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!