Tag Archives: a beautiful day

WIP Wednesday – On Tuesday!

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Tuesday, August 4, 2026

It’s a beautiful morning after a rough night. My bed partner was snoring up a storm and I was coughing. Something new must be in the air. I even took my allergy meds last night! Geesh. Regardless, it’s a beautiful, warm day today after all the rain yesterday and we have been happy to sit out on the porch with our coffee. We chose the side porch today because the front porch was simply too warm in the sun. How lucky we are … and soon it’ll be too cold.

I have two WIPs to report on today.

I have had three balls of Berroco Ultra Wool Handpaint that didn’t sell well at the store and ended up on the clearance table. I grabbed it up (a year or more ago) with the plan to make a sweater for a kiddo. Instead, I’ve decided to make two vests for my great-nephews. So, on Saturday, I think, I cast on the larger of the two and got started. I immediately loved the yarn colors because they’re so cheerful and bright. I got the body knitted in a day’s time and a bit of the back and then finished the back and front the following day. Added the ribbing to the arm holes and neckline and all that needs to be done now is to weave in the ends and block it. I decided that I would cast on the second, smaller vest yesterday to get ahead of the gifting season. I will likely get that one done today. Fingers crossed.

#256 Basic Vest for Children by Diane Soucy

This vest is adorable! I love it and I hope the boys will too. I’ve also been working away at my Sabai Top in Cascade’s Hampton yarn which is a cotton/linen blend. I wish the yarn had more linen but alas, it doesn’t and it feels like a cotton sweater. I am hoping that it won’t “grow” like cotton does. Time will tell.

Sabai Top by Susanne Muller

I wasn’t sure about the construction of this top at first. It’s basically a “collar” (boat neck) and shoulders knit all at the same time and rather quickly increasing. Then it splits for front and back. I’ve gotten to the around and around and around part now, having finished all the increases for the underarms and have enjoyed the way it’s knitting up. I do wish that the yarn was more linen than cotton but I made my choice ages ago and this is what I chose. It remains to be seen how it wears (and blocks) when I get to that point. I’m crossing my fingers. I do love the idea of a black top for summer … TBD.

And with that, I’m off to the porch with my knitting bag. I have a new one …

Ha! Ha! Gone knitting.

WIP Wednesday … another FO with a few mistakes

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Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Today’s been a really pretty day and I’ve had only one meeting which means lots of time to knit and to do a bit more planning for the workshop I’m having in April at the (yarn) shop where I work. It’s been almost a year since I’ve done one … life is so wonderfully busy and I count my blessings every day.

Before my meeting I worked on my second sock for a little bit. I’ve put them aside for several days and it’s time to get them off my needles. I’ll be focusing on them and the sweater I’m knitting for my college roommate for the next few days. I’ve neglected the sweater for a couple of days while I finished Noah the Horse (click for the magic link). Anywhooooo …

Two-Color Brioche is a different colorwork stitch. Two colors of yarn are used to make a super squishy thick fabric that almost looks like it’s got horizontal stripes. And it’s reversible (if done right.) Brioche is two rounds combining to make a double fabric. A pattern of slipped stitches with a yarn over “shawl” and then a knitted or purled stitch, knitting the former round’s shawl stitch and it’s slipped partner as one. The main color (white in my sample) is the more prominent colorway. The first brioche round is made by knitting the slipped stitch and it’s shawl and then with the yarn forward, slipping the next stitch and making a yarn over “shawl”. The following round is worked with the the contrast color and slipping the stitch with the yarn over and to the front and then purling the paired slipped/shawl stitches as one. The stitches and their shawls are always counted as one stitch. The pattern that I’m going to recommend to my students is Easy Brioche Hat for Beginners … two colors of worsted weight yarn and the pattern I followed for my sample OR Beginner Brioche Slouch hat with two DK weight yarns.

I finished the hat for my workshop sample … and to help me remember how to knit 2-color brioche. I don’t knit a lot of it and I needed a refresher. I have made a couple of “mistakes” or mis-stitches but over all, I’m happy with it – the pattern and the knitter. I am choosing to present the sample to the class with the reminder that even as the teacher, I still make mistakes and mis-stitches. I have no idea how I missed them, but I did. It’s all good – it just isn’t reversible. And it may be the medium size but it fits on my giant noggin. (You can see the two mistake stitches … likely that I missed a “shawl” (yarn over) somewhere, somehow. Can you see me shrugging my shoulders. It’s all good. And I will re-do it in good time. Luckily there is enough yarn left over for a second hat (I think. I need to weigh it to be sure.)

I’ve used my ChiaoGoo shorties two days in a row to finish both this hat and Noah the Horse. I’ve not used them a lot because I didn’t think I liked the super short needle tips, in particular. However, I have discovered that I like them when a sixteen inch needle is too long. I was happy to have them both times and I’m now thinking that the next pair of socks that I knit will be made on shorties! Why not try something new?

This evening I’ll be pulling out the Vanilla Sweater for my college roommate and getting going on it. I’m using Rauma Finull Garn which is the same yarn that the sweater was designed with and I love knitting with it – it’s reasonably priced, 100% wool, blooms like crazy when it’s blocked, and comes in a bunch of great colors. She chose a really lovely heathered lavender colorway.

The snow is melting in the sunshine. This morning I took my photograph a little bit late and it is starting to feel like coffee on the porch season. I can hardly wait.

Gone knitting.