My Knitting Plans And Fantasies

This summer, during July and August, I visited three farms and yarn stores and bought yarn according to my yarn no-buy year guidelines (I allow myself to buy yarn in stores, given there are none next to me).

Now that I have all this beautiful stash, what are my plans or fantasies ?

Mohair Cardé From Mohair d’Aulon en Pyrénées

Mohair Cardé – Ferme Mohair d’Aulon en Pyrénées
Mohair Cardé – Ferme Mohair d’Aulon en Pyrénées
© Perennial Sweater by Norah Gaughan

First, with the blue mohair cardé from Mohair d’Aulon en Pyrénées I will knit a Perennial sweater by Norah Gaughan from La Bien Aimée Worsted yellow book. I love the yarn, its stitch definition and I really want to knit a pattern from Norah Gaughan after I ripped my last project out. I do not want to linger on such a “failure” or bad experiment, mostly because the cotton yarn did not go with the pattern and the charts were very small to read, even after taking a pic and printing it out as large as I could.

This time, I will follow one recommendation some one gave me in a comment on my YouTube channel : print it from a real Xerox big copier that can keep a good resolution even when copying on a large scale !

© Hide and Peak by Maxim Cyr
© Fields Of Gold by Isabella Clark

Second, the rest of the colours was to knit a Hide and Peak by Maxim Cyr that I’ve had in my queue for a long time. I wanted to knit the body in a dark grey colour, but they were out of stock (good for them !), so I bought the light brown one instead. I the mean time, Isabella Clark released the Fields Of Gold and the light browny beige Mohair cardé got an immediate reassign ! Fields of Gold it will be. The light blush pink, light grey and yellow will wait for another visit to the farm and the dark grey hopefully.

Fuzzy Mohair From La Ferme De L’Accroche Cœur

Ferme de l’Accroche Coeur
Mohair From Ferme de l’Accroche Coeur

This was a new farm to me, that I had been following on Instagram since the beginning of the year. When I visited, I first contacted her and turns out she had just opened her brick and mortar shop in her farm the day before ! She will keep selling open markets. When I visited, I already had a project style in mind : knitting a Bohus type colour work sweater. I need to find a design that will fit my yarn and gauge now 😺

Wooly Wool From Laines À L’Ouest

Laines à l’Ouest
Laines à l’Ouest

After I spent some time in the Pyrénées and Poitou, I went back home for my last weekend before work. I decided to drive to Lessay in Cotentin, a 1.5h trip, and go to the Laines à l’Ouest shop. I could not see the sheep as they were in a barn due to the higher tides that flood their usual pasture. It is common here in Normandie.

A beautiful shop, a very friendly host and marvelous rustic yarns. I may have found my substitute to the one from Iceland I have been drooling over for quite some time.

I bought these two 1kg cones in the undyed white yellowish kind and the grey brownish one.

© Highland Thistle Sweater by Carolyn Holbrook
© Mare by Natasja Hornby

When I saw the grey one, I immediately assigned it to the Highland Thistle Sweater by Carolyn Holbrook. The right colour, the right yarn weight. I do not have a real plan for the whitish one other than a Mare by Natasja Hornby in combination with the grey one. I think I’ll use the very as the background couleur and the white as the accent one, as shown in a sample.

In both places I also got yarn for Rosemary Grant and shipped it to Australia (not talking about clearing customs for her..). She received it and likes it 😻 She also shipped some Australian yarn to me, so I guess this will be a swap, win-win 💙

Companion YouTube Video : https://youtu.be/ib4wJ6BHB6M

Frogged : Cropped Cardi by Norah Gaughan

© Cropped Cardi by Norah Gaughan

This was an impulse cast on as I wanted to continue to use cotton from my stash. I’m using We Are Knitters Recycled cotton yarn in a light blue colour that I already have used twice, for the Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West and the Leaf Top by Bernat Design Studio.

I had about 2.5 100g balls left sp playing yarn chicken, even with short sleeves or even only a few border rows. I planned to use something else for the collar or the sleeves or both.

Thing is, this pattern was difficult for me to knit. I like knitting flat, no problem here. But I could not memorise the pattern. I had to read the chart, the tiny chart, for every row. I did take a picture, I did print it on a larger scale, but the picture definition does not allow to print the image at a much larger scale.

Reading every row on a chart that is too small was a pain to me. So I decided that I was going to knit 2 rows every day and see from there.

I spotted a mistake about 10 rows back, and tried to do some surgery. I got very frustrated with the twisted stitch pattern I could not work back up. I tried and worked on it for several hours. Frustration got so high that I frogged the project. I will be back at it at some point I know, because I love the finished cardigan.

Companion YouTube Video :

My Yarn No Buy Year – February 2022 Check-in

#YarnNoBuyYear

February was within my own guidelines regarding my yarn no-buy year, and also brought in new temptations, new considerations, new pondering.

My Acquisitions

© Stephen West – Stephen & Penelope

January temptation turned out to be my February book buy : I did order and receive Stephen West’s Painting Shawls. A beautiful book, full of inspirations, a bit out of my comfort zone. please have a look at the Painting Triangles sample in these murky yellows and purples on a rosy beige and dark charcoal background !

© Stephen West
© Stephen West

This pattern is very appealing to me and I will most probably knit it.

I am very happy with this acquisition 😺 So far, my expenses are 80,78€ for January and February 2022, just fine. I have no real financial goal or budget as this is not the point of my no-buy year. Clutter is, clutter in my home, clutter in my mind.

My temptations

Once again, temptations are about books. I did get a lot of yarn from my mother, you can watch a whole video about this Yarn Invasion on my YouTube Channel. When I have enough time and sunlight to take pictures and document every skein I she gave me, I will enter this stash in Ravelry and make a blog post here. For now, this small project is postponed, sorry 🧶

Books.

Two of them came to my attention.

© Norah Gaughan & Abrams
© Clara Parkes & Potter Craft

Norah Gaughan’s last book is of much interest to me, you know I love 3D knits and find them very original and inventive. I was sort of at peace with the idea it would be my March purchase.

Then came along a second book, and sorry, I do not recall where I saw it and who talked or posted about it.. Clara Park’s Book of Yarn is not recent, it was first published in 2007. the title jumped at me : “The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn“. Enjoying Yarn, oh yes please ! Now you can realise why this caught my attention. Reviews are good, that is not helping me deciding to walk away from this one.

And now “Houston, we have a problem“. What will I do ? I do not know yet. The second book has been around for quite a while, and Norah Vaughan’s one is already out of stock in one reseller. I found it at another place, at a higher price. Not too bad. Will I get It in March and wait on Clara Parkes’s one ?

The main question to me is : how do I deal with temptations. For now I push them in a queue or wish-list for later months, but that is not healthy, or that does not make me feel comfortable, this whole project in indeed to feel comfortable with myself. At some point I may not have enough months to bounce the buys back. Do I increase my “allowance” for books ? There is no such thing as too many books in my humble opinion. But why do I need to hoard them so much.

These questions are in the open and I have no answers for now. The answers will come, I am certain of that, but now too much is going on in my life to really spend time pondering about all these feelings. My father’s situation and the Eastern part of the European continent being under so much suffering are too overwhelming. So I just place my questions here and in my YouTube videos for now and will wait for the right moment to address them 💛

Companion YouTube Video : https://youtu.be/l_AcKjiXbRQ

Wooly News ⎮#14

Patterns

Badger And Bloom from Anne Ventzel

© Anne Ventzel

The Badger And Bloom pattern from Anne Venstzel popped up in my Instagram feed and immediately caught my attention : I have the Yellow Mohair from the Aulon Farm and the Sari thread from Filature Fonty that were just waiting for a pattern idea ! This colour work pattern with the yellow body is just what I was waiting for. Here you go, this one is on my list and I have the yarn in my stash. I will need to make some calculations and adjust, but hey, this is also what I like and #WhatmakesMeHappy. *Happy Dance*

A New Design In Progress from Rachel Illsley

© unwind_knitwear on Instagram

Rachel Illsley is unwind_knitwear on Instagram and has new design in the making. The first of a delicate stitch pattern that has caught my attention. I want it all, lace stitch pattern and colour work ! This one is very appealing, but do I need to remember I have both the Kuutar Pullover and the Rococo Pullover both from Sari Nordlund in my queue ? Do I need another pattern that has the same look and feel ? May be. Do you ? 😺

Meret Buetzberger – A Cowl That Need A Published Pattern !

© Butzeria on Instagram

What a beauty! When I say I cannot resits a beautiful lace stitch pattern ! And Meret Buetzberger wonders if she should publish the pattern 🙀 Oh please do ! That could also be the starting point of a beautiful yoke for a sweaater.. I’ll be keeping my eyes opened 😻

Dreamworks by Ursa Major knits

© Ursa Major Knits

All of Chris’s designs are absolutely stunning ! I cannot highlight any specific one even if she recently highlighted DremWorks, her last shawl design. Colours, pleats, delicate and so original finished knit, she should not slip out of your attention if you like pleats ! (Please also see the book section). Definitively a creator that I will keep in my list when I want a pattern with yarn I have in my stash.

Workshop

© westknits.com

Westknits has several worshops you can attend and follow at your own pace. The latest one is about shawl designs and not much so about knitting technics only. Just what you (or I) need if (or when) you want to fall into the shawl designs rabbit hole. I know I do. I just do not know when, so bookmarking for a later use !

Yarn Companies and Stores

La Bien Aimee Knit Night

Latest knit night from LBA just took place last night (February 15, 2022) as I am writing and the YouTube recording is not yet published. She hosted Norah Gaughan and Andrea Mowry and this will be the last knit night about her “Worsted” Yellow Book. Always so interesting and informative, where she showed the future Corrie Confetti on a very dark blue base. Stunning as always ! Blue being my black, I will have a hard time to resist. She is designing a stripped sweater with the future Corrie Confetti in blue and bright pink contrast colour. And as always the test knitters where invited, their perspective is so interesting. They discussed what a test knit is made of and how to become a test knitter.

© La Bien Aimée on YouTube

I did not talk about the previous knit night that took place on February 4th, 2022, as it took place a few hours before I post my latest Wooly News that I recorded on February 2nd. She hosted Thien Kieu Lam and Sylvia Watts Cherry. Once again, so nice to know there iconic designers better, they life story and their designing process. Aimée was wearing a unique version of the Amina Sweater by Sylvia. It is on my list as I like designs in pieces, that give the structure I like to garments. Another great episode where you get to see a bit more of the Framboise Corrie Confetti in action held with different mohair tones.

Books, Magazines, Articles And Creators

Knit Fold, Pleat Repeat new book by Norah Gaughan

© Norah Gaughan and Abraham Books

Oooooh !! You know I like multi-dimensional knits, I have already talked about that on several occasions, have patterns in my queue and you can eve look a few paragraph ahead in this post. The book will be available on February 17th 2022, that is tomorrow. As I have already spent my book budget for February, this will most probably be my March buy. I will follow the stocks to see if it ever goes out before the end of this month. The previews are exciting the idea of future projects have me day dream ! ISBN-10 1419749684 and ISBN-13 ‏978-1419749681 if you want to buy it from your preferred book dealer 😺🌞

YouTube companion Video : https://youtu.be/3_KuUjzGa_Y

Acquisition : Twisted Stitch Sourcebook by Norah Gaughan

© Norah Ghaughan

I had my eyes on this book since it came out this past January 2021. This is my first book from her and I can say it is stunning ! Once again, food for my eyes and my imagination and daydreams. You can have a look at the patterns in the Ravelry page or the editor website if Ravelry is not available to you.

I think the light blue color, the sort of star stitch pattern is what caught my eye. I love this colour. I am currently knitting scarves for two of my sons, one being in that soft and cool baby blue, and it satisfies my soul with every stitch (even though this knit is taking me forever and do not grow very quickly..).

This book is what currently #makesmehappy happy 🌞

Companion YouTube Podcast : https://youtu.be/vZbm3OhjUGs