love list: two very fall cabled cowls

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FALL FALL FALL. It's getting so real, and I am so ready to knit all of the things, spin all of the things and wear all of the knits. For fear of this turning into the most basic girly post about fall, I'm going to cut it short and just talk about these two patterns. 

The Ellerbe Cowl just got released today(!) and looks like a fun, quick knit. I want to totally knit this pattern over a weekend away in the mountains, maybe when I'm up in NY for the Sheep & Wool Festival in October. And Melissa is such a sweetheart, she did a Periscope episode yesterday on basic cabling techniques that you should definitely check out (@hey_lady_hey). It would be a great choice if you're new to cabling and want to try it for the first time. 

The Forest Cowl is a similar structure with unribbed edges and some different cables spread all over the cowl. It reminds me of the winter cowls Carrie Bostick Hoge designed for Taproot this spring being a bit slouchy and oversized with lots of fun texture. And so lovley! I love her use of texture in her knits. They're classic but modern all at the same time. 

Both would be fun options for these finally-fall days. Happy knitting!

love list: vests and such

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Now that it is September, I have one thing on the brain - fall and fall only. I'm not at the point where I can imagine that it will be cold enough for sweaters any time soon, but these vests are simple and gorgeous and could knit up pretty fast, especially the middle vest! I love Danforth because of the really slight sleeve. It's gorgeous! And the Georgia cardigan looks beautiful both buttoned and unbuttoned. It looks like it would be great for layering as well. 

I can imagine wearing these to the pumpkin patch, out shopping on a Saturday or on a cooler evening. Let the seasonally-appropriate knitting begin! :)

love list: a little lace

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There are a few things I've learned since I've become a knitter. Hats are fast and making up decreases as you go is a bad idea. The ribbing on a sweater always seems slower than you think it will be. Don't pull your colorwork stitches too tight unless you want a hat that sits on top of your head (or fits a child). Always. Always. Always. Check. Your. Gauge. (I'm unfortunately still working on this one). And I've also learned that some of my favorite patterns are simple, but beautiful.

Carrie Bostick Hoge really gets this, I think. Her designs are beautiful, classic, but interesting. She never over-does it when it comes to techniques and special effects in her patterns, adding just enough to every pattern to keep things interesting, but not stressful. Two great examples are some of her designs that include just a LITTLE bit of lace. I love the Sibella pullover with its classic shape, lots of stockinette, but lots of visual interest and lacy design around the yoke. Another great one is her Lola shawl, which is totally a shawl I could see myself knitting and wearing. I also love cabinfour's  Morning Light socks for this same reason, visual interest on the top of the foot but easy knitting everywhere else. 

I'm not even sure what I'm doing rounding up knitting patterns right now, dreaming of new projects when I have something close to seven projects on my to-do list! But sometimes it's just fun to dream. :) Lace, I love you - a little. 

Love: spinning dreams

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I'm spinning my life away these days. The past two weekends we have been laying low, staying out of the heat, spinning, reading about spinning, and dreaming about it. There are so many beautiful places to buy fiber in the U.S., and these are some of my favorites I've found so far. I would love to find others - there is so much out there I want to spin, and so little time to do it. :)

It's so funny with my spinning, I have been gravitating towards these vibrant, almost neon colors but in reality I love to wear neutrals (at the store this weekend, I picked out a tan, navy and gray top. And black pants. Ha!). Eventually, I'm going to have to reconcile what I like to spin with what I like to knit and what I like to wear. But for now, I'm loving these colors as I get better and better. 

Cheers to summer and color!

Love: simple textured shawls

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Lately I've been dreaming of summer vacation, of getting this sweater off of my needles, and of long stretches of time to knit on a beach. Or on my porch, or anywhere, really. And what I want to be knitting the most in this dream scenario is a shawl (because you can't have too many) and of something simple, but interesting. Beautiful, but mindless. The winner out of this bunch may just very well be Pure, thanks to this picture that Hannah Garr posted weeks ago and I still can't get out of my head. Hers is knit in Madelintosh Optic, which is amazing, and for my birthday this year my lovely friend gifted me two skeins of "Holi" by Madelintosh that I think would knit up so wonderfully like the Optic. 

I've no trouble knitting with wool all year long, but I'm just curious what everyone else is planning on knitting this summer! The tanks the Quince and Co recently released have got me thinking about more garments for my wardrobe, but I have to buckle down and finish Gable first!

Love: fringe

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As I write this post, I'm catching up on the season premiere of the final season of Mad Men, so I can't even pretend that that doesn't have something to do with my recent knitwear loves. The 70s seem to be coming back in a big way, and I love it! Lexington was love at first sight when I saw it in BT's Winter Collection (along with this, and this, and this, and let's be honest everything). The big pockets sold me, and of course, the fringe. Farmhouse is so fun, because I feel like it's such a classic looking shawl, but with the fun twist with the long fringe added as well. And Selsey is just such stunning colorwork, and it's knit up in one of my favorite yarns, so it's basically perfect. 

I don't know what it is, but the fringe is just really such a favorite of mine recently. The pairing of oversized, squishy, huggable knits and the long fringe makes me really happy. 

Love: knitted blankets

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My just-finished "Hansel" also has been doubling as a great lap blanket on these cool spring nights, so I've had knitted blankets on the brain recently. I love the idea of having a long-term piecemeal project I can work on whenever I need a break from whatever current project is on my needles, and a blanket feels just right for that. Some of these blankets, like the Beekeeper's Quilt were actually some of the first patterns I ever found and loved on Ravelry, I actually think the Giant Granny Square Blanket was how I got introduced to the Purl Bee! I also love the idea of blankets because though they take a huge time commitment, they have the potential to be beautiful heirlooms, like the Shale Baby Blanket by Jared Flood or the Farm Blanket for a new baby. So sweet.

A few months ago we purchased a vintage floral couch for our living room and we love it, but it's rather hard to accessorize, so I've been doing lots of brainstorming for blankets that wouldn't look terrible if we left it lying around. I'm also very slowly working on a stash-busting blanket of sorts that I should write up soon here.

While spring may be a counter-intuitive time to start knitting a blanket, I actually think it's perfect. By the time you want to be wrapped up in all that cozy, fall should be just around the corner.

Love: swinging hemline sweaters

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Brooklyn Tweed released Wool People 8 this week, and as always, it's love at first sight. I think it's so fun that the design team at BT can produce so many different types of patterns and still stay true to their signature style. Stratum, above, was my favorite piece in the collection with it's effortless, relaxed elegance. The swinging hemline is flattering on everyone and is just lovely, so I thought I'd do a little round up of some other sweaters with flowing hemlines for today's post. 

It's hard to believe it's only a week until Thanksgiving day, so tonight I'm also working on my Christmas wishlist, catching up on Scandal, and knitting some two-at-a-time socks for a certain brother-in-law. This is my favorite time of year, life is so sweet!