I actually have not had that feeling about a project in a long time. This is one I just had to power through.

I'll blame the half fisherman rib for that.  Shouldn't have been a surprise to me as the pattern is clearly a Half-Fisherman Rib knit!  

The thing is, I had never knit an entire sweater in half fisherman rib.
I love the yarn choice and bought this in several colors as it is a dreamy cotton. (I believe it about to become discontinued.)  I had plans to make a few but probably need to search for another cotton sweater to make instead.  

 Pattern:  Never Ending Story Sweater by Susanne Muller

Yarn:  Buttercup cotton by Purl Soho in Woodland Gray

Size: S

Needles:  US 4 for body and US 2 for cuff's.

Thoughts:  I absolutely love wearing this and truly would love one in black.  However, I am just not sure I can power through again.  It wasn't as if I thought this was an "enjoyable" knit.  I felt that the pattern was a bit tricky in some areas.  I also worked on the i-cord neckline a few times trying to get the right side to look like the left.  A friend over on YouTube suggested that maybe picking up stitches on the "down" side is different than when picking them on the "up" side.  Perhaps.  

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt 

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup sugar

1-2 tsp extract of your choice

1 cup of nuts of your choice

Preheat oven to 300˚.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.   Mix eggs and sugar.  Add extract.  Mix in dry ingredients and then nuts.  Form into either one big "log" or two small "logs" onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Slightly flatten dough.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly.  Cut with serrated knife into one inch strips.  Turn on side and bake for 2 minutes.  Flip onto other side and bake an additional two minutes.  Let cool on rack.  

After baking, grab your knitting, a cup of hot tea or coffee and start dunking!  

Is it the softness of the yarn?  Definitely.

Is it the weight of the yarn?  Absolutely.

Is it the colors?  Um, YES.

Is it the delicious visual candy?  Of course!

Is it the fit of the sweater?  Y.  E.  S.  

I've made this sweater before in a brighter palette and didn't think that one could be topped.  But for this time of year, this will certainly be the one I gravitate towards.  
I love how each mini  has its own show going on.  Some gave a soft speckle (SPARKLE!)  and some gave a more bold speckle. (SPARKLE!) And some just did a little stripe dance all on their own.  

I knew I liked this pattern because of my first go around.  And this just confirmed what a great pattern it was.  And although I adore stripes and the feeling that comes once a color is completed, I'd love to try this out in some sort of a solid yarn or variegated yarn.  My mind has been racing with ideas.  

 Pattern:  Simple Stripes by Suvi Knits

Yarn:  Perfect Palette by Skeincocaine in Pastels

Needles:  US 4

Size:  M

Mods:  The pattern is written for 5 colors and repeat of the colors 3x.  However, the Perfect Palette comes with 15 mini's in 15 luscious colors.  For this version, I omitted 3 of the colors in order to make it a little shorter.  Each body stripe has 13 rows and each arm stripe has either 10 or 11 rows depending on how much yarn I had.  I'm not too fussy in the fact that they both have to match perfectly and in the end they both ended up the same length.  

You can see this sweater in action during this YouTube episode.

Libby and I decided we should change that!  Libby scoured the internet and found a recipe that looked delicious but required amounts of ingredients that we did not have, so she cut the recipe in half.  

Eat Cake!  

Head on over to grab a free copy of the pattern.   

I love everything about this sweater. 

It hit the sweet spot on needle size, on yarn choice, on wearability and on a piece that will fit into my wardrobe for many years.   
I'm not going to lie.  The twisted rib is a bear.  Even more so trying to rip it out.  I mistakenly took the back for the front and the front for the back, ribbing for 4.5" on the front which the pattern didn't call for and had to rip out 2.5" of twisted rib.  Ouch!  I tried the freezer trick but this did not help one little bit.  

I ended up cutting off the extra 2.5 and miraculously getting the stitches back on the needles.  
A simple raglan sleeve is my favorite fit.  

Pattern:  The Classic by Espace Tricot  (Free pattern!)

Yarn:  Held Double:

           Sonder Yarn Co. Sunday Morning 4 ply.  3 skeins in Cover to Cover.  

           Sonder Yarn Co. Halo.  3 skeins in Rocket

Needle Size:  US 7

Size:  I knit a smaller size than I normally wear because I did not want the 10" of positive ease.  I have about 5" of positive ease.  

Modifications:  I knit 2" more on the sleeve before starting the twisted rib.  

Happy Weekend, friends!  

Top Right: Stripes!  by Andrea Mowry.  This cute sweater has been very popular.  And I do love those 3/4 sleeves!

Bottom Left:  Chunky Rib Sweater by Knitting for Olive.  Remember... Stripes don't have to come in contrasting colors!

Bottom Right:  Rock it Tee by Tanis Lavallee.  My friend Christine reminded me of this cute summer wear.  Looks as light as a feather!
 Top Left:  Sea Glass Sweater by Wool and Pine.  Oh how I love the idea of this sweater!  It is THE stash buster in my opinion.  It is knit top down in the round in a 1x1 color work pattern.  It truly offers endless opportunities to use up this scraps, minis and stash yarn!  

Top Right:  Diagonal Stripe Sweater by Patons.   Definitely an interesting knit as I'm not sure how those stripes are achieved but sure looks fun to knit!

Bottom Left:  Stripes of Joy Sweater by Tif Nielan  A worsted weight top down construction that looks very easy to wear.  I think it's the eyelet detail gives this piece that extra bit of joy!

Bottom Right:  Scrappy Striber by Pia Trans.  Another stash buster using as few or as many colors as you would like.  I love the play this gives the knitter.  I also love how the designer included instructions on how to make the long sleeve version if you would like. 

The KAL will run from June 21 (the first day of summer) till September 22 (the first day of autumn). 

We will be using  #summerofstripeskal on Instagram.  

I've been doing a lot of research and coming up with Striped knits to inspire you! This has been pretty challenging because there are so many cute ones and I don't want to overwhelm anyone (especially myself!).  I'm breaking it down into a couple (few) blogposts.  This is part 1!  

 Top Left:  Kunos Cushions by Anne Ventzel 

 I have managed to finish a pair of Beatrice Mitts.  I adore this Trench Coat Color way and yarn from Turtle Purl.  

Pattern:  Beatrice Mitts

Yarn:  Turtle Purl in Trench Coat

Needles:  US 2

We have been busy traveling the last week.  Spent a glorious night in Chicago and then headed to Denver to watch my girl, Libby, run in the Denver Coalfax Half Marathon.  I was uber proud of her!  I think my heart grew 2 sizes.  

I finally wrote up the butterfly pattern and it is currently being edited by my tech editor.  Shouldn't be long until I share that.   (Fun Fact that my friend Winsorhouse mentioned... A group of butterflies is called a Kaleidoscope!)

The March Crate's had me swooning over the colors.

Their theme this month was Metropolis. 

 A city rises between the desert and turquoise seas; the faded chalk colors of stucco create channels for busy passerby.  

As always you can get 20% off your first KnitCrate by entering FKW20 at checkout.  

Happy Mail Day!  

Pattern:  The Daily Pullover

Yarn:  Linen Quill in Fresh Nutmeg

Needles:  US 3

Size:  2

Modifications:  I added length to the body making my body 12" before the short rows.  I also knit a twisted rib instead of the standard rib.  On the hem and sleeves I did the Italian Bind Off and on the neckline I did a Standard Bind Off, binding off tightly in order to bring up the V.  I truly don't think I would go to the trouble of doing either the twisted rib or the Italian bind off again.  (IF you do a twisted rib with an Italian bind off you have to untwist the stitches before you begin the bind off.  That part was not fun.  There is a way to accomplish it without untwisting, but that was not fun either!) 

Coffee, Latte's, Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice, Glorious Morning Muffins, Spinach and Ricotta Crepes, Glazed Carrots, Deviled Eggs and a Spring Mix Salad with Watermelon Radishes and a Lemon Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.    It was a lovely brunch.  

I've been making the Glorious Morning Muffins since my kids were little.  A true favorite.

Glorious Morning Muffins:

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups grated carrots 

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 apple, peeled, cored and grated

3 large eggs

 1 cup avocado oil

2 tsp vanilla

*Preheat oven to 350˚ Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  Set aside.  Beat eggs with oil until just combined.  Add vanilla.  Add dry ingredients until just combined and then add carrots, coconut and apple.  Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling them to the top.  Makes 12 muffins.  Bake for 35 minutes.   Cool on wire rack.  Eat and have a glorious morning!  

Why second Daily Pullover is almost finished.  Soon I will cast on another one in Kettle Black (again) because  Libby requested one in black.  

Remember to keep track of your decreases with the little bulb shaped stitch markers.  They truly make life even more fun!

I decided to get on line and find all sorts of inspiration for when I was able to knit again.  I scoured fashion websites and stores.  Looking for sweater inspiration everywhere.  And then I decided I needed to get on Ravelry and look for similar fashions that caught my attention.  Knowing that before I added anything to my Ravelry queue, I needed to start purging some patterns that I knew I would never make.  Boy did that feel good! (I have a habit of just adding things I like to my queue without actually using it for how it is intended.)
Then, I started taking screenshots, adding 4 to a page and printing them.  I then cut them using my handy dandy paper cutter and glued them into an old journal that was sitting in a pile of empty journals.

I started filling the pages with colorful photos and all of the project details.

Name, yarn weight, yarn suggestion, needle size, yardage and size. 

I have empty pages to fill as I see a pattern I would consider knitting.  
Tada.  All of my inspiration in one place.  When I need a new project, I know just where to look.  

So many projects, so little time.

Happy weekend friends!  

A vest?  Definitely.

So, I made a simple vest!  Every time I picked up this project I greeted it by saying "hello friend".  It was as if I was being acquainted with an old friend.  And it felt soothing and wonderful. 

Pattern: Hello Friend Vest  (My own... I am going to try to write up the pattern.)

Yarn:  Brooklyn Tweed Dapple.  This light as a feather yarn is the perfect blend of wool and cotton for this type of garment.

Needle:  US 7

My mom passed away in the early morning hours of January 7th.  The house was quiet and the four of us were together under the same roof, exactly how she would have wanted it.  

It was as if a conversation happened between my mom and God and she organized her entire death experience.  She finally figured out a way to get just her and her girls under the same roof without anyone else around. "Give Lisa Covid", she told God.  And he did. ☺️ That way we had to send home all of the caretakers.  Then it was just the four of us.  

The three of us gathered around my mom.  We played soft music.  We painted her nails with her favorite color (OPI, Cajun Shrimp) we lathered her skin with lotion and essential oils.  We made sure her lips were moist. We kissed her and hugged her.  We told her how much we appreciated all she has done for us and how much we loved her for the billionth time.  We told that it was alright to leave us, that we would be okay, even though we've never been good liars.  

We all went to sleep on the night of January 6th checking on her throughout the night.  It was the first night my mom hadn't had someone sleeping in her room for three years.   We think we finally gave her the space she needed to get those final things into her bags.  And she peacefully took flight from this beautiful space to another.  

 My friend, Carol told us that God puts YOU were you are supposed to be.  Sometimes they want to share and sometimes they want to spare.  

We love you forever, mom, and you will be missed more than we could ever imagine.