Tag Archives: fade

Dare I Crop?

Posted on by
8

When I digging around in my yarn stash the other day I came across something unexpected and yet spectacular. I found three skeins of DK weight superwash yarn all from the same indie dyer. I had picked these up at different times from her over  the past year when I had the money saved up around the time of her updates.

The dyer is Moonstone Dyeworks out of Acadia California and she has an amazing podcast that enables me all the time. I realized that the skeins really blended and coordinated quite well as I stared at them in my drawer. Almost, dare I say, a really fantastic fade? From left to right they are Falling, Hard Cider and Wild Honey.

I did some pattern searching on Ravelry and found that I might be able to eek out a Party Top by AbbyeKnits in my size. I would JUST have enough yarn if I managed my fade very precisely. This is a cropped sweater and I’m not sure I’ll like it but I can’t put it out of my head. I can just feel this pattern wanting to jump on my needles. I even went so far to research the pattern comments on Ravelry and found a knitter who made a similar faded option in a bigger size than I.

snip_20191015200653

I literally have two other sweaters quantities wound up and ready to jump on my needles for a Weekender and a Radiate. Why am I so drawn to this when I haven’t even cast on either of those sweaters? My wishful knitting is just on overdrive lately!!

What is a knitter to do!?

FO Friday: Faded Fingerless Mitts

Posted on by
5

My Faded Fingerless Gloves are finished! They practically flew off the needles!

Pattern: Fingerless Gloves by Cheryl Goyer

Needles: US 5s

Yarn: One Twisted Lavish DK in Chaotic Nuetral and Anzula Ava in Raspberry

Mods: added a fading sequence from Andrea Mowry’s Free Your fade Shawl

I didn’t get my yarn measured exactly in half. So in the second glove I did not have enough grey to make the full cuff and complete the full fade sequence. I knew I was in yarn chicken territory so I altered it on the fly. They definitely don’t match but I honestly don’t care. I used 90 yards of the Lavish (grey) and 73 yards of the Anzula (pink). This used up every last inch of the grey and left a small ball of the pink to put in my memory blanket.

I didn’t manage to snag a photo of the gloves with the coordinating shawl. Perhaps when Spring gets into full swing around here I can get some decent outdoor photos? This project just made me super happy to both have a matching peice and to use up some golden skeins of yarn to the very last bit!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Faded Fingerless Mitts

Posted on by
1

I may have fade on the brain lately. I finished my Free Your Fade last week and I was over the moon. But I still had a decent chunk of the grey and raspberry left and I decided to make a matching accessory to go with the shawl.

I cast on some DK weight fingerless mitts. Our house has had too many germs for relying on my brain to make a pattern so I found a great free pattern on Ravelry. I’m using Fingerless Mitts by Cheryl Goyer as a base and then just adding an Andrea Mowry fade.

I just flew by the seat of my pants with the grey yarn and JUST managed to eek out the perfect fade sequence in the first mitt right as I ran out of grey yarn. This one is done except for the afterthought thumb. Now I need to cross my fingers and start the second mitt to see if I can recreate this yarn usage and size…fingers crossed!?

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Free Your Fade

Posted on by
10

I made it you guys! My Free Your Fade is done and I’M IN LOVE!! I just wish it was still cold enough to wear it this week. 

Pattern: Free Your Fade by Andrea Mowry

Yarn: Anzula Ava in Raspberry, Leon Alexander Yarns Duke DK in Oh La La and One Twisted Tree Lavish in Chaotic Nuetral.

Needles: US 7

Mods: Omitted the picot bind of in favor of a suspended bind off instead.

This thing is sooooo squishy and lovely. The DK (and sport) yarn just give this a nice heft that I haven’t felt with my fingering weight shawls. It is also MASSIVE. I used approximately 260 grams of yarn or 673 yards of yarn. And I used the middle variagated skein down to the last little nub!

My fade isn’t super duper subtle as it would be with a more graduated set of colors. But I love it and pretty proud of myself for my first fade! I do wish my larger yarn overs were a little neater. But I was too far in when I noticed and I decided that consistent yarn overs made my brain happier than neat ones would.

Oh my gosh…I need to wear this soon! Happy Knitting!!

Fading To The Finish

Posted on by
5

The winter germs are hanging on REAL hard this spring. And Jellybean, PB and I have all been sick this week. Between soothing kids and trying to sleep I have done like almost ZERO knitting. You know I’m sick when I can’t knit.

But I’m sooooo close to finishing my fade!

I have one eyelet row and one garter section to finish before the bind off. The pattern calls for a picot bind off. Truth time, I sorta don’t love the look of picots. So I’m considering using a suspended bind off instead. But for the immediate time…I’m going to drag my butt to work and cross my fingers for an early bedtime for all humans in this house tonight!

Happy Knitting!!

Fading Into The Homestretch

Posted on by
7

My obsession has not slowed this week. My Free Your Fade is into the third color!

I’ve finished my One Twisted Tree DK grey, the Leon Alexander DK variegated and now I’m in to the bright pink Anzula sport. This Anzula is for sure a thinner yarn than the previous two. But as I’ve professed before I’m not fussing about gauge in shawls. This last section has cashmere content and no one can hate that!

I did end up playing yarn chicken with the variegated yarn and had to kind of adjust the fading section. I turned one garter bump to solid from the variegated. I worked out in my favor and I only had a teeny ball of the variegated left over.  And I really don’t think you can tell in the finished section.

Now I just need to get busy and finish this! Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Free Your Fade

Posted on by
7

I have a FO to show you tomorrow and to celebrate I cast on a project I have been thinking about for MONTHS! I finally put my Free Your Fade on the needles!

I finally settled on my One Twisted Tree Lavish in Chaotic Nuetral (grey) followed by Leon Alexander Yarns Duke DK in Oh La La (variegated) and finished by some Anzula Ava in Raspberry (pink).  It’s neutral(ish) with nice pops of colors and should coordinate with my wardrobe really well.

It took me honestly casting on three times to get a product I was happy with. I didn’t like my initial slipped stitches on the edges. Then I messed up the yarn overs on the my second go. But finally this third attempt is looking pretty spiffy! This might quickly become my new obsession…

Happy Knitting!!

Wishful Knitting: Late To The Fade

Posted on by
8

One of my purchases from Winter Woolfest 2019 is already hopping into my knitting queue. The Fade has been around for what seems like forever now and just about every knitter has faded something. I’m not generally a bandwagon knitter and take awhile to come around to a trend. But I have been feeling the pull of Free Your Fade from Andrea Mowry. This is more my speed as it’s only three skeins so not as large of a time commitment as some of the others. I just don’t get enough knitting time to spend months and months on the same thing. I would explode. Plus this shawl comes in Fingering and DK. And I just so happen to have a pretty neat fade in some Sport weight yarn.

From left to right is my One Twisted Tree Lavish sport in the chaotic neutral, followed by the Leon Alexander DK in the Oh La La color and lastly some Anzula Ava sport in the Raspberry color. I think these make a nice shift with a tonal solid on either side with a speckle in the middle. No clue when I will get to this one but I have the pattern purchases and yarn all kitted up together just waiting for the Perfect cast on day.

Happy Knitting