit my first sweater. I adore Karen and am so honored she asked. I hope it helps inspire others as well.

Here are a few photos of my first adult sized sweater, knit just for me. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the result. <3

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Knitting

On my needles: Reine sweater

April 11, 2014

I first began knitting as a child when my great aunt Audrey taught me to knit a washcloth. I was horrible at finishing projects when I was younger and didn’t pick knitting back up until in my teens and even then it only lasted a few months. I’ve since trained myself to complete projects by picking smaller ones that allowed for the instant or almost instant gratification of finished knits. Over time slowly working my way up; hats, toys, baby sweaters, cable socks and now an adult sweater. A couple Christmases ago my brother asked for a sweater and I scoffed at the thought “An adult sweater?! Yeah right”.

Well, I have reached the day where I am ready. More then ready. I’m not sure where this new found confidence and vigor has come from, however as soon as I had decided, I couldn’t get started fast enough. The setup had to be perfect. After spending far too long on Ravelry, I settled on Reine. I ordered a set of Knitter’s Pride Karbonz circulars and a load of Brooklyn Tweed Loft. I have been learning recently to embrace swatching, so swatch I did. After a few swatches I was ready to go. For anyone who has worked with BT’s Loft, they know it’s a very light weight yarn. It’s literally light as a feather and so squishy. The texture is delicious. It is the perfect fiber to make a sweater for San Francisco weather.

I’ve been knitting for a couple weeks now and have made steady progress. This new ambitious on taking already feels familiar. Familiar enough that I have my next sweater picked out. 🙂

If you’re like I was and have been hesitating to take the leap, I encourage you to do so. There really is nothing more fulfilling then making a hand knit to wrap yourself in and say with triumph “I made this.”.

Here are a few photos of my favorite Reine projects on Ravelry…