Category: Knitting

All things related to knitting including yarn purchases, needles, free patterns and pattern reviews as I knit, and how to information.

Happy New Year 2026 and Time to Cast On

A new year means a brand new knitting project to begin. What will you be making?

Believe it or not, this unfinished post has been sitting around for a year! I had to change the title for 2026. Talk about being behind!

Last January

We went camping the beginning of January 2025 (pics below) and I wore my Calliope 2 sweater. It does get cold in Florida and it is a damp, nasty cold. Sometimes we even have ice! The hand knits that sit in my closet and under the bed for months and months, finally come out and get some use. We had fun camping last January, even though we had to bring our cats!

In the photos below we are camping in north Florida at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch campground. I love this area for the hills and trails. Bike riding is a challenge (for this old gal), but lots of fun. The campground is expansive, with lakes and three separate areas for RV and tent camping.

wearing the Calliope sweater in gold
Winter camping, sweater weather- yay!
Campsite at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch state campground in north Florida.
Our campsite – January

Plans for This January

We are not camping. The past two years of camping in winter made me re-think it. In Florida it can be nice in January, and it can be downright cold. This year we are skipping the January camping trip. That means it will probably be a beautiful and temperate month…LOL.

I will stay home and knit instead. We do have some fun planned, which I may share – we’ll see how it goes.

January 2026 and a New Cast On

I like to begin the new year with a special knitting project. I’ve been thinking about knitting a cable cardigan for a while. Cables are time-consuming to accomplish, and I knew the project would require the best yarn combined with an awesome pattern.

After much thought and lots of searching, I hope to be casting on for the ….. Book Club Cardigan.

Sari Nordlund is the designer and I see her knits on Instagram all the time. Usually I feel like they are too difficult for me to manage. But, she assures us (right on the product page) that this cardigan is easier to knit than it may appear. It is seamless – meaning there are no pieces to sew together. Often a cabled cardigan is knit in pieces and then the pieces have to be attached. This pattern is not like that. I’m looking forward to it.

I just need to buy some yarn.

After completing the Simple Stripes sweater and a beanie, time got away from me. Already it is New Year’s Eve! And I don’t have the worsted weight yarn for the cable cardigan.

Do your New Year plans include a new knitting project? I ‘d love to hear about it. Thanks for reading!

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Saying Good-bye to 2025 and Another Year of Knitting in the Books

A look back at all the knitting projects I’ve completed over the year. Also, what is already in the plans for 2026.

The year of 2025 is coming to an end and this is when I look back to see what I’ve accomplished in knitting projects.

Because I list nearly all the projects I knit on the Ravelry site, all I need to do is go there and grab my list. They have something called the Ravelry Project Challenge. Each year I make a guess (they call it a goal) as to the number of projects I’ll complete before the year is up.

This year my goal was 10 and I’ve finished 11. That number will rise and be at least 12. I’m nearly done with the Magnolia Chunky Cardigan (It’s finished and I love it).

Knitting Projects Completed

This year I knit a few little neck-warmer scarves, a couple of beanies, and a few sweaters. Some knits were re-makes of a favorite pattern, and others allowed me to try out some new yarn.

rust red Sophie Scarf
Sophie Scarf
dual loop beanie
Dual Loop Beanie
Warm up pullover using Peace Fleece wool yarn
Warm Up #2
Ran out of yarn
Scarf No.4
Fair Isle tube hat knitting in navy blue and off-white.
Doublemassa Hat
Solvi sweater finished
Solvi Sweater
Warm Up sweater pullover in black tweed
Warm Up #3
Birthday61 sweater in beige hanging
Birthday61
Sophie Scarf in white
Sophie Scarf
The weekend Hat knit in beige camel yarn.
The Weekend Hat
Sophie Scarf knit in army green color
Sophie Scarf

I was on a roll with the Sophie scarves! I hope to be wearing this little scarf when the weather turns colder and I walk in the morning. The green one was mailed to my daughter in New Hampshire.

Scarf No. 4 – the name of the scarf – was lots of fun to knit, and I love it. I see another of those in my future.

The Dual Loop Beanie came out great, but I wish I’d used a different yarn. I’m knitting another one using tan Camel yarn.

The long, colorwork Doublemassa hat was also mailed to my daughter. She laughed at how big it is, but says it sure keeps her warm! I’ve wanted to knit that hat ever since I first bought the“Hat’s On” book (Amazon paid link).

I had fun knitting another Warm Up Sweater in bold stripes using Peace Fleece wool. Then, I knit a third Warm Up in black tweed. The Warm Up pattern is simple, and it is very easy to make changes to suit your wearing needs.

I did not have fun knitting the Birthday61 sweater … because it took forever! I would never knit that pattern again. I had to shorten the sleeves before I lost my mind. And, it came out small. So that (very long) project was a fail for me. But, because it was soooooo slow going, everything else I knit now seems FAST! So, there’s that.

This past year I also tried some new camel hair yarn. I also splurged and used cashmere for the little scarves.

For the new year, I plan to cast on a cable sweater pattern. I have not decided on a pattern yet. It’s between The Bookclub Cardigan, by Sari Nordlund, Auguste Cardigan, by Johanna Gehrisch, and a few others.

Cardigans are my favorite type of sweater to wear. Not necessarily to knit, because of the button bands. I plan to find a few more interesting patterns to knit in 2026, and of course I will share my finds with you, dear readers. Thank you for reading, leaving valuable comments and suggestions, and sharing your own knitting experiences.

Knit on… and have a wonderful Holiday Season! See you in 2026.

More to Read

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Year-Round Camping in Florida; Enjoying Nature While I Knit

The peaceful days of camping in the wilderness go perfectly with knitting. What could be better than having coffee outside, with knitting on my lap? We camped twice in the last month and here is a look at the knitting projects I took along.

I live in Florida where we can camp year round. We take our travel trailer north to the Ocala National Forest and enjoy the natural springs, or old Florida settings which are free of traffic and commerce. Sometimes, out in the woods, the internet is sketchy or nonexistent.

As an older woman I am perfectly able to live without access to the internet, at least for a short time. I do work online, but it can wait a few days. Camping for me means relaxing around the campfire, bike-riding, and knitting. Usually my two cats don’t go with us, and that is a form of freedom in itself!

red dirt bike with rider

During this trip, my son took off on his dirt bike, and I worked on my recent knitting project. I’m knitting a fun, little project with wool, which I will use when we camp!

knitting project, seating pad, in colorwork with black cat
Seating pad project and Fontana my cat

The item is meant to keep your bottom warm while taking a sitting break in winter. The SkiBUM Felted Seating Pad comes with a color-work graph. I began by following it, then changed to more simple designs. I do a lot of knitting while riding in the truck. The bumpy ride makes it difficult to follow a chart.

My wool chair pad will be used when we camp. My folding chair has no padding. During cool nights around the fire, my butt was cold! I was using a little foam seating pad for some insulation. The wool felted pad will also be used when eating at the picnic table. I’m sure I can use it year round on our trips. This project is perfect for using up some wool stash! I’ll be writing a post about it soon.

Two Weeks Before This

We also camped on the days following Thanksgiving. During that two day trip I worked on my cotton top (Knus Light) while enjoying the grassy woodland view from our campsite. I saw a lot of Woodpeckers and heard Carolina Chickadees. From over by the lakes, the calls of the Sandhill Cranes could be heard all day long. Lots of deer crossed our path while bike riding. This area is full of wildlife.

Mornings were a little chilly, so I wore my fingerless mitts (Stellar Parallax pattern). I LOVE it when I can wear my hand knits.

Our campsite for 2 nights
Knitting in nature while wearing fingerless mitts.
Knitting the Knus Light top

I really enjoy this cooler weather. Getting outdoors, without sweating, is such a treat. It won’t last long.

Advice For Knitting on the Go

Be sure you have all the items you may need! Needles and yarn of course, but scissors, a crochet hook (for those dropped stitches), stitch markers and holders, and embroidery needle, in case you finish and need to weave in some ends. I like a simple project for the ride, and maybe one other for day knitting. We always have more than one project on the needles, right?

Thanks for reading. Here are more knitting stories.

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Knitting Project Review: Magnolia Chunky Cardigan

This sweater knitting project was a fun one. Although there were a few things to figure out, I recommend the pattern to any fairly experienced knitters out there.

The Magnolia Chunky Cardigan is a beautiful sweater design. It is offered by designer Camilla Vad, and you can find the pattern to buy here.

I like to read through the comments by knitters who have previously knit a pattern. In this case, I think it was very helpful. I wrote a blog post about this when I first began to knit the sweater in September.

My finished sweater is a size Large, knit using 1 + cones of Harrisville Designs Highland wool in color Suede.
Magnolia Chunky Cardigan hanging
Lace and bobbles and hem, with sleeve of Magnolia Chunky Cardigan
Back design of lace and bobbles
Yarn cone and sweater

These photos were taken in the early morning, before the bright Florida sun could interfere.

A Pattern That is Fun and … Quick

I don’t think I have ever said that a sweater pattern was a quick knit. I always see knitters saying this, and usually I completely disagree. Being quick while knitting is not something I care about. I knit for fun, and it’s not a race. But, this time was different.

The types of sweaters I have knit usually become more boring as I knit down the body. Sleeves are usually slow-going as well. Because this pattern gives us something to concentrate on toward the hem and cuffs, I was not bored.

The body, with the nupps (or bobbles) did take some time. That one row with double bobbles was super time consuming…! There was always something to look forward to when knitting this project.

The sleeves were the fastest sleeves I’ve ever knit. Yes, they are 3/4, so that helps. Also, it is worsted yarn on size 10 needles. This also helps. LOL … The lace before the cuffs is easy – with no nupps.

Mods I Made

I really only changed a couple of things while knitting this cardigan. I added about 3 extra rows after the sleeves and body division. This is a good place to make the body longer. The few rows I added didn’t make much of a difference.

The nupps, when I made them, didn’t look great. I practiced on some swatches and ended up doing bobbles instead. You can find the link to making Bobbles that Pop on my Ravelry page. They take more time, so it’s your choice.

Yarn

The yarn came from my stash. Like most knitters, I have a stash to use up. I loved the “Suede” color of the Highland Wool (Harrisville Designs) but I had purchased it on cones. The color is mostly gray, but with some brown. It’s so hard to capture the color, but trust me, it’s nice.

Cone yarn leftover from knitting the Magnolia Chunky Cardigan
Leftover Highland wool
Yarn cone and sweater
Sweater from a cone

Cone yarn is a bit different because it’s meant for weaving and machine knitting. Because of this, the yarn (I used) is thin and a bit stiff. Cones usually contain oil, which means the yarn needs to be washed well once the project is complete. Some people wind the yarn onto hanks and pre-wash it to remove the oil.

Below are photos of the lace part of the cardigan taken before and after being washed. It may be hard to tell, but after washing the fabric softened and filled out (bloomed). (The color comes out differently because of lighting.)

Magnolia Chunky Cardigan lace and bobbles before wash
Unwashed
Lace and bobbles and hem, with sleeve of Magnolia Chunky Cardigan
Washed

The Highland wool creates beautiful hand knits. It comes in skeins as well. Most buyers use the cone put up for weaving. The cones tend to be without knots and ends – just one very long strand (450 yards). I remember finding only one tiny knot when knitting from these two cones. And the knot was way at the end of the first cone.

Cost is another consideration when knitting a larger project, like a sweater. Sweater yarn usually costs me around $100, give or take, depending on the yarn. I knit the Magnolia Chunky Cardigan using less than 2 cones, and each cone cost $25.50. That is less than $50 for the yarn to knit this sweater. And the yarn is nice wool.

How I Washed My Sweater Knit From Cone Yarn

Washing a garment made from yarn on a cone takes a bit more effort. I am no expert, but most places I found for advice said to wash in hot, or very warm, water. (This could be a problem if you use cones for colorwork, or combine various colors in a garment. I’m not sure about colors running and bleeding together in warm water. The addition of vinegar can usually help, but I’m not sure about that in warm water. Please leave a comment if you have some experience with this.)

My sweater is all one color. I washed it twice using Woolite. Some people use shampoo, or dish detergent. Those first two washes were done in quite warm water. I couldn’t bring myself to use hot. I saw a lot of gray water in those washes, meaning something yucky was definitely coming out. I let the sweater soak for about 10 minutes each time.

I did a cool water rinse, and then a second. The last rinse was clear, and that is when I added the Eucalan (Amazon paid link) to soften the wool.

A Worthwhile Knitting Project

The Magnolia Chunky Cardigan is unique and beautiful. It’s not the fit that looks best on me, but I couldn’t resist giving it a try. It is an elegant sweater, and probably deserves to be knit with some very pretty (and probably expensive) yarn. But my choice of wool works too, and I’m very happy with the outcome. Now, to find buttons.

Knit / crochet buttons links:

Wearing the Magnolia Chunky Cardigan

Update: Since finishing (minus buttons) this sweater, I have been wearing it often. Thankfully, it’s “winter” weather here in Florida – at least for part of some days. I love the 3/4 sleeves, and the fabric is soft and warm. I love it!