is it too early to think about winter?

So it's now definitely shifted from this summers actual heat wave in England (which I'm still reeling over) back to Autumn temperatures. And since I've been donning a puffer jacket for most of the mornings this week, my thoughts have turned to winter-y knitting. Which is, in my honest opinion, the best kind of knitting. Because you can wear all of it at once.



I've just finished this blanket - it's actually made from leftover yarn from a sweater I made earlier  the spring. I had bought a massive value pack of yarn to tip the scales over on an online knitting order to get free shipping, knowing that I would definitely use it, and here's the result. It's this Lion Brand Yarn pattern, which has been a family favourite for a long time now. My sister had made one nearly a decade ago now. Every time I go back to my childhood home, it's one of the first blankets to be snatched up for sofa snuggling, so I wanted one of my own.

I am a happy passenger for my 45 minute or so commute, so I always like to have a project that I can fit in my work bag to stitch away on while I ride. Because this blanket is largely knit in scarf-like strips, it was the ideal car knitting project. I did alter the pattern slightly to get it to look how I wanted. I added an extra cable twist to each strip to make it a little longer, and added another strip at the end to make it a little wider too - I'm one of those people who likes to wrap her whole body in a blanket like a burrito, so bigger is always better. I also added a garter stitch border around the outside: I had the extra yarn, and I thought it would ground the piece a little bit, while again, adding extra size. And I think it's a success! I've just finished weaving in the ends, and I'm so excited that it's done at the perfect time this season.


I was also given these tasty yarns as a birthday gift that I'm dying to work on, now that the seasons are turning, and I have a few patterns in mind for them. Saroyan by Liz Abinante has been on my list for a while, it's simple, but I love the natural feel of it. It's one of those pieces that will work in so many different outfits, so I can't wait to add it into the winter rotation. There's a lovely white pure alpaca yarn hidden under that pile which is set aside for that. The Solstice cardigan by Quince & Co. would look stunning in that lilac Touch of Alpaca yarn my Lion Brand. Clearly, I'm still musing, and  I'd like to get a few WIPs finished first, but holding these skeins just fills my with the joys of winter making potential!


The other nice thing about the autumn is it gives you an excuse to put down some summer projects that aren't ticking the boxes for you anymore. Case in point, this shawl. It's fine, but I've affectionately nicknamed it "The Shawl I Hate". It was one of those free gifts with a knitting magazine, so I thought, why not just make it to get it (and the pattern) out of your stash, and be done with it. But it's not fun and the finished project isn't me - so I won't even wear it! I'm planning on giving it away. So instead of wasting my efforts on that now, because it's a summery project but it's no longer summery outside, I'm giving myself permission to set it aside for now.

I'll soon do a round-up of some of my summer projects to full transition out of the season, but for now, it's full steam ahead for the winter!

Happy stitching,
Molly x

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