All posts tagged: knitting

knitting detour: how my plan to make a tote bag turned into a stripy summer top

Published by fairfaxhill

How does this happen? I’ve managed to start – and finish!– another project that’s not what I intended to work on. For the record, I have three other projects on my needles at the moment. One of them I started last summer… I guess I should make a better effort to stay out of yarn stores! A few weekends ago, I was browsing the isles of Joanne’s Fabrics store and managed to leave with six balls of 100% cotton yarn in tow with the goal of making myself a new tote. I wanted to replace some of the bags I typically carry around, which are looking a bit tired after much use. I also found yarn in a green color I loved. Is it just me? I can never have enough tote bags. I always need to supplement my purse with bags to carry books, knitting projects, samples, treats, or to use if I stop at the supermarket on my way home. The bag I was going to make, a free pattern called the “getting …

february makes: from sweaters to crème brûlée (mishaps included!)

Published by fairfaxhill

Here’s a quick update on what I’ve been up to lately! As some of you saw on my Instagram feed, I finished making the sweater I started last February. I was modifying the Malaury pattern, replacing the texture created by knit and purl stitches with mock cables for my version. The result was a happy surprise. (I’m feeling pretty confident trusting my math when adapting patterns now–it fits!) I also learned a new technique for attaching a collar that I might start using more often. The pattern called for a back-stitched collar, which was new to me. I normally pick up stitches around the neckline, but the pattern said to knit the collar separately, leaving one of the edges on scrap yarn. I was having a difficult time wrapping my head around the process, and even after finding this helpful tutorial, the whole thing looked way too complicated. Then, I remembered watching a video showing a similar technique that looked much simpler. The difference: no stitches that could potentially unravel! You simply take the finished …

geogradient shawl

geogradient mkal: how it’s going

Published by fairfaxhill

This month I’ve been working on the Geogradient Mystery Knit Along by Stephen West and I haven’t had time for much else. Books I want to read, and recipes I want to try are piling up! But I’m close to done, and I predict the shawl will be finished within a week. Reflecting on the colors I chose. I signed up and purchased a kit online because I thought that would be easier than trying to pick out yarn at the local yarn store and putting together my own gradient. Looking back, I wish I had taken a bit more time to think about my colors. I knew I wanted to use Holst yarn because that’s what I used for my last shawl and I really liked the result. (This yarn is also quite affordable, and considering you have no idea what your final project will look like when you join a mystery KAL, it was a no-brainer for me!) But the thing is, I had recently ordered shade cards from Holst to have handy …

designing a hat in five days

Published by fairfaxhill

About a week ago, I got an email from Clare from Sister Mountain announcing her new workshop: “Design a Hat in 5 Days”. I’ve been curious about knitwear design for a long time and signed up for Clare’s sweater design workshop introduction a few years ago, but decided not to go ahead with the full course, since I didn’t feel like I had enough time to design a whole sweater. But a small project like this one could be the perfect introduction I was looking for, so I signed up! Because we would only have five days to complete the project, our homework before Day 1 was to draw a quick sketch of the hat we intended to make and to knit, wash, and dry our swatch sample. My first idea had been to use a sport-weight yarn and to try to incorporate some pretty cables, but when I realized how long it was taking me to knit my small swatch, I changed plans and opted for a bulky yarn instead. I also picked a …