Of all the social media apps and sites Ravelry, Pinterest and Instagram are my absolute favorites. Especially Ravelry has been such an eye-opener for me; a gateway to taking my knitting to a whole another level, finding inspiration and learning a lot of new techniques. Before joining Ravelry (which I actually found through Pinterest) my knitting was restricted to the free patterns from the DROPS Design website (there is nothing wrong with their designs per se, but I love the variety and level of creativity found on Ravelry) and my own designs with varied levels of success. Another reason I love Ravelry is how it works as a project diary and how all my knitting information (yarns that I used, needle sizes, modifications I made or should make the next time...) is now easy to find in one safe place. I also love looking back on things I've created and how much I have accomplished. And taking a look back, I wanted to share my favorite knitting projects from last year.
I had a hard time picking the favorites, (so many to choose from,) but I also wondered which approach to take: favorite to knit, favorite to wear, favorite aesthetically? For example there are some projects that I love - like the Dessine-Moi un Mouton sweater which I absolutely adore - but for some reason I rarely use them. In the end I decided to list my favorites regarding the knits that I actually use the most. The projects below are in no specific order although the first thing that came to my mind when I started to think about favorites was my Stonecutter sweater: I love to wear it, it was a joy to knit and I really like the yarn and the color I chose for it.
I love knitting Brooklyn Tweed designs. You can count on good sizing, well-written patterns and contemporary designs usually with a little twist. I've noticed that most of the knitting projects I've been most pleased with have been from their collections. I'm especially in love with the BT Fall 14 collection and I'm already knitting my fourth project (Ondawa) from it.
My favorite accessories:
Bottom row: Neldoreth Socks and Pine Bough Cowl
I fell in love with the Hutchin hat the first time I saw it and had to cast on immediately for it. My first try didn't quite match the high expectations I had for it so for this second hat I made the modifications it needed and ended up with a perfect hat for the early fall and warm spring days. Because it's knitted with fingering weight yarn it is sadly way too light to wear this time of the year. The Anstruther hat with it's double brim has been in almost daily use instead.
My favorite own designs: Keiko sweater and Honey Cap
The Keiko is by far the one I've worn the most this year. At the risk of sounding smug and self-satisfied I must say that Keiko is my favorite everyday garment. I love the boyfriend fit, the minimalistic look and the softness of the yarns I chose. I'm also really pleased with my Honey cap - I think the color is just perfect!
One thing I noticed while looking through my projects on Ravelry that I didn't knit any cardigans last year! Except for the Fuse cardigan of course, but it's not a regular old-fashioned cardigan in my opinion. So in 2015 I'm planning on knitting more cardigans even though it means more buttons to sew (not my favorite job).
A beautiful collection :) it all looks very good together, too. I'm glad to hear you love to wear your Stonecutter and you're pleased with the yarn because I'm working on my own one right now. I was going to use another yarn but I ended up going with Lima, mostly because I saw it looked so good in your sweater. So, thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnd funny about cardigans, I noticed I knit a handful of sweaters but only one cardigan in 2014 (and none in 2013!). I used to wear mostly cardigans before I started knitting so maybe I was making up for something. My goal for 2015 is cardigans too, a dark one and a light one at least. After I finish my Stonecutter sweater that is..!
I hope you will love your stonecutter as much as I love mine! Have a great time knitting it :)
ReplyDeleteAnd regarding cardigans, I somehow feel like they are much more arduous than knitting sweaters, must be the fact that they have that one extra piece ie. two front pieces and the extra work of buttons and buttonholes. Also you can't knit them in the round which I prefer (unless you do a steek which I still abhor despite doing it already quite a many times; I'm still afraid I will somehow destroy the whole piece...)