As summer draws to an end, I thought I’d pop in to give you an update on the yearlong Next in Line blanket knitalong. The KAL blankets are steadily growing in size! Knitters have kept knitting through the summer, though there have been days when heat and humidity have made knitting with a blanket on your lap unthinkable. I’m sure I’m not the only one who looks forward to the more knitter-friendly, cooler temperatures of autumn.
A second giveaway was held this week, and a lucky Next in Line knitter won the skein of Neighborhood Fiber Co. yarn and the hand-sewn journal pictured here. I had a lot of fun sewing the reusable notebook cover, which fits over a Moleskin journal (I sent the winner two, one with graph pages and one with blank pages). This one-of-a-kind upcycling project used scraps of Lotta Jansdotter fabrics, linen cut from an old pair of shorts, and a circle of red cotton from a jar of homemade jam that I got at a local market earlier this summer.
The Next in Line KAL continues throughout 2023. If you’d like to join, cast on anytime and post your progress photos on Instagram with the hashtag #nextinlinekal (or, post in the Ravelry thread). If you’ve posted at least one photo, you’ll be included when the final giveaway happens later this year.
There’s also an ongoing sale! Save 25% on the Next in Line Blanket pattern through December 31, 2023 at Ravelry, Etsy, and Payhip. The discount is automatic - no coupon code needed.
I hope your summer has been a good one. With wildfires, intense heat (the hottest July on record!), torrential rains, and flooding, it has been a difficult summer. If you are struggling in the aftermath of any of these terrible events, my heart goes out to you. Here in western Massachusetts, we had some flooding earlier in the summer that wiped out crops at some farms, but lately the weather has been milder and more pleasant (though it’s raining again as I type this).
In addition to Next in Line, I’ve been knitting steadily this summer on a new pair of Mill River Socks. I’m using yarn from New Hampshire dyer OlannGra, which I picked up last fall at a fiber popup at Green Mountain Spinnery, in Putney, Vermont. This is actually the third time I’ve knit the Mill River socks with Laura’s yarns—that’s how much I love them.
Summer wouldn’t be summer without the annual Tour de Fleece. This year I joined the Three Waters Farm team, with a spindle project (Soft and Sweet BFL/silk) and a wheel project (Hushed Stillness BFL/silk). The Hushed Stillness was the first full skein I’ve ever spun on a wheel (my new Electric Eel Wheel) and I’m pretty happy with how it came out. I’m planning to use it in a sweater, probably as contrast stripes paired with the brown Purl Soho Good Wool pictured here.
From June to August I was also knitting every day on the sample for a new design. Yesterday I mailed it off to the yarn company—watch for the pattern release in October! I can’t share photos or details yet, but expect a cozy textured accessory perfect for holiday knitting.
Now that I’ve finished the secret project, I’m itching to cast on that striped sweater and see how my handspun yarn knits up. I’m not totally ready for “sweater weather” just yet, though. I want to savor the summer’s warmth and enjoy for a little bit longer the cheerful sight of sunflowers that dot farm fields around here each August. There’s a big field of them down the road and they are a great excuse to go for a walk, just to see all the bright yellow flowers lifting their faces to the sun.
I hope your final days of summer bring you moments of joy. Thanks for reading, and—as always—happy knitting!
