Hi friends!

This year, I've decided to try out more hand dyed yarns from independent retailers. My latest obsession is Tuskenknits yarn by Maria Tusken. I found her on Instagram and totally fell in love with her style. I signed up for her Beauty & the Beast Yarn Club recently and this was the second skein she dyed for me.

(If you're not familiar with "yarn clubs," it's usually a subscription based "club" where you purchase yarn with monthly payments. In this case it was a surprise club so we didn't have any idea what the color of the skein would be!)

As soon as I saw this yarn I knew it would be perfect for my big sis. I immediately set to work knitting Jeanne some sweet Birthday socks! 

The pattern I used is My Cup of Tea Socks by Robin Lynn. It features a fun crocus pattern down the front which I thought would be just perfect for Spring. 

The yarn is Tuskenknits Fuzz, which is 20% Kid Mohair, 55% SW Merino and 25% Nylon. It's the perfect consistency for socks; the Merino is soft, the Mohair gives it a very light halo and the Nylon leaves the blocked project with a perfect amount of elasticity. 

The yarn color is just fabulous, the yellow flecks knit up almost looking like little patches of gold! The colorway is titled "Something There" and Maria has been hinting that she will be putting more of it up in her shop in a few months, including the other colors from her Beauty & the Beast Yarn Club.

I love her yarn so much I might have *accidentally* signed up for her Scotland Yarn Club which is running right now! If you are interested you can sign up for the May subscription on April 22nd. 

Jeanne got her Birthday socks in the mail last week and loves them! This is her second pair of hand knitted socks and I think she's getting hooked! 

I've got more projects in the works that I will be sharing with you soon! I also just ordered some custom labels for my hand knitted sweaters that I can't wait to show you! 

Hope you're having an awesome Friday!

Thanks for reading!

​-Ashley

I did it! 

I successfully designed a sweater! 

It's a drop sleeve, High-Lo style sweater with 3/4 sleeves and fun cables running down the front. 

I made it in Wool of the Andes Superwash Bulky in Garnet Heather. It's a magical, squishy yarn that is just perfect for experimental sweater knitting!

I'm super happy with how this guy turned out. I plan on releasing the pattern as soon as I've knitted it all the way through one more time and made sure everything works. After that, I might run a test knit for anyone interested in trying it out before I release it to the public. 

I'm still flabbergasted that all my measurements worked out and my big pile of string turned into a functioning garment! I'm already working on another original sweater design, that's how pumped I am!

This guy should be for sale in my Etsy shop soon. I want to order some custom labels with my logo and care information on them before shipping it off so it might be a little bit of a wait but it'll be listed soon! I'm excited to sell my first original sweater design! 

Let me know what you think of it! Is this a sweater you would be interested in wearing? Would you want to knit one of these yourself? 

I would love some feedback! I'm also open to name suggestions for this pattern! 

Thanks for stopping by!

-Ashley

Hi guys! 

I know, it's been a while!

I finished my Wanderling Sweater last month but haven't had a chance to share it with y'all until now! Alex and I have been busy doing a LOT of Spring Cleaning/decluttering/donating stuff. We're still working on the Office Redo (never ending) project but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel! I think we're one more, big Goodwill trip away from having that room completely junk free and organized! I'll post a little tour once she's done. 

Back to my sweater; she's finished! Finally finished! (I say finally, like I worked on it for more than a month, which I didn't, Ha!)

Isn't she lovely!? Blocking helped define the mock cable pattern and also added an inch or two to the bust area, which suits me just fine. 

This is my second sweater made with Wool of the Andes and I love the stuff. It knits up dense and squishy and blocks wonderfully. I actually have two sweater quantities of Wool of the Andes that still need to be knitted up, probably into fun cabled sweaters for my Etsy shop! (I'm not obsessed, there was a sale!)

The pattern, Wanderling by Isabell Kraemer, is a fun knit. It's your basic top down raglan but with lovely mock cable details. Once you get the swing of the mock cable repeats it goes swimmingly, the body is almost all stockinette so it whips up quickly too. 

I would definitely recommend this pattern and yarn combo. I have enjoyed wearing my toasty new sweater, it's both cozy and flattering. 

As far as current projects, I am almost finished knitting my first original sweater design. I'm super pumped, guys. I've never taken on such a challenging and ambitious project and I think the results are looking pretty good. All I have left to do is the seaming so you will be seeing my new sweater very soon! I'll try to get some pictures this weekend and pop them up here quick as can be! I'm considering publishing the pattern also, maybe doing a trial run with test knitters? I'll gauge knitter interest on Instagram once I have the final photos shot.

I also have a great pair of socks I'm almost done with, I haven't been sharing many pictures of them since they are a Birthday gift. As soon as they arrive at the home of the Birthday girl I'll show you how lovely they are! 

*ps, if you would like to see more progress shots from the Wanderling Sweater you can find them here, here and here. 


PPS. Sorry for being MIA! My goal is to post once a week, I promise I'll get better. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

-Ashley