I’ve just joined the Knitcircus team this month, and I’m thrilled to be able to combine my two passions–writing and yarn–into regular blog posts.
My move to Knitcircus was kind of a no-brainer. I’ve been a fiber arts teacher for fifteen years, worked in a yarn store, and been a hobby yarn dyer, so Jaala created a mash-up of my work experience that is Liz, Knitcircus employee. All of you Knitcircus fans can rest assured that the yarn you love is created by a group of brilliant, passionate and kind folks. Let’s see if I can do them proud.
Over the long Memorial Day weekend, I was struck by
1. the amount of time I spent planning and packing my knitting projects
2. the sheer number of projects I thought I’d work on! Let’s just say two or three saw some action, and that was just a fraction of my knitting bag.
If you’re a knitter like me, who knits all year round, summer is no obstacle to your knitting. We all have our summer knitting plans, which may depend on our warm weather adventures, how hot our climate is, or our recent Ravelry obsessions.
My recent Ravelry crush is Lieutenant’s Heart knit by Sharla out of the colorway Pisces:
Me? In the summertime, the size of my project changes, and usually it skews towards a smaller WIP. Sometimes I’m going for a hot yoga vibe in my apartment and I’ve just flipped off the AC. On those days my common sense tells me to put the blanket down until September. Instead, voila, a tiny sock or mitten can safely hang from my needles without getting me sweaty. I’m particularly pumped to knit and slip these babies into my clogs this summer, knit by local knitter Taine.
Taine knitted them in a one-of-a-kind Impressionist colorway, but I’d knit these little sockies in my new favorite Knitcircus colorway, Surfer Girl:
I’d order the yarn in a 25g Bon Bon set, the perfect size for short adult socks.
Smaller projects emerge this time of year, too, because I’m travelling more. Sure, they pack down better. But. We’ve all been there. I’m in the car and a stitch marker goes flying off the shawl and suddenly I need that little mitt stashed in my purse so I can squeeze in a few sanity rows.
Check out these amazing Winding Way Mitts knit by Shanna in the gradient colorway Off with their Heads:
Those cables are killing me. So cool!
I’ve also finally been bitten by the sock bug, and this year a little sock on metal dpn’s will be lurking on my end table as my constant companion. My current Knitcircus color obsessions are:
Salt Water Taffy Extreme Stripes:
and April Skies Panoramic Gradient. Aren’t these just dying to be knitted into socks for me? Quick, somebody.
You? Maybe you’re starting your holiday knits, because you’re the sort of extremely organized knitter I will never be, and you have actually made a calendar like my friend Cindy does to determine exactly what the timeline of handknit gifts will look like to actually get every single stitch done.
This year I’m eyeing our little 25g Bon Bon sets, so I can whip up a pair of little mitts for a quick gift. Or if I’ve run out of holiday knitting time, I can even gift the knitter in my life a set to knit her own. Genius, right? Because that holiday deadline is sometimes kinda daunting. On my wish list, just sayin’, is this pair of beauties:
That’s the Gradient Stripe Handwarmers in the colorway Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Sock Stripes. Glorious.
There’s always room in the knitting basket for a lightweight shawl. I’ve become a heat lover, so having a shawl to throw over my shoulders in the icy air conditioning is my secret weapon. Don’t you want to cast on these, too?
Here’s Dodo knit by Iolanthe out of the Groovy Kind of Love* gradient:
*Groovy Kind of Love was an exclusive colorway for a club, to be released this fall at the earliest. Go check out Magical Mystery Tour or Fashion Week for other awesome summer colorways.
And check out the lovely Purless knit by Tina out of the Beach Glass gradient:
That shawl is just begging to be draped over a light strappy dress, no?
I hope you’re looking forward to summer knitting, too, whether it’s at the baseball game, on your road trip, or at the parade. What are you planning to knit this summer?
–Liz