Movin' on up (to a new place!)

Hi there! It's been another long radio silence, which sucks. My year was (once again) weird, full of a lot of good and bad things, and a hell of a lot of growing up. Finishing grad school (almost..), trying to find a job, figuring out what to do with my life.. trivial things, really. Part of this crisis involved a late night decision to buy a domain and build a new website. So, from here on out you can find me at palindromeknits.com! I just put up a post about a little foray into dyeing yarn with onion skins, I hope you like it!

I hope you'll join me over on my .com.

-Hannah

PS. You can update your Bloglovin' feed here!

6 Months Later

.. and just like that it was July. I feel like every time I write a post here I feel like I preface it with a blurb about how long I've been away, and I'm going to half skip that.

It's been a crazy year so far. Well, crazy summer, I guess. I started working part time again (those bills are not going to pay themselves), and was lucky enough to visit Edmonton in May. Being back, even through it was only for 12 days and I basically worked the whole time, was so great. It also turned into a pretty excellent road trip, as James and I packed the car and drove the 4000km each way, stopping to see some sights on the way, but mostly just driving for 15 hours a day. When I got back to Ontario, I packed all of my things, including the cats, and moved to Kingston! I've been living here for about a month now and I couldn't be happier. (Though, I do miss all my great Peterborough people. They were the best.) 

The only problem with this city is the yarn scene sucks. But I am currently typing this across from a market that has been running since 1801. Can't argue with that. 

This week I am furiously working on a shawl for my grandma's 90th birthday (more on that later) and a pair of dresses because I am going to Paris on Saturday! James and I are spending the week in the city, with no big plans other than visit museums and eat our weight in cheese, carbs, and pastries. OK, the last part is mostly my goal. He is much healthier than I am.

So if anyone has suggestions for some off-the-beaten path activities in Paris, let me know! We visited 8 years ago, but I'm sure we missed so much.

Stay cool, everyone! And see you soon. I promise. 

Swatching

Way back in the dark ages (aka about 3 years ago) while I was working my summer job, a lovely Raveler in Edmonton was destashing a ton of Terra and, being not broke at the time, picked it up. I accumulated all the colours to make Adelaide, but it just never felt quite right. So the yarn sat languishing on my shelf, and eventually made the move out to Ontario with me. Where it sat more.

Enter the Rosemont cardigan.

I saw this pop up on the Kelbourne Woollens blog and knew that it had to be mine. Further clicks proved that I not only had the required yarn, but also enough to make my size. So I'm calling it fate. And since it's Olympics time, this will be my beat-the-games project. I probably won't watch a ton of the games, given that I'm TV-less and not super into sports, but it still counts if I knit by Netflix. More specifically, the new season of House of Cards which debuts next week.

Last night I started my swatch, and hopefully I can get it finished before heading to the sports bar to watch highlights of the opening ceremonies. One can knit and block a swatch in thesis-writing breaks, right? For those curious, I'm using the Yarrow colourway and it's a bit more blue in real life than in the photo. It's a delightful colour.

While I had the camera out for swatch photos, the cats decided that it was photoshoot time. I swear to god, I turned around and Monty turned into a grown-ass cat. How does this happen?

Happy Friday! Are you casting on Olympic projects?

new year, new project

In the New Year's spirit, I finally started to swatch and cast on the behemoth Timberline sweater I talked about here. I decided to use the Briggs and Little Heritage which is such a nice yarn to work with! It's got a similar hand to the originally-called-for Shelter for less than half the price. (And it's a Canadian product, so that's cool) The biggest difference that I've noticed between the two is that the B&L feels more dense while the Shelter is more airy. I let my dad choose the colour and he went with Seafoam which is a really beautiful teal-grey colour after a near catastrophe as his first choice was grape.

Purple.

The man wanted a purple cabled sweater.

He is a bit colourblind, so maybe it doesn't look purple to him, but I refused to knit 2000+ yards in purple. That's a thing I just can't do.

My swatching went well, but it turns out that the B&L Regal (which is closer to a DK weight) may have been a better choice. I couldn't get the Heritage to get to gauge without turning it into some kind of bulletproof fabric, so I'll be knitting the 43" size to get to the 47" finished measurement. Now, this evening I'll definitely get my tubular cast on going and start some sleeves!

What are your new year's knits? (And stay warm everyone! I got a weather alert warning for a snow squall in my area which isn't even a thing I knew existed)

An Ode to Beautiful Fall Knits

It's that time of year where everyone is publishing drool-worthy knitwear patterns. In between anticipating the next Brooklyn Tweed collection, the gorgeous new issue of Pom Pom Quarterly, and all the beautiful self-published beauties coming out, I don't even know what to do with myself. I need more time in the day! (And a bigger yarn budget, but you probably know how that goes)
The biggest fall winner to date has to be the Paper Tiger collection that surfaced a bit over a week ago. I feel like this collection hits all the things that I've been looking for lately. Simple designs, colourwork to keep it a bit interesting, and neutral but exciting palettes.

My first and undying love from this collection has to be Moon Pulls. I mean come on. Garter stitch? Lopi? Cashmere blend for the cuff and collar linings? I can't wait to get knitting on this one! I absolutely love the look of garter stitch in garments, but it's stretchiness is often a recipe for disaster. (I made the famous Garter Yoke Cardigan ages ago and it stretched out to be unwearable. Not that the garter was the only issue, but you know. Such a bummer in any event) Especially with the cuffs being lined, stretching shouldn't be an issue.

Next up, Nikoline the socks. I feel like I'm turning a bit of a corner with socks. I will admit that I hated knitting socks with a passion, but after I finished the ugliest socks of all time, I'm a total convert. Hand knit socks are the best and now I'm on the prowl for great new patterns. I love that the stranded design on the cuff means an extra layer of warmth too. I think these will make great travel knitting over the holidays! I've already ordered some yarn from Knit Picks in similar colours, but if it goes well I'd love to do a grey pair with white contrast.

Finally, Acorn Teeth. I've always loved the idea of smaller mittenettes for the early fall and spring seasons, but I've never found any that get the proportions quite right. I also really like the colours used here. Green and gray? Bring it on.

I really hope I can carve out some time to work on some of these patterns over the next couple months. The Christmas knitting season is upon us, so I'll be back soon with a post of my plans. I'm taking my Christmas holidays a bit early this year, so I have to get cracking! Now I'm back to working on some homework before bringing my new kitten home. This weekend will be pleasantly full of kitten introductions, so cross your fingers for quick friendships and minimal hissing.

What are your favourite fall knits this year?

(All photos used c/o Dianna Walla)