July & August

Bumper summer edition

Knitting in summer always seems to be a little slow, so I didn’t quite feel like I had enough for a separate July edition of the bulletin, as a result, here’s a bumper edition of July and August.

Outside of knitting, I took a trip to Malta for a few days, hosted a hen do for my friend in July and then was a bridesmaid at her wedding in August. So all around a very fun couple of months!

As always, I hope you enjoy reading what I’ve been knitting on during July & August and plan to knit on during September.

What I’ve finished knitting

Dartmoor Sweater

The only project I finished in July was my Dartmoor sweater* (links with a * after them link to Ravelry). It took me longer than I thought it would but I think my knitting mojo was a little low, even though I love the pattern, yarn and finished object. The sleeves are possibly a little on the long side, but I think I’ll wear it properly a few times first before I decide if I need to change them.

Navy Sparkly top

I have had a vision for this top for so long now, and purchased the yarn during Tribe Yarn’s last weekend in Richmond. I went for a combination of ArtYarns Silky Twist and Beaded Silk and Sequins Light (not cheap but I wanted something special).

The Silky Twist is an absolute dream to knit with, and once I’d worked out the yoke, it was a super quick knit. It turned out exactly how I envisioned and I’m super excited for party season to arrive so I can wear it!

It 100% needs some tweaks (possibly even a full re-knit as the yoke is a few cm too deep), but I am planning on releasing the pattern at some point.

Baby Cardigan

At the end of August, one of my close friends had a baby, so of course I had to knit something for the new arrival. I’ve previously made her a cardigan*, which I had plenty of yarn leftover from, so I made a baby cardigan with it. It’s a free baby raglan pattern, and was simple to follow.

I wanted to use up as much of the yarn as possible, so I’m not sure at what point this will fit the new arrival, but probably for next Autumn/Winter!

Wool on the Exe hat

Cast on and off within a week, this was a really fun make. I was trying to re-create a shop bought hat I was gifted 10 years ago and I think I came very very close. I can’t find a pattern on Ravelry that exactly matches what I came up with, so I might release it as a pattern.

What I’ve still got on the needles

Making Stories July Socks

I cast on the Branches* pattern from the 52 Weeks of Socks book (affiliate link) in July, took it on a lovely trip to Malta and haven’t touched them since. I think it’s the lace that puts me off, but it’s hard going and I’m coming to realise that I’m a vanilla sock girl at heart. I will finish these though and I do want to keep making socks from the book, as they are all so pretty, but my next sock cast on will most likely be a vanilla pair.

Lundy Jumper

I’m making a second Lundy Jumper* (as I accidentally felted the first one) and am currently on track to have it finished for a trip there in October. During August I finished most of the body (it’s knit bottom up) and if I can knit a sleeve a week I’ll have three weeks to do the yoke and one to wash and block it before the trip. Which I think seems manageable!

Fluffy Cowl

I’ve had a random skein of Blue Sky Fibers Brushed Suri, which was gifted to me in a secret santa, along with a Kremke Soul Wool Stellaris to make a hat. But I’ve made four hats in the last 12 months, so decided a cowl was a better choice and I’ll save the Stellaris for another project (maybe in a Christmas Jumper). I cast on at the end of August, and it’s a nice easy stockinette pattern* amongst the colourwork and lace in my other two WIP’s.

What I’m planning to cast on in September

I have four cones of Wooly Knit British wool, that I have had since March 2022 when they were £18 a cone (they are now £30!). My next few garment cast-on’s will be using these cones, I’ve got 6 in mind but here are the first two that I will possibly be casting on in September

Slipover

I’ll be using the Pine Forest Green colour I’ve got paired with some recently purchased Navy Blue Alpaca Silk from Rauma to make a slipover. I think I’m going with the Friday Slipover* by Petite Knit. The only annoying thing is I’m between sizes for the recommended ease, as she jumps from it being 5cm between sizes to 10cm right where I’d want a 110cm finished bust size! But I can’t find anything similar, and I don’t particularly want to design something, so I will see if I can tweak the gauge or stitch count to make it work.

The project bag pictured is from The Knitting Swan, and if you use the code MADELEINE, you can get 10% off any purchase on the website.

Cardigan

I’ll be using the Burgundy Red colour I’ve got paired with some Knitting for Olive Soft Silk Mohair in Bordeaux to make a cardigan. I have no idea what pattern I’m going to choose, so if you have any good suggestions please do leave it in a comment

Tracking my yarn stash

July

In: 100g purchased

Out: 356g used from stash

From my Dartmoor Sweater

Net Position for July: -256g

August

In: 450g purchased

Out: 470g used from stash

From my Navy Lace Top, Baby Cardigan and Hat

Net Position for August: -20g

Net Position for the year: -958g

Final thoughts

The start of September has really thrown us straight into the Autumn vibes with cloudy weather, rain and some lower temperatures, which makes me excited for all the cosy knitting to come. I do have a summer holiday to Mallorca left to try and soak up some sun, given we’ve had a distinct lack of it this year in the UK. And once the Lundy Jumper is done in time for an October holiday, I’m looking forward to casting on some new things with all my cones!

If you’ve read this far, aren’t already subscribed, and are interested to see how much I get done this month and what’s up next on my to-knit list. Please do consider subscribing to get the monthly updates straight into your inbox:

Feel free to leave any questions about any of my projects or anything else I’ve mentioned, comments or feedback. And I’ll speak to you in next month’s update!

Madeleine

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