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SUMMER OF BASICS.



Yesterday I wrote about the Brooklyn Tweed Lace KAL, but that wasn't the only Make-Along I took part during the summer. I briefly mentioned the Summer of Basics MAL in my previous post, and thought I could share a bit more about it today.

Karen Templer from Fringe Association started a 3-month long Make-Along running from the beginning of June until end of August. The initiative was to knit 3 items for your wardrobe. They could be anything, and done with any technique as long as they fitted your own personal interpretation of "basic" (hence the name, Summer of Basics).




I had great plans about learning to sew and making a shirt and pants (oh how ambitious!), to be paired with a knitted cardigan or a pullover. That never happened. Instead I ended up knitting all three items, of which one is the Selune scarf featured in the previous post.

I didn't really have a clear plan what I was going to make when I started out, but I was quite happy to notice that all the designs I chose in the end were by Julie Hoover. I wasn't surprised though, as I really do think she designs timeless and elegant patterns. Even after finishing these three, I still have more than a couple of her designs in my Ravelry queue.




The other two I knitted were the Cline pullover and the Goode sweater. Both are quite loose fitting and have dolmain sleeves. For Cline I used Rosy Green Wool's Cheeky Merino Joy in shade Black cat, which I bought in Berlin in July. I really like the yarn since it's ecological. I wish the market and selection of ecological yarns was bigger, as I would really only like to buy yarn that has been produced in a sustainable way. I knitted it together black Drops Lace to get the right gauge. The combination of these two yarns resulted in super soft and comfortable sweater that I really love wearing.

I knitted the Goode sweater with cream colored Holst Garn Tides, which is a slightly marled silk-wool blend. It feels a bit coarse agains skin but I'm sure it will soften when it gets a bit more wear. I knitted the bottom part of the sweater in a round instead of flat and in two pieces, because I was lazy. I only separated the back and front when the pattern tells you to start casting on new sts for the sleeves. If I was to knit this pattern again, I would shape the shoulders with short rows and join the front and back together with 3-needle bind off instead of binding off stitches in a sloped manner and the seaming the pieces together. I think that would result in neater shoulder seams...




Comments

  1. As always you've done an amazing job. When I found your profile on Ravelry I thought to myself "well I'll never worry about lack of knitting project inspiration" because (1) your taste is impeccable and you pick patterns and yarns masterfully and (2) your execution of patterns is superb!

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    Replies
    1. Oh Kelsey, you make me blush :) Thank you so much for your words! PS The same goes to your knitting!

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