Ravelry Prompts Two New Challenges

I cataloged a large number of my previous projects on Ravelry over the last few weeks and, when I looked at everything next to each other, I realized how many small and (relatively) simple projects I have made. So I started taking advantage of Ravelry's amazing searches to see what others are knitting. And boy am I amazed! To see these beautiful FOs reminds me of all of the knitting techniques I have yet to learn. For example, in the five years that I have been knitting, I have never done fair isle or made a sweater that I really like to wear.

And it's time to change that.


First, I'm going to try to tackle the sweater challenge with the Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan from Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits. I happened to already have the exact yarn called for in the pattern (Knit Picks Merino Style), so I cast on after finishing the Two-Toned Ribbed Shrug. I am now really close to dividing for the sleeves, and so far I like how things are going. The yarn is fabulous to knit with, and I really love the green color. The only thing I am worried about is how the finished sleeves will look; will they be puffy enough? The model in the book looks great, but some FO pictures have been a little 'flat'. We'll see...



To tackle the color work challenge, I am making the Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang. I found this pattern via Ravelry after putting Eunny's Anemoi Mittens on my to-knit list. The Endpapers seemed like an easier place to start my fair isle, though I plan on getting to those mittens soon. I'm currently on my third pattern repeat, and I already love these! Why has it taken me so long to get around to fair isle? Once I taught my left hand to knit, it has been a breeze. The yarn for this project, Knit Picks Pallette, is great for fair isle, though nothing particularly interesting on its own. As a bonus, this project is also from stash, which I guess means I should have a third challenge: knit more from stash.


I can't wait to see how these mitts come out!