SPRING TOPS, TANKS & TEES KNIT ALONG - MY PROJECT & YARN

yarn:  cascade 220 heathers in colowary "aliki beach/sand"

it's time to cast on my dear friends for the spring tops, tanks & tees knit along!!!! weeee! you guys have been so patient but ever so excited! i can feel the eagerness just oozing off the ravelry thread pages! so many fun conversations already! and the patterns!!!! can i just say wow!  my faves and queue has grown so long already and it's only just begun!  the chat thread has been on fire!  i'm so excited for this knit along!  i love spring and you all know how much i LOVE to encourage you all to keep on knitting even in the warmer months. i mean honestly, who said we can't knit all year round? why stop?  keep those needles movin' gals! try out a new fiber, do some selfish knitting for yourself or make a pressie for that wee one in your life.  we're not picky, as long as it's a garment and doesn't have full length sleeves we're happy you're knitting & joining in for the fun!

pattern: levenwick by gudrun johnston for brooklyn tweed wool people vol. 1

speaking of garments, i had a heckuva time picking out my project.  too many good patterns out there.  i couldn't decide if i wanted a tank, a tee or a cardi/sweater.  in the end my cascade 220 heathers in "aliki beach/sand" won out.  i needed to go with a worsted weight because let's face it - i have a crush on heavier weights and just don't plain have the time to knit a cardi in fingering at the moment (i'm still trying to finish my audrey from 2 years ago!!! hangs head in shame). i've been humming and hawing over levenwick since the day it was released and finally decided it was time to just make the darn thing.  so i'm going warmer weight with a worsted yarn that i plan on wearing this summer with all the new pretty floral dresses & tunics i've been sewing up. i wanted a great staple i could wear all year, that was feminine yet rustic and that could be worn fitted with a cute summer dress.  it gets chilly down by the ocean here and i always need that go to cardigan for summer evenings.

i've got the collar for my levenwick on the go and my gauge swatch was perfect for the pattern! yippee! that never happens to me!!!  can i just say i love the technical parts of levenwick?  so many fun things to do for this cardi!  the collar is just plain fun, the reverse stockinette is a real hoot in my books (i'm digging the look and feel of it), i already learned the invisible purl increase, and after get to do many a more fun things to keep this gal interested.  thank you gudrun johnston - you. are. awesome. 

as for my yarn choice - it's not your average summer yarn. it's not linen (though i do recommend making summer clothes in linen, it really softens up with wear and washing) and it's not cotton but cascade 220 heathers is a favorite of mine and with my house on a budget being able to make a cardi for about $45 is a huge coup in my books!  can't beat the price!  i also love how this yarn feels after blocking.  it's definitely a great workhorse for this type of cardigan.  it mimics the rustic quality of brooklyn tweed yarns with it's strength yet ability to still drape nicely.

soooooo....c'mon...spill the beans! what's your project? what yarn did you choose and why?  and are you as excited as i am or what? check out our sponsors below and on the sidebar! can we say yahoo!!! prizes galore ladies!  awesome ones!!!! so go show them some kal love!  also for those of you who are dears and sport our kal buttons grab one for the TTT KAL below :) now...let's chat!

>> GRAB A BUTTON! <<

<a href="http://www.luvinthemommyhood.com/2006/04/spring-tops-tanks-tees-knit-along-2013.html" target="_blank"><img alt="luvinthemommyhood" src="http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p330/shannonandjeremy/ttt-kal-button_zpsc1a9e8d2.jpg"/></a>

>> JOIN IN & SIGN UP <<
- sign up for the knit along by clicking "here".
- get inspired by checking out our kal pinterest board & our pattern roundup post
- take part in all the fun conversation & make new friends in our ravelry group
- find out more and find all the posts and info "here" on our kal homepage.

>> OUR LOVELY SPONSORS <<

warm up to winter knit along - starring you!

pattern: constellation gloves

yarn: berroco vintage chunky in colorway 6165

my mitts are on the go.  is this the 2nd one? nope, i'm still on the first but don't worry, it's a quick knit and i hope to be done next week by the deadline...hope..lol. (*edited to add: i finished the first one last night but haven't been able to get pics due to me taking care of two vomiting wee ones. can we say yuck?)  i got sidetracked by the demise of my almost done back of the rocky coast cardigan.  i was about an inch and a half away from ribbing and i had to rip back to about 2 inches under the armpit.  it hurt like a son of a b and i almost bawled my eyes out in starbucks.  so i hope you guys will forgive me for only having half of a mitt done so far.  the pain was just too much to bear...haha.

hineri hat by definitely

we've had some wonderful, amazing and super talented ladies join in this kal.  it's been absolutely fantastic to watch the conversations going on in the ravelry group and the amount of projects you guys have been whipping out! some of you are on your 8 or 9th object! wowsa!  rebecca and i thought that maybe a few of you would make 2 hats and a pair of mitts but we definitely did not expect some of you to do 8 hats!!!! way to go!!!!!!!! 

snail spiral by wilckepedia

and for those of you who are almost done your first way to go as well!  a lot of you were learning new techniques and have never knit in the round before so kudos for you for jumping in! so proud of you!  mitts were also a new thing chatted about this kal. it seems that a ton of us have been neglecting our fingers and hands and this was the perfect excuse to knit up some yummies for them too!  it's been so inspiring to see the different yarns and projects we have all chosen and the sheer talent that you all possess.  wanna see some more goodies?  122 ladies joined in this round and it's been a blast so without further ado here's a post starring you!!! (darn rhymes...i just can't resist em'..lol)

all projects by ummashin

1. laminar 2. cozy blue hat 3. bailey 4. bellas mittens

Ooh la la hearts hat & mitts

1.felicity 2. pasha 3. crocheted mitts 4. simple pleasures

1. my bones hat 2. shroom 3. woven 4. fair isle 5. capucine 6. lotus hat 7. truffle 8. capucine

img src: nice and knit

1. peerie flooers 2. kaylee 3. mitered mittens 4. edge of lace 5. freedom 6. ringwood gloves 7. intuitive

8. wurm 9. camp out fingerless mitts 10. squishy fingerless gloves 11. beret me 12. foxgloves 13. jane

bravo ladies! bravo!  don't be fooled though, this post doesn't even cover close to all of the items made for the kal.  it's awesome!!!! so happy to see so many of you knitting!  stay tuned for next week when we announce the prizes and giveaway for the "warm up to winter knit along".  oh and guess what...it's never too late to join in...you've got one more week...sign up info below!  you can do it!

warm up to winter knit along sign up

start date: january 11, 2012 (but you can join in anytime before the deadline)
finish date: february 8th, 2012
* please note you must sign up to be entered into any giveaways.

all posts can be found here and the thread for the knit along can be found in the luvinthemommyhood ravelry group here!

when you are done your hats and/or mitts please post your finished pics in either our ravelry group thread or our flickr group so we can drool over your fab work! also make sure to pop on over to "nook" later today to see what my partner in crime rebecca has been up to for her kal projects :)

what do you think?  aren't you guys fabulous?  do you still have projects left you want to make before the deadline?  fill me in on how your week has been so far.  i could definitely use the distraction to take my mind off my sick wee ones for a few minutes :)