Here’s another sweater I finished not too long ago. I hadn’t shown it before because I despised the buttons I’d chosen for it, which were cheap-looking plastic things, so I replaced them with these gorgeous etched glass ones.

The pattern is from the German knitting magazine, Rebecca, which labels itself “the young knitting magazine with the big pattern section.” The headlines within the magazine are equally hilarious awkward german-to-english translations. But more importantly, they produce some gorgeous knitting patterns.

I finished this sweater fairly recently, and I’m really liking the way it turned out. It’s a British pattern from 1934, which is contained in my copy of Jane Waller’s A Stitch In Time.

I used a somewhat heavier yarn, Knitpicks’ Shine Sport in Orchid, which is bit more violet-based than it looks like here. I had it on hand, and I love the softness and sheen of Shine; but If I were to make it again (and I would!), I’d probably go with a fingering weight yarn, which would provide the nicer drape you can see in the old photos. Still, the slouchy fit is great and I do love the color. Lacy sweaters, vintage or handmade, are a wardrobe staple for me.

The one on the left with the roses is pretty awesome too. I may have to make that one as well at some point.

I recently received a copy of a new book by Kathleen Taylor, I Heart Felt: Eye-Popping Designs For the Inspired Knitter.

Now, I am not the world’s most experience felter. In fact, I’ve had rather lousy luck with felting and I really don’t like all the uncertainty around it, especially if you’re working with something you spent a good deal of time knitting yourself. I’m much more inclined to felt a thrift store sweater, if anything.

But I did rather like some of the ideas in this book, particularly using colorwork and cables in felted designs, something I never would have considered doing before. I’ll admit that most of the projects in this book are not to my taste, but I think the instructions and ideas it contains could be carried over into different types of projects.

That cabled tote is pretty nice, and the cables look much crisper than I would imagine!

You can get a copy of I Heart Felt on Amazon.

I just fell in love with this yarn when I found it at Noe Knit. Crystal Palace Creme is a silk-wool blend, and has just the perfect amount of fuzzy-halo-ness for a beret. But what really got me is the color. Not quite mustard, but not quite gold, it’s so pretty and surprisingly versatile.

I had trouble finding an appropriate beret pattern to really show off the yarn, so I created this lovely cabled beret pattern. The shape is softly rounded, so it looks great pulled down low to keep your ears warm, and it’s a quick and satisfying knit.

One more thing: If you have any problems with the pattern, please be sure to contact me!

Download the free pattern for the Buttercup Beret (PDF)

I love my Endpaper Mitts, which I made a while back. Well, Kenn loves them too and wanted a pair for himself in a, uh, more manly colorway. He picked out these shades of grey in Rowan 4 ply soft, which is one of my favorite yarns, and decided he’d like this larger norwegian fair isle.

I pretty much redid the pattern, making it wider by a few stitches as well, and have been making steady progress. They’ll be perfect for bike riding.

The original pattern for the Endpaper Mitts is by Eunny Jang, who is one of my knitting idols.

Branching Out from Knitty, in a pretty mint green mohair. Knitted for my cousin.

This is, without a doubt, my favorite thing that I’ve knitted. It was for my mom.

The pattern is from an old issue of Vogue Knitting (Winter 04 or 05, I believe), and the yarn is Merino Style from KnitPicks. I spent about three months on it all together.

I was trying to think of a gift for my mom that Winter, not long after she’d begun recovering from cancer. I wanted something that would show how much she meant to me, something handmade and beautiful, something that could bring a little piece of beauty and adornment back after fighting that long, painful illness.

I remembered that once she’d been at my house and had admired this sweater in the knitting magazine. So I set to work on it, and finished it in time for the holidays.

A few months later, she wore it to visit my grandfather as he was dying of cancer. She told me he’d complimented her on it and I’d nearly cried.

Despite all this, I don’t think of it as “the cancer sweater,” and it doesn’t make me sad to see it. Quite the contrary, it’s a little reminder that even in very dark times, these handmade expressions of love can bring comfort. And nothing beautiful is ever frivolous.

The Angelina sweater from White Lies Designs. A beautiful piece that unfortunately tends to slip off my shoulders due to the almost dolman-like sleeves. I would make this again, but alter the pattern quite a bit to be more fitted at the shoulder and upper arms.

My spiderweb lace scarf, trimmed with freshwater pearls.

I love scarves that almost double as jewelry. I would like to make more. This one looks really lovely tied around the throat and sort of trailing behind, down the back.

These are the Endpaper Mitts, by Eunny Jang. I adore them. They keep me warm in my overly air conditioned office, and are the perfect thing for riding my bike.

I have some cocoa and cream yarn just waiting to be made up into a second pair.