{Photo credits: Jane Heller, cabinfour, Ysolda Teague, Sylvia Bo Bilvia}
I don't generally plan out my knitting in advance (unless it's a gift or something with a deadline). When I finish a project and start another, I just go with whatever I feel like knitting at the time. Having said that, there are a few patterns that I would love to knit in 2016, and here are four of them.
Praline. I've been eyeing this cardigan for a while! Of the four sweaters I've knitted, they have all been worsted weight and I'd like to make a lighter sweater. This one is sportweight. I've never done a textured sweater or one with pockets or a v-neck, so it will probably be a bit of a challenge. I already have the yarn for this one...it's a dark heathered purple.
Nordic Wind. I might not use this exact pattern, but I want to knit a simple shawl heavily inspired by this one. But it might take a while, since I'm still spinning the yarn for it now. :) Mine will be a gradient from black to gray to white. I've already spun the gray and started the white, but there's still quite a bit to go. All of the yarn will be handspun from American wool (all from small farms), so I'm really excited about that!
Strokkur. While I probably wear cardigans the most, I still want to knit a few more pullover sweaters. I've always wanted to knit this one in particular but was put off because of the colorwork yoke. Now that I've finished my first colorwork project, I feel more confident about maybe knitting this one in 2016. :) I would love to knit it in Icelandic wool, too.
Elder Tree Shawl. This pattern has been in my queue for a long time. I love the idea of a cozy lace shawl knit from worsted weight yarn! Again, I've been putting it off because I didn't have any experience knitting lace, but I think I'm ready to attempt it now. (I already have the yarn...it's actually the same tweedy wool that I used for my favorite cardigan.)
What are you hoping to knit this year?
Don't feel intimidated by the Elder Tree shawl! I've knit both that one and the Lonely Tree shawl, and the lace is very easy,and above all very enjoyable to knit. Those two projects (and a sweater with the same lace panel) flew off the needles. It's great!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that! :) Originally I planned on knitting the Lonely Tree shawl, but since I want to make it a little bigger (I have extra yarn), I decided to go for the Elder Tree instead. I don't have a lot of experience with knitting lace, but hopefully I'll get to this shawl in 2016. :)
DeleteFor anything I plan . . . and then promptly do something else. I keep buying yarn, so know my knitting is backing up like my sewing has. I also have an overdue Christmas present still to knit, part of the yarn for a baby blanket which will probably also be late, and a scarf that is half-way finished because I ran out of yarn (did not buy the yarn for anything specific or forgot what it was). Yarn stores/websites are truly, as I heard someone say, like candystores for me.
ReplyDeleteI know what that's like! I'm getting better about not buying as much yarn, and my stash is shrinking rather than growing, but I still have so much yarn to knit through. :)
DeleteThose projects look awesome (and scary ;). The thought of knitting an entire sweater is a little overwhelming for me - someday I might get there.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm working on a hat with a super simple pattern and some gorgeous blue/black Madelinetosh yarn. When I was growing up, I crocheted my way through skeins upon skeins of acrylic Red Heart because that's what fit my budget. Now I'm having fun with some nicer yarn. It's hard to put hours into a project and not be happy with it because of poor quality yarn!
I'd like to make some mittens next. Have you ever made any? If you have any pattern suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
You'll definitely get there! :) Knitting a sweater is still intimidating for me, but it's so worth it.
DeleteMadelinetosh is really lovely. Almost all of my most-worn knits are from their yarn...the colors are gorgeous!
Coincidentally, I'm just now making my first pair of mittens. :) I'm using this pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/emmas-mittens . It looks busy, but the pattern is really fun and easier than it looks. If you feel ready to attempt cables, I'm sure that you could make them. I know there are a lot of other mitten patterns on Ravelry, but these are the only ones I have any experience with. :)