THAT'S A WRAP

This wrap is everything I have ever wanted and more. It was painstakingly knitted over four months and 8 full skeins of yarn. Egads. But when I wrap myself in it, I'm immersed in color and texture. The Seed Stitch makes the fabric feel like soothing pebbles and the journey from neon pink to deep indigo is reminiscent of a piece of abstract art. I love to pair it with my new overalls from Madewell. I'm looking forward to wearing this on many more grey days and it's an instant mood booster. Worth every stitch.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY

It's hard to knit for other people. You spend so much time knitting something that you fall deeper in love with (and more frustrated with) every stitch. It's a Catch-22, however, because giving something handmade to someone else is such a great feeling. I knew I wanted to expand my horizons to contemporary knitted wear that any gender could enjoy. So I knitted up a few uni-sex pieces and had my lovely model here demonstrate what good yarn and a good pattern can produce. From top to bottom we have the Bandana Cowl knit in a fiery, tomato red with my favorite merino yarn from Manos Del Uruguay, the Boy Beanie knit with Vintage Berocco in an electric blue (super washable acrylic-wool blend), and the Herringbone Cowl made extra slouchy with a green-grey variegated merino from, again, Manos Del Uruguay. 

HERRINGBONE COWL

I had two skeins of this striking aqua Manos Del Uruguay merino wool and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it: the Big Herringbone Cowl from the Purl Bee. The Herringbone stitch is just so pretty. Elegant, subtle, and the bright color of the wool only highlighted the stitch in the best way. It's so soft and snuggly that it's already a staple in my wardrobe –– I just have to sit next to the AC in order to enjoy it. Happy September everybody, fall is soon on it's way.

I changed the pattern ever-so-slightly to make it a little snugger around my neck, which actually turned out juuust perfect since I kind of winged it. Like the Purl Bee, I cast on 220 stitches except on size US 13 (9.0 mm) 40" circular needles and followed the pattern the rest of the way. My cowl ended up measuring at 14" thick by the time I ran out of yarn.

RIB STITCH HAT

Yay! My first hat done for the year. I've been heavily focusing on scarfs, cowls, etc. and forgot about one of my favorite winter staples: the beanie. I made it extra slouchy and I just love the poppy red color of this yarn. It'll be another month (or two) before the weather drops below the 90s, but I think it'll be a good transition piece from fall to winter when the temperatures do get into the range of sweater weather. A great tip I found for decreasing whilst shaping the crown for the rib stitch was to always decrease starting with a purl stitch when knitting two together. It really kept shaping the crown looking smooth and not all wonky. 

PURPLE

I'm not the hugest fan of purple. It just isn't a color I seem to gravitate towards. Recently, however, I've been opening my mind to the wonderful world of purple ever since I saw those beautiful, super bright fuchsia heels from Madewell. They had to be mine. And now they're my favorite shoes. I'm also in love with this beautiful merino wool from Manos Del Uruguay. It's supple and soft and the yarn has been dipped in a range of absolutely gorgeous deep indigos, soft purples, grays, and cool greens with little bits of snow white to break up the color changes. It's just so delightful. 

FINISHED

Proof I've been productive -- really! I have! I made a rib stitched cowl for a friend about to travel by bike around Colorado (he's going to need it for those cold nights), a basket-weave stitched scarf with bright and playful hot pink fringe, a silky bamboo-wool blend scarf with fun variegated colors (just in a basic stockinette), and some tassel necklaces that have been my favorite go-to addition to any outfit. Whew. 

A SUMMER OF GOOD FOOD

This summer has been a smorgasbord of great food. From summer fruit pies and ice cream sammiches, to fresh heirloom frittatas and prosciutto tartines, I've been spoiled left and right with colorful (not to mention delicious) food. Summer has been up and down for me. I have had time to catch up on my knitting and to cook up a good meal, I also had the time to do productive things -- like write, or say set up a new blog, but chose to give into my Netflix addiction instead. Sigh. At least I can say I rewatched Portlandia for the third time, watched the entirety of Lost within two weeks, and made it through four seasons of 30 Rock, right? Well, okay, maybe that's not something to be proud of, but in my defense that's allowed me to knock out some solid knitted projects that make me so impatient for winter.