About 6 weeks ago, I posted about the Kveta Hat that I had the opportunity to test knit for Monika Sirna. I also had the pleasure to test knit the matching cape, but I just realized that I never posted about it! Bad blogger...

The Kveta Cape is a sweet little accessory than any girl would love. I made another Kveta Hat to match the cape - because, really, who can resist? The cape has a lot more finishing than I typically go for, but it was well worth it. The pattern has you hand sew ribbon and snaps onto the ribbing for closure.

April has been a busy month for me, in life, but especially with regards to knitting. Over the course of the month, I've finished 6 projects and I'm darn close on a 7th. I have no idea how I am managing to finish so many projects, though I guess they're all relatively small items. I feel like I'm constantly fighting the urge to cast on ALL THE THINGS. At least it seems to be working for me.

I had the honor of test knitting Carthamus by Kirsten Kapur at the beginning of the month. I knit it out of Tosh Sock in Gossamer. I was an absolute pleasure (and challenge) to knit. I say challenge only because I learned at least one new technique while knitting it - it wasn't hard in the traditional sense. I've never knit something with this construction before. It was a lot of fun, and on more than one occasion I had to tell myself "one more row" only to find several rows and a half an hour later, that I was finally putting the project down. I also finally, and fully, overcame my fear of charts.

It has been unseasonably cold here, so I've already worn it a few times and I love it. It's kind of a scarf/shawl hybrid (scawl? sharf?) and I find it really easy to wear. I've wrapped it around my neck like a scarf; looped it around my shoulders like a shawl using a shawl pin to secure it; draped it around my neck and just let it flutter. It's pretty any way I've worn it. You can see more details and pictures on my project page.

Project Details:
Pattern: Carthamus by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Gossamer
Needle: US 6 (4mm)

I knit mine out of Cascade Heritage in Anis and Cerulean. I love these shades of blue together! The yarn is soft and light. The entire shawl weighs only 96 grams, which makes it perfect for Spring and even into Summer where I live. I have enough of each color left over to knit the inverse, so don't be surprised if that's my next color combo.

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Happy Friday!

We're halfway finished the #colorblockKAL and we already have 4 FOs! Congrats to the following Ravelers: WoolDiaries, oocha, joha123, and SarahElana on some spectacular shawls.

I've made a bit more progress this week. I'm about halfway through the MC (Cascade Heritage in Aris). With the holiday weekend, we did a lot of visiting family and this has been the perfect project to bring in the car. I was also able to mindlessly knit on it while catching up with family. I've worked on a few cable-heavy projects recently (here and here), so it was really nice to bring my knitting with me and not have to worry about keeping track of rows, stitch counts, etc. I'm still loving these little bird stitch markers.
And just as a quick reminder - you don't have to finish the KAL to enter the prize drawing. The only requirements are that you cast on before April 12th and leave me a comment telling me what yarn you're using. All of the other entries (emailing me photos to post here, posting a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #colorblockKAL, following me on Twitter or BlogLovin', etc) are all optional, extra entries. And each time you post a photo on Instagram with the hashtag, you can come back to this widget for another entry! To make it easier to enter, I've added a KAL tab to the top of the blog - just click there and it will take you to the newest KAL post with the widget.

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It's been a while since I've done a WIP Wednesday post. Earlier this year, I knit Cladonia by Kirsten Kapur. I absolutely adore the FO and wear it all the time. But I do have a few very minor "improvements". They're not even really improvements, just things I would change if I knit it again. I wish it were a tiny bit bigger, just a few inches longer in both directions. And while I love the yarn that I knit the first one in (Madelinetosh Sock in Well Water), it doesn't go with my wardrobe all that much. So, I'm knitting another one.

This time I'm using Tosh Merino Light in Luster, alternating skeins every 2 rows. Luster is a really complex tannish ivory with some medium brown tones in it. I don't wear a lot of brown, but it's neutral enough that I think it will work well with my wardrobe. I also wanted a lighter color so I could theoretically wear it year round. The TML is so incredibly soft and light. It's a single ply yarn and has an amazing halo.

I absolutely adore this yarn and have already purchased 2 sweater quantities in other colorways. I have a few projects in the works (and a few deadlines in April), but after I finish them I'll be casting on a Bayside Pullover in TML in Wash. Can't wait - my fingers are itching to get started on that.

If you're ever curious to see what I'm working on, you can check my Ravelry page or the "Current Projects" section of the sidebar where I have all of my WIPs listed.

What are you working on? 

I've been hinting around on Instagram that I'm working on a pattern. Well, I'm beyond thrilled to say, it's live on Ravelry!

The pattern is for a colorblock shawl (and warning - I was really creative with the name). It's a simple triangular shawl, worked from the bottom up, using increases to create the shape. The pattern calls for approximately 400 yards of sport weight yarn - 100 for the contrasting color (the point) and 300 for the main color. I used Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk, which I highly recommend. It's so soft, has amazing drape, and is lightweight enough that I can wear this shawl well into the Spring, if not even into Summer. Hey, it's possible - I live in Pittsburgh and we have whacky weather here!

If there's enough interest, I'd like to host a KAL for the pattern. The KAL would be very relaxed - I'll do an update post once a week (likely each Monday) for a month and link out to all of the knitters working on it. We would start Monday the 18th and we would end April 15th. It will not take you a month to knit the shawl, I promise! I just want to leave the "deadline" pretty open. I'm definitely plan to knit another one, KAL or not, but I'd love to have company. Are you in?



The pattern is available on Ravelry (for free!). I'm pretty sure that this won't apply to anyone, but if you don't have a Ravelry account, you can download the pdf here.

Happy knitting!