October - Swift

My second FO in my "Year of Shannon" is the Swift Hat, cast on in October.  I knit this in Cascade Superwash 220 sport, in black.  It's leftover from my Soldotna pullover.   I love the lace pattern and the fit.  It's slouchy but not sloppy.

My November cast-on is on hold while I knit a few small gifts, but I plan to finish it by the end of December.  The December project is a garment, yarn and pattern are ready but I'll wait til winter break to cast on so I have time to make some progress on it.  Trying not to plan too far ahead, so I can cast on the project that speaks to me each month... but with temperatures dipping well below freezing now I'm definitely ready to immerse myself in some cozy winter knits!

September - Hudson

My Year of Shannon (see previous post) kicks off with Hudson, a bulky weight shawl knit in Briggs and Little Heritage.  It's rustic, cozy, and perfect for Canadian Winters.   The original from the book Within is knit in the colours reminiscent of the Hudson Bay Company iconic blanket.  The Point Blanket has its own history - read The Canadian Encyclopedia for more information - that links back to colonization and the fur trade.  At this time, the Europeans tried to deliberately infect Indigenous peoples with Smallpox, in Canada and in the United States.  This part of Canada's history reminds me that all symbols can be used to uplift or to oppress, depending on the use.  The blanket highlights the early origins of the trading company, but also underscores the systemic racism that is part of Canada's history as well.

My own Hudson is knit using Canadian wool in colours that I like to wear.  I've used Briggs and Little, a Canadian wool produced in New Brunswick, Canada.  It was a fun knit, easy and fast due to the well-written pattern and the large gauge.  Love this and will wear it a lot now that winter has arrived!

Year of Shannon

I love to plan.  I love to map out goals, ideas, projects, set deadlines, all of it.  Often, I follow through, to some extent.  And I'm okay with changing the plan as I go, because revising a plan is still part of the planning process.

This past year, I stumbled on to Stacy Elstone's "Stress Knits" YouTube channel and watched her share her projects.  She embarked on a "Year of Andrea" and worked on projects by one designer for the year:  Andrea Mowry.  Her blog post on the year of projects is linked above, and the Podcast on YouTube is embedded at the bottom of her post.  I was inspired by three things:

- narrowing the queue to include designs by one designer for this project (while still knitting other things too)
- exploring fit, style, colour and other elements while selecting one designer's patterns
- having a clear start and finish time (a year) for casting on and off

I went to my Ravelry Library and started searching by designer.  I have a few favourites but wanted to select a designer whose patterns I already own.  After a while, I settled on Shannon Cook.  I love her designs, already own her books and many patterns.  I also wanted someone I could relate to and support for her approach to knitting, herself, and the world in which we live.  I follow Shannon on Instagram and pay attention to the inspiration behind her designs, her thoughts on inclusive community and other designers she supports, follows, and collaborates with.  I realize I don't "know" her, I only know what she chooses to share; however, what she does share is thoughtful.  Recent posts on size inclusive patterns (like Kapsel) reflect this.


Shannon is also Canadian.  I wanted to plan to knit designs that support people that are local (although Vancouver is about as far away from me as England!).  I also plan to knit many of her designs using stash yarn purchased at my LYS and/or Canadian yarn.   Posts to come soon about each FO that I make as I work through the next few months - two are already off my needles and just need photos!