About a month ago I casted on the Madeleine Sweater by Soumine Kim and it has been the only sweater on my needles up to the moment it was finished. The yarn is Hosltgarn Tides in Pearl, held double. I used a bit under 400g. An airy, crisp soft and in-between seasons knit.
I mostly am a monogamous knitter with a twist, I like to have a sweater or garment and a shawl of some sort that I can knit on at any point of time. An easy mindless one and a more complicated mindful one, whichever that is. Madeleine was the easy one, the Slipstravaganza being the current more demanding project.
A pleasant knit, a beautiful (imho) sweater that fit me fine and that I will enjoy wearing in these cooler almost summer days. A pattern I recommend.
As the time goes by, as the first few months of the year went by, my expanses have increased .. Not quite the plan I had in mind .. So, where di my money go for my craft and how do I feel about it ?
Patterns
I am reproducing what happened in March, I bought many, ie 9 patterns from two designers who had birthday codes (you can check the link for a full report on which patterns I got). Most of these patterns are beautiful, some of them quite popular, and where in my favorites. I am within my guidelines to continue to support designers. At the same time I am vey happy and will knit all of them, I love them all, and I am a bit afraid or stressed again I keep spending money.
So is this project about spending less money ? Have I moved my yarn buying addiction to a pattern buying addiction ? Easier to store and less expensive, I agree 😺
The counter example is the Madeleine sweater from Soumine Kim. I loved it at first sight when it was released, bought it and casted it on right away with the Tide base from Holst Garn I had in my stash. A good use of the one over the board acquisition I made, the one that triggered this whole Yarn No-Buy project.
10 patterns for April 2022 for a total of 46,43 € (8,40 for the Madeleine Sweater, 15,60 for the 5 Natasja Hornby patterns and 22,43 € for the 4 Rachel Issley ones).
I am happy, I love them all, I casted one on on the spot, I will knit the others and am already fantasising on the yarns I will use. All that is good. What is less good is all the other patterns that are waiting for me in my queue. Too many, but at least you can say I will have good use of my stash 😸
Yarn
I my guidelines I had said I could buy yarn to complete a project. That is what I did last month to get a new skein for the Sorrel fade, and I already have casted-on and finished the Musselburgh Hat with the Fiori skein from La Bien Aimée that went out of my future Sorrel. So this is good, right ?
I also said I could buy yarn from creators I liked to support them. The example I gave was Treliz mystery boxes and she just made an announcement for preorders of her next Myth Birthday mystery box that will be released next July. No pattern will be included this time around, only suggestions, and it will be shipped in July. I hope I will receive it before I go on vacation and I will be able to take the skeins with me. If not, they will be waiting for me !
So with shipping it was 82€.
Final thoughts
The total for this month is 128,43€. More than last month, more that the months before. So far, from the begging of the year, I spent 345,32€.
I am not in a difficult financial situation, but I am afraid I am shifting my yarn buys towards patterns buys. At the same time, I am happy to support designers and indie dyers I love, I took advantages of special operations or one time pre-orders, and I am within my guidelines. My stash has not particularly grown, 2 net skeins if I do not take into account the yarn my mother gave me as she does not knit any more. But at the same time, my spending show increases every month. Am I on a trend ? I guess only time will tell and I will see how I do for the remaining of the year.
As I am planning my vacation, I will go again to the Pyrénées and will visit my second son in Toulouse. On these two occasions I know I will visit farms and yarn store. Do I need to plan ? Do I only stay within my guidelines if my behaviour sort of continues to stress me out ? Am I being too harsh on myself ?
One positive thing is that I am containing some of my behaviour. I only take advantage of special occasions and only buy patterns or yarn I know I will love and cherish. Can I say mission accomplished ? Or do I need to go to a plain and simple no-buy with no other guidelines than “buy nothing” ?
This is where I currently am. Please let me know if you have thoughts ☀️💛
I love the round and soft feeling it gives me, even though I am aware I do not have the young and slim body type..
I am using the Holst Garn Tide cones in Pearl I bought at the end of last year (during that buying spree that thru me over the top and decided me to start a Yarn No-Buy Year), holding it double. The yarn (70% wool, 30% silk) has a very particular feeling, light and airy, a bit crispy but soft at the same time, it reminds me of pop corn !
I currently am where I should start the wrapped stitches, but I need more length so that they fall where the sample shows them. A bit of calculation and improvisation on the go, I am sure I’ll find a way. I enjoy the knitting process with this particular and original (to me) yarn feeling 🌞
She had an announcement on Instagram with a code to use on Ravelry and I took advantage of it ! I bought 4 patterns from her in addition to 5 patterns from Natasja Hornby. Natasja had a code for a day only. So for today, I am not recommending any pattern from Rachel in particular, if you are interested you can use her code (she’s published it on Instagram) and get the ones you like 🙂
florence spurling new Flynn Shawl
You know I love what she creates and have knitted her Elvan Shawl my sons gifted me for Christmas 2020. She has released a few other patterns since then, and Flynn Shawl one is so simple and stunning !
A combination of stitch patterns, simple colour blocks and a particular construction using short rows to shape the body of the shawl after knitting the border. The final shape is a crescent, so easy to wear. I am very tempted bu the apparent simplicity and clean design, in my favorites for sure. I won’t buy it for now as I have on big shawl on my needles and I have already spent a lot this month !
You may remember, I have yarn for the Chubasco Sweater from Kate Barrios. I really like the cable pattern that reminds me of my beloved Sotabosc Shawl. As soon as I saw the sweater I new I wanted to knit it. It has been pushed twice so far, once by the Zenzi Pullover, and a second time by the Madeleine Sweater. Well, next time after the Sorrel Sweater maybe 😺
A beautiful pattern, I am not to knit blankets but I may change my mind with this one. You can buy the PDF file on Ravelry.
Trends
embriodery STITCH patterns
Okay, this one may be a bit risqué. I bought and started the Madeleine Sweater as soon as it was released. A round and soft look with these delicate stitches.
Natasja Hornby, once again, has a project that looks very much like Soumine Kim’s one to me. She calls it embroidery stitches and I do like the look of it very much too :
If this is a trend, I am all for it ! Natasja swatch looks fabulous. If you look around, you do not find many examples of embroidery knitted as you go, there are a lot of after-hand duplicate stitches though. For example, you can visit Mari-Liis Hirv’s website for a tutorials.
Let’s see if we will see more of these special stitches in the future 🌞
One of my favorite yarn store is releasing a new yarn 100% Merino base, Bouclé from La Bien Aimée with the usual lot of beautiful colours. The yarn is dyed to order, so you will need two to three weeks to have your yarn dyed before it is shipped A beautiful fluffy yarn that will knit as a DK or worsted weight even if it technically is fingering weight. It comes in both solid or with speckles, another temptation !
There is a new yarn bundle for the Foxthoughts sweater : Aimée’s yoke. Of course, completely out of my price range, or if I really get into a big bog treat to myself ! An impressive and magnificent sweater, you can check other’s projects on Ravelry, that I have been drooling over for al long time. I think the Fluo Pom Pom is still my favorite.
yarnz.eu is now closed
The announcement was made on April 21st. The domain name and blog are still up though. I got the Kokon yarn for my first Lawrenson Sweater from Michèle, and so did my kids when they gifted me the Kokon kit for the Elvan Shawl. I am sad, all my best brainwaves over to her, her family and employees. I still have 6 skeins from Aran Kokon in blue from two different dye lots that I need to find a project for. I will be thinking of her when I get to them 💙
A few days ago, Treliz opened the pre-orders for her next mystery box that will be out in July for her birthday. I already got the first one for the Fresh Peonies Shawl, and the Christmas Mystical Path hat and wrist warmers. I enjoy her yarns, her universe and followed her twice outside of my comfort zone for colours. So why not another time ! I did preorder the Birthday Mythos box, you can also do so up to June 1st. Let’s impatiently wait for it, she said there would not be patterns in the box this time, but suggestions.
She just released a video on the box and the giveaway she was running :
Books, Magazines, Articles And Creators
quick mentions – already discussed in previous issues
Laine Magazine has announced a new edition of la Bien Aimée Worsted book both in English and French and soon in Japanese.
They also announced the opening of preorders for “Traditions Revisited: Modern Estonian Knits” from Aleks Byrd
Events
filature fonty is opening to public
If you happen to be near Felletin in France, there will be three days when Filature Fonty will welcome public visits : April 28 and 29, July 21 and 22, October 28 and 29. Unfortunately, I won’t be on vacation for the first two events, not sure about October .. If I ever happen to drive by, I’ll give them a call anyway, even if they are not hosting events 😺
Of course I am going to say this pattern is amazing because I report about things I like, that have made it through the constant bubbling of news feeds and emails.
The Madeleine Sweater from Soumine KIM is so gentle and smooth looking, maybe that is linked to her way to model it or the look of the pictures. I like the lines and the shapes.
You may say the pattern looks made for very young or adolescent people, more fitted to a slim body. May be. Maybe the creator models it very well and that is what caught my eyes and attention in the first place.
In reality, what jumped at me was the shape of the ballon sleeves, the shape of the ballon body, the gentle inward curves at the bottom of the sweater, the seamless appearance between the knitted body and sleeves, ans the end of the sweater. Not so much the little nots, I may omit them.
I bought the pattern and will swatch with Holstgarn yarns most probably. I have to say instructions are minimal and I may have to read it carefully and write down a few things before I cast in on 😺
The Sylvestre pattern from Cordelia Vor is quite interesting, it can be adjusted to your design preference, texture and body shape. It will get a pattern for a sweater or a cardigan, a v-neck or a round neck, a textured stitch pattern, stripes or plain stockinette, for an adjusted fit or a straight body, with a worsted or aran weight yarn. The pattern is so versatile I am sure you can adjust for another gauge. There are 16 different possibilities, she even has a baby version on her Youtube Channel (in French). The pattern was released last month as part of a KAL she hosted. A lot of her patterns are free, please check her Ravelry store 🙂
Or have they for some time now ? Am I the last one to notice ? In any case, they are offering Jonna’s patterns (she is their chief editor) as PDF downloads, with a 15% discount that may be finished once this post is live.
That is a step in a good direction, as I have often mentioned that even if I do love books (and need to refrain myself from buying too many..), I also have older eyes now and I do appreciate digital patterns that I can print at a larger scale. More than a personal request, it is a question of digital accessibility. Of course, digital accessibility is so much more complex than just that, but at least a digital copy with proper chapters and such is always much appreciated.
The Year-long 52 weeks of shawls KAL
The year long 52 Weeks of Shawls KAL hosted by Laine Magazine will be finished at the end of April 2022. Such a nice book I totally recommend, a pleasant KAL I happily joined with my beloved Sotabosc Shawl. So long KAL and there will be more to come !
We’ll be having previews of the patterns included in “Traditions Revisited : Modern Estonian Knits” from Aleks Byrd published by Laine Publishing (yes, once again, have you noticed how much they fir my aesthetics). The book will be released on May 20th, another temptation ! I could find some pattern previews but none have been shown either by the author or by Laine Magazine, so I’m not going to show them here.
How am I going to be doing if Laine Magazine continues to tempt me like that with their perfect choices !
Issue 41 which is scheduled to be released on May 31st, will be the 10th Anniversary Issue with 13 new patterns and designs. The magazine is growing older and bigger as it will now be printed on a larger format. Each issue ordered in print comes with a complimentary digital version, you know who much I like this ! You will also be able to order the single copy of Issue 41 on April 27th without being bundled with the subsequent 3 issues (41 to 44).
This revamping of the issues comes along a price increase, that is linked to many different factors. The quality of the magazine is of no question to me.
stephen west interview in fiberchats
The latest (to date) edition of Fiberchats is with Stephen West. Such a pleasant episode where I did get to learn a few things about Stephen, in particular he was a professional dancer before being the famous and prolific designer he now is. It explains a lot of things, with some shawl names such as “Shawlography” for example ! An happy hour and half that I highly recommend if you want to place a small joyful moment in your day.
Knit Now 