So, it’s been a while — again. Unfortunately for me, I have been sick for all of January. It started on the 2nd and then there were two weeks following where I couldn’t think or do anything at all.

It’s only the last few days that I started feeling better, that’s why last year’s knitting review is so late. 2016 was literally my year of socks. My friend M. kept complaining that it was all I was knitting and she was absolutely right. In total, I knit 19 pairs of socks but 12 of them were for me, two pairs of which turned out not to fit and were given away as well. 10 new pairs of socks for my sock drawer! With all the sock knitalongs going on last year, who can blame me?

Other than that, there were one toy, one pair of mitts, one cardigan, one sweater (sample), two cowls, three hats, five shawls for a total of about 10 kilometers of yarn knit up last year. Quite the impressive number come to think of it.

To be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed knitting all these socks. They are portable, quick knits that you can take anywhere with you. Plus, I learned to knit in movie theaters, so basically in the dark thanks to all the socks.
But it’s a shame that I did not knit more “big” projects. I only started one sweater last year that I did not finish yet and there is still one unfinished sweater from 2015 that I mean to finish… someday.

Hopefully your 2017 was off to a good start? I already knit two more pairs of socks, because I couldn’t concentrate on more. Simple stockinette in the round was all I could do! Hopefully it will be better soon.

And don’t forget, if you sign up for my newsletter, you will get a coupon for 30% off a pattern of your choice.

It’s the dog days of summer over here (finally!) which means it is close to two months since my last post! Seriously? But it also means autumn is right around the corner with sweater weather and all that comes along with it. Right? Right.

What have I been up to all this time you ask?
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This is old news already but I just realised that I never published this post! Say hello to the Serene shawl, which was published in April in Knit Now Issue 59.

This is probably the first thing I ever thought up, with special help of a friend and my trusted Japanese stitch dictionary. Originally, the whole shawl was just a recipe. The owner of my favourite LYS, B. proposed that this shawl shape was, “Really easy, you just need to do X, Y and Z!” I tried it using a sport weight yarn and thick needles and it resulted in a wonderfully lightweight and all-season shawl. It still is one of my favourites and I wear it often (although I have many shawls to chose from!).
There is just something about a shawl that you can scrunch up when you are cold but also drape across the shoulders when you just need a little coverage.

The sample shawl is knit up in a thicker weight, Ravelry’s yarn database lists it as DK but for me it knit up as more of a worsted weight. That is why I had to chose pretty large needles to get the drape I wanted. The pattern is ideal if you have a highly variegated yarn and a coordinating or even contrasting skein of yarn. I think in the summer you could even knit it up in chainette or linen yarns. Now that I think about it, I might have to try that!

Thanks to Kate and the Knit Now team for putting faith in newbie designers like me and publishing me again!

Seriously, what is wrong with me? Ever since last week, when the sun first came out in this corner of the earth and the temperatures reached the 12° mark (roughly 53°F), there has been nothing but summer on my mind. I even went in sandals to work today, and nobody even flinched. These are the same sandals I wear when it is scorching hot and most people only go in shorts and no sleeve-tops out the door. As soon as it is warmer than 15°C (or 59°F) outside, I make a point of wearing warm weather shoes. Not only do I look like a madwoman when I go outside but I think it contributes to a healthy immune system.

So what’s a girl to do? Today of all days, Shannon over at Very Shannon (she is an ingenious designer of knitwear and sewing patterns!) announced her timeline for the TTTKAL 2016, which if you spell it out means “Tops, Tanks & Tees knit along”. Last year I adored all the WIPs and FOs everybody posted and the glorious roundup of course and I wanted to participate so badly! For me, the biggest advantage of participating would be that I have a handmade summer top to wear when the warm weather is actually here.

Still, I do not know whether I will find the time to do so but instead of wallowing in self-pity I went on Pinterest and looked at a few Spring Ready To Wear (RTW) collections. (If you are interested, this was my search.) Some glorious collections popped up!

One thing I was particularly fascinated by is the top underneath this jumpsuit:

It is part of the TSE Spring 2016 RTW collection and totally up my alley. There is a long sleeved sweater similar to this in one of the other shots, where you can see all the details. It has a lot more lace and interesting faux shaping in the form of eyelets stacked upon each other.

The other thing I noticed was the overwhelming amount of glitter and sequins and general sparkliness. I can’t escape it lately, sparkles are just my thing. Perhaps that is my form of 90s nostalgia. The Gucci Collection showed interesting use of glitter fabric. They created not-so-faux frills like these:

Some of them printed on and other sewn on elements, a brilliant mix (haha). I’m sure some of you have seen similar things before but to me this was a totally new idea.

What I take from all this visual input will turn into a sketch that has to wait until tomorrow. I know exactly what I want my new summer top to look like, now if I have the time to realize it is to be seen. The KAL starts next Monday already and I probably won’t have even time to swatch.

But this dress? I would totally buy it if it was my size.