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!

all FOs

Quiet on the blog, busy with the knitting.  Trying to carve out more knitting time and focusing on depleting the stash. 

Finished projects are almost all accessories:

Coastal walk by Joji Locatelli (Malabrigo Arroyo)

Sharman by Bristol Ivy - more like a shrug than an accessory but wears more like a shawl than a cardigan. 

Oldcastle Hat by Lisa Mutch (Malabrigo Mecha)

Tread Hat by Shannon Cook (Juniper Moon Stratus)

Lanes Cardigan by Joji Locatelli (Twilleys of Stamford Mist) - pattern is from Laine Magazine (No. 1), my favourite issue so far.  I've knit 2 items from it so far with a third ready to cast on.  All of the Laine patterns definitely match my aesthetic.  I find the muted colours, classic shapes, and natural fibres fit with what I want to knit right now.  More coming as I queue and cast on (next post?).

Trellis Mitts by Mari Muinonen (Briggs and Little Heritage)

Mittens are from Vogue Knitting, part of my "Then and Now" KAL - challenge was to pick a pattern from 2018 edition, and another from a decade prior (any issue with a year ending in '8').  These are my "then", coming from the Fall 2008 magazine. 

My "now" project is a four-colour shawl from the Fall 2018 issue.  It's knit in worsted weight and again I'm using yarn from stash (Cascade 220- black, Estelle Worsted - cranberry, Cornelia Hamilton worsted - gold, and Berroco Vintage - gray)

It's a lot of garter with a bit of lace and texture to break it up.  Easy knitting while watching tv!


Blogging seems a bit 'past' but I do like archiving the projects and my thoughts here.  May be to an audience of none, but I still have goals for the next few months.  December is here and as I think ahead I'd like to set more of a schedule so that I can get into a routine here. 

Windward Hat - FO, a WIP, and the Stash-Down

A finished hat!  It's Windward Island from Babycocktails' Tiki Collection.  I plan to knit the whole collection.  Perhaps by Christmas but deadlines are not my friend in the world of knitting, so we'll see.  The hat is lovely, the yarn was fantastic to work with.  I'll definitely be using it again.  When I'm done using my stash.

Speaking of stash, I bought this yarn to make Sous Sous, which I realized wouldn't really be fore me as I saw other FOs on Ravelry.  It's now going to be Dansez from Amy Herzog's first book Fit to Flatter.  I have it from the library so will knit like the wind to get it done in August before I have to return the book.

I've just cast on the back.  I have a bit more done that you see here (a very, very small bit - like 2 or 4 more rows), but am confident I can get it done.  I've joined the Very Shannon Summer Sweater Knit Along to motivate myself.  The idea is to knit a sweater in time for the start of fall.  Which, here in Canada, comes sooner than I'd like to think.  The sponsor is Brooklyn Tweed.  I love their patterns and yarns, but cannot afford the yarn (sigh) and am determined to only knit from my stash for a very long time (or until it's almost gone).  I've said this before but am determined this time for a variety of reasons:

- need to declutter, and am committed to having what I need on hand, and not spending on yarn that I love in theory but don't have time to knit or the impulse of the pattern passes (or both)

- need to spend less and use what I have (in all areas of life, not just knitting - read from my bookshelf, cook from my pantry...)

- commit to the purchases I've made and follow through 

So off I go to knit a sweater by the end of August.  And yes, this is the same blog I joined the KAL for the Lorelai shawl that is almost but not quite done.  It will be finished by the end of September.  I hope.