Project Updates (May & June 2024)
Catching up
The end of spring and early summer here in the UK is a funny old time to be a knitter. Depending on the year, you could be faced with 25 degree+ days and glorious sunshine that renders the thought of touching anything wooly completely unappealing. Or you could be well into June before you’re packing away your jumpers and thinking about knitting with linen, cotton, silk, and other summer materials.
2024 has turned out to be the latter kind of a year. I started a worsted weight cardigan the first weekend in June, and I was finishing the double knit button band on a beautifully fluffy Falkland Merino and Bluefaced Leicester blend cardigan on my lap for the start of the Euros. However, the weather changed this week, and I’ve never been happier for the lace linen top I’m finishing now.
This year’s transitional time was also further complicated by a house move. My husband and I gave the keys back on our rented flat at the end of May and moved into the place that will be our temporary home while we sort out our next moves. That meant a lot of May was dedicated to sorting, donating, and packing—all things which can be more than a little disruptive to one’s knitting schedule.
However, I’m now back on track, merrily knitting away and that is why today you’re getting a bumper crops of May and June project updates.
Shall we begin?
Finished objects
Ranunculus
Pattern designer: Midori Hirosi
Yarn: The Camel’s Yarn Non-Superwash in Deergrass
Made for: Me
I was delighted when my preorder from British indie yarn dyer The Camel’s Yarn arrived this spring, and I happily cast on for my first Ranunculus.
What can I say about perhaps the most famous pattern in modern (or certainly online) knitting circles? It’s…fine?
I am probably due a deeper dive into my thoughts on the Ranunculus, but the brief version of it is that several things didn’t go to plan.
I was attempting to make that blouse-like Ranunculus that’s so famous and ended up with a very fitted Sweater Girl-like look, which is beautiful but far off the mark.
I decided to modify the sleeves and have now re-knitted them once and am due to re-knit them again because I do not have the arms of a Barbie doll and find the cuff is pinching me.
I just don’t know how I feel about the Ranuculus in general. It took me much longer than I was expecting to make one. Again, my size was off (likely because my gauge was off but I haven’t bothered counting.) And I don’t know if the fussiness of the lace works for me.
All that being said, am I going to cast on another one? Yes. Yes I am. Can I tell you why? No, I cannot.
Rosa Cardigan
Pattern designer: Along avec Anna
Yarn: John Arbon Textiles Knit by Numbers DK in 19 (Red)
Intended for: Me
After all of my reservations about my Ranunculus, what a joy to knit something that has been a resounding success! I finished my Rosa Cardigan in June after knitting the bulk of it in May, and I just love it. It’s the perfect cropped, slim-fitting cardigan for me. I did make a major modification in that I decided to add my first double knit button band. I’m very glad I went through the effort as, especially after blocking, I think it looks so good.
Anniversary Socks (pattern is Socks for Dad)
Pattern designer: The Crazy Sock Lady
Yarn: Ainsworth & Prin Classic Sock 4ply in Don’t Tell Him Pike
Made for: The Gentleman
I am pleased to report that The Gentleman’s anniversary socks were a success all around! Not only did they fit him, I got the “they’re very comfortable” seal of approval I was looking for. I actually love the look of these socks and am thinking about making a pair for myself.
Current WIPS
Roving Summer Tops
Pattern Designer: Irene Lin
Yarn: De Rerum Natura Antigone in Lune
Intended for: Me
I am so close to finishing my very first all-over lace top (and my first pure linen knit) that I cannot wait to get it off the needles and blocked so I can actually enjoy how the lace has come out. More on this soon…
Book Club Cardigan
Pattern designer: Sari Nordlund
Yarn: De Rerum Natura Gilliat in Caramel
Intended for: Me
My sister is a menace. Or maybe I am. (Verdict’s still out.) I saw that the Knit Lounge is doing a Knitalong for this fabulous Sari Nordlund cabled cardigan with pockets and sent it to my sister Justine. A few minutes later, we both were picking out yarn and committing to casting this one on over her birthday weekend. Since then, I haven’t touched it, but she has already the front to back panels.
Hermoine’s Everyday Socks
Pattern Designer: Erica Lueder
Yarn: Baa Yarn La Jolla in Call of the Wild
Intended for: Me
These socks have been languishing in the background while I knit on other things. However, they are about to get pulled out a lot more because they will be my commuting project for when I go up to London a few times in July.
Oaken Shawl
Pattern designer: Tin Can Knits
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Fresco y seco
Intended for: Me
Because of the complexity of my other knits (lace, cables, socks which I cannot knit without look at because of the tiny needles), I cast this project on as my Euros-watching knit. I’m content picking it up and putting it down whenever I need something mindless to work on, and the fact that the yarn is from my stash makes that even better.
Acquisitions
You guys, I’m not going to lie, all of my yarn came in from a Pigment & Ply Pre-Raphaelites preorder and I am now drowning in yarn. Then, I hit up the stock sale of The Camel’s Yarn to fill out some yarn for a secret project. And a preorder from them is also due in before this post goes up. I am going to have to put myself on a yarn-buying ban unless it’s necessary to complete a project in stash. (I have some mohair needed for a cardigan for Mum, which goes with yarn that is already in the house.)
Plans for next month
I really want to get some projects off my needles as I’m starting to feel like I have too much going on to really focus on any one thing. That means that I’m not making any decisions about what to make next. (This is also helpful because I’m not certain what the weather is going to do.) Instead, I’m making vague plans of what might be good to make next:
A summer top
A summer cardigan
A pair of lace socks
A fingering-weight shawl