knitting for love – Daily Fiber

Unraveled Wednesday: Autumn Bloom

Posted on March 26, 2025July 23, 2025 by Laura Kate

Dear friends

Thanks for letting me join your monthly Wednesday knitting show and tell. Today I have photos of the pullover finished recently for my daughter. Her friend Krystal kindly snapped some photos.

I was gratified to find that it fit her perfectly. This is a version of Autumn Bloom by Olga Putano Designs available on Ravelry.com. My modification is in the sleeve. Daughter did not want the stranded panel included in the pattern, which mimics the yoke design. Instead I worked the contrasting yarns into the very deep cuffs by knitting them with a corrugated rib stitch.

Using the gold Malabrigo yarn was a little tricky. I had skeins from multiple dye lots, so they didn’t really go together. I blended two different toned skeins by alternating each round. The two strands are twisted together at the center back.

The multi colored yarn in the yoke is Knit Picks Hawthorne dk in colorway Foster Powell. I also used a skein of Swish in colorway moss.

And that will satisfy my desire to knit sweaters for awhile. Projects planned for 2025 completion are mostly accessories and socks. But don’t quote me on this. When I come across an amazing yarn or pattern, I’m not shy about changing my plans.

To see the work of other Ravelers, click here.

knitting

Wednesday WIP and 2025 Knitting projects in the Queue

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Laura Kate

For all my blogging knitters, this is an update. While I haven’t posted about knitting in some time, my needles have been clicking away, and my project queue is longer than ever. Let’s start with this pull-over/jumper.

I am knitting it for dear daughter, and this week I finished the body. Since she and I are roughly the same size, I knew that if it fit my body, it would fit hers. Ta da! It fits. Those interested, the gold yarn is Malabrigo Rios in colorway Frank Ochre The contrasting yarn in the yoke is from KnitPicks – Hawthorne dk in Foster Powell multi and Swish in Moss. She chose the pattern from a selection of patterns in Ravelry. It’s called Autumn Bloom , designed by Olga Putana.

So last week, I went through my project bags and my yarn closet and discovered that I have Four WIP’s and Five New Projects lined up with pattern and yarn secured. That’s way more than I thought. And yes, I am guilty of buying yarn lately. In my defense, it was All On Sale.

I won’t bore you with the WIPs today (pretty sure that I’ve written about each of them in 2024.) But here is what I am planning to knit this year, once I get WIPs done:

Rivers and Ravens Cowl, by Nat Raedwulf in two natural colors of alpaca yarn.
Paper Dolls cap-sleeved vest, by Kate Davies. I have some blue-violet Ultra Alpaca from Berroco for the main color.
Wildwood Crescent Shawl, by Andrea Mowry, in three shades of purple
A pair of socks for Bill, in a self-striping Schachenmayr Regia yarns, purchased from Jimmy Beans Wool.
Felted mittens, using the brown Icelandic wool Mandy gave me Christmas.

I know this post is light on photographs, sorry friends. It’s late and I am tired. I promise to do a charming photo shoot of all the new yarns in my stash, once the weather improves. In the meantime, remember to stay calm and keep knitting.

colorwork, knitting

Autumn Blooms

Posted on October 17, 2024October 18, 2024 by Laura Kate

This past week I cast on a project that has been in my queue most of the summer. It is a pullover sweater for Mandy, using some Malabrigo Rios yarn as the main color.

I was thunderstruck to see that my palette is a near match for the colors I see outside right now. The gold color is 035 Frank Ochre and I purchased it online from Jimmie Beans. The two contrasting colors are from Knitpicks: Hawthorne dk in Foster Powell Multi and Swish dk in Moss.

My daughter chose the pattern from three or four options I gave her out of my Ravelry favorites. She liked Autumn Bloom by Olga Putano.

It is knit top down starting with a very beautiful and somewhat complex yoke.

In this photo I have worked to the point where the main color is joined. When that happens, the knitter is faced with working three yarns at the same time for about four rounds – slow and tricky work involving a lot of catching the long floats of unused strands under the working yarn.

Here is my progress with the yoke chart completed.

In the bright sunlight, the colors almost glow. That gold will definitely brighten up a dark winter day when sunshine is rare.

The project is almost to the point where a fitting is required. I have some doubts and fears about sizing and whether my stranded knitting will block out smoothly. Since I won’t have access to the recipient for another four weeks or so, I would be wise to cool my needles and put the project aside until the next time we are together.

knitting

Friday Finish – no, really

Posted on October 5, 2024 by Laura Kate

Yes, I know it’s Saturday. I photographed the image above yesterday. It is Little Whiskey, a sweet cape pattern for a little girl designed by Erica Jackofsky.

This morning, I sewed on Laura Lu’s prized button and took the garment out to the garden for a photo session.

The pattern was easy to follow. Because I didn’t quite get gauge, I cast on extra stitches and followed the instructions for the next larger size. Ultimately, the process of washing and blocking widened out the knitting, but didn’t add any length, which is a good thing. I got the length I was aiming for.

Wrong side view, close up of lace pattern

The lace pattern was not difficult, except for the popcorn stitch, which the designer called Nupps. They are kind of hard to see in the photos. They add some texture to what is mostly stockinette knitting. They also echo the picot edge stitches nicely.

This capelet will go with us on our next trip to Wisconsin. At that time, I’ll get a photo of the recipient wearing it, and know for sure if the fit works.

knitting

Cast-on Monday: A Shawl for Laura

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Laura Kate

It’s a lovely day for casting on a new project. Today I started knitting a capelet for my granddaughter. Last May she asked me to make her a shawl. I chose this pattern

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-whiskey

instead of a shawl, in the theory that the button will help keep on her shoulders while she rushes about her business. She specified that it be white – a bit of a surprise, but then, maybe her favorite princesses and fairies wear white capes. She also handed me a button, obviously found and scrupulously saved for just this moment.

The yarn was purchased at my number one favorite yarn store, North Wind Book and Fiber Store in Spooner, WI.

It is a light dk. Incredibly soft, it is made from 80% Merino Superwash wool and 20% bamboo. I was keen to see how well it performs.

There are four sections of lace in the body of the cape, so I don’t think this project will work for travel knitting. For our up-coming trip, I will continue working on the improvised shawl project that I carried while cruising through Canada in early July.