End of Summer

A little end of summer update coming at you! I have been slow with making this summer. I don't know if it was the heat or what getting to me. One thing that did grab my interest over the summer was learning a little bit of crochet. I've always had some basic crochet skills, but haven't really sought out to learn much more than the basics. In a wave of 1970's inspiration (picking up classic rock records, watching Dazed and Confused, re-watching That 70's Show, Grateful Dead documentaries!), I decided I needed some granny squares in my life and made my dream hippie vest.

This was a total scrap yarn project - love that. I chose worsted weight colors that made me happy, playing around with different combinations. No two squares are alike. I'll post some finished photos next, because this one is already hanging in my closet! The pattern I followed (more like a free recipe) can be found here: Agnes Sweater Vest.

And in the spirit of free, how about a lovely free shawl pattern? This is the Kindness KAL Shawl. I used some stash handspun that is a BFL/suri alpaca blend. The BFL gives that woolly goodness we all love, and suri alpaca adds a nice drapey sheen and luster to the yarn. I definitely messed up on the pattern so many times, but in the spirit of learning to forgive myself more, just went with my mistakes and fudged some numbers along the way.

I've lots of finished and in-progress items to catch up on, so I will see you soon with more to share! Now, time to change gears and start thinking about some cooler-weather knits...