March Forth on March 4th
March 4th is a date near and dear to my pun-loving heart. It is a date that demands and commands you: March forth! And I will take all the inspiration I can get as the endless days of Winter cold and snow drag on impossibly long in Minnesota.
The calendar isn't the only thing subtly encouraging me though, as a few of my recent knitting projects are quite literally pointing me onward.
I recently knit and loved Antrorse by Shannon Cook. It is from her beautiful book Journey, a wonderful collaboration with her friend Jane Richmond.
Antrorse is a biological term that means "directed forward and upward, as the hairs on certain plant stems." So it is fitting that there is simple, yet gorgeous arrow motif running up the front of this pullover. In addition to the visual interest of the arrow motif, I also love the split, off-center neckline, that can be buttoned or unbuttoned.
I knit this pullover out of Madelinetosh MCN worsted in the Vintage Sari colorway, and I score triple stash-busting points for using this yarn, which I had been hoarding in my stash since 2011. The pattern and yarn were a perfect pairing, and it was a delight to knit because that stitch pattern motif kept me going when I would have normally turned into a stockinette zombie.
Another knit that has been inspiring me onward is this self-striping sock with my pattern Partying It Up and Getting Down . I wrote the pattern with both top-down and toe-up instructions included, but I prefer toe-up, so I am making 2 toe-up socks.
The sock pattern and it's UP arrow aren't what is making me love these socks though, it's the fantastic striping geniuses at HD Yarns and their Circles colorway. They take stripes to whole new level with long, playful striping sequences! This colorway starts with alternating purple and blue, and then transitions to blue and dark green, then dark green and light green, and so on. I couldn't stop myself from knitting more and more and more because I wanted to get to that next stripe.
I substituted in my OMG heel rather than the afterthought heel in the pattern, and I love the results I got without breaking the yarn. The red-yellow striping sequence is shortened on the top of the foot, but the nature of these non-repeating stripes means I would have had to use a heel-toe coordinate to stop that from happening.
So whether it be your knitting or the date that inspires you, I hope you take a moment to be happy and enthusiastic about something today and MARCH FORTH on March 4th!
The calendar isn't the only thing subtly encouraging me though, as a few of my recent knitting projects are quite literally pointing me onward.
Antrorse
I recently knit and loved Antrorse by Shannon Cook. It is from her beautiful book Journey, a wonderful collaboration with her friend Jane Richmond.
Antrorse is a biological term that means "directed forward and upward, as the hairs on certain plant stems." So it is fitting that there is simple, yet gorgeous arrow motif running up the front of this pullover. In addition to the visual interest of the arrow motif, I also love the split, off-center neckline, that can be buttoned or unbuttoned.
I knit this pullover out of Madelinetosh MCN worsted in the Vintage Sari colorway, and I score triple stash-busting points for using this yarn, which I had been hoarding in my stash since 2011. The pattern and yarn were a perfect pairing, and it was a delight to knit because that stitch pattern motif kept me going when I would have normally turned into a stockinette zombie.
Partying It UP
Another knit that has been inspiring me onward is this self-striping sock with my pattern Partying It Up and Getting Down . I wrote the pattern with both top-down and toe-up instructions included, but I prefer toe-up, so I am making 2 toe-up socks.
The sock pattern and it's UP arrow aren't what is making me love these socks though, it's the fantastic striping geniuses at HD Yarns and their Circles colorway. They take stripes to whole new level with long, playful striping sequences! This colorway starts with alternating purple and blue, and then transitions to blue and dark green, then dark green and light green, and so on. I couldn't stop myself from knitting more and more and more because I wanted to get to that next stripe.
I substituted in my OMG heel rather than the afterthought heel in the pattern, and I love the results I got without breaking the yarn. The red-yellow striping sequence is shortened on the top of the foot, but the nature of these non-repeating stripes means I would have had to use a heel-toe coordinate to stop that from happening.
So whether it be your knitting or the date that inspires you, I hope you take a moment to be happy and enthusiastic about something today and MARCH FORTH on March 4th!