All Change Please

When your knitting needs a refresh

5x50g Fade set from Pixie Yarn

Inexplicably we are into May - how on earth did that happen? It seems like just a minute since the clocks changed but now it is still light at 8.30pm and summer seems to have leap frogged over spring in it’s rush to get here.

And even though Easter has only just happened we are suddenly straight into another three-day weekend for May Day.

All of a sudden the blanket I was knitting and the slightly mohairy Ranunculus sweater (Ravelry link - here) on my needles seem too heavy and winter-like to work on. Well, OK - I haven’t picked up the sweater in about a month but it is still in my living room WIP basket so it counts. All of my current projects seemed too wintery, too wrong. Clearly a refresh was needed.

My thoughts immediately switched as only a knitter can to lighter, more summery knitted projects and by pure coincidence my attention was piqued by the Extra Lite Bright sweater by Wool and Pine designs.

I’m never normally a fan of short-sleeved knitted sweaters but with the arrival of menopause and it’s subsequent effect on my internal thermostat I have been gamely re-evaluating this opinion 😂

Knit with sock weight yarn in the Fade style this is something I would normally stay clear of and I know from painful experience that I would spend ages trying to come up with Fade ideas from my stash, rejecting them all, wasting hours and getting precisely nowhere.

But on my recent visit to the East Anglia Yarn Festival it just so happened that I picked up a Fade set - in the unusual 5x50g sock weight yarn option. Most fade sets are either smaller mini skeins for a shawl or larger for a full on wrap or larger sweater.

Clearly fate is at play here! So I’ll give you three guesses what I’ll be casting on this weekend.

Knitting Worth The Fuss on a train

A funny story

I was lucky enough to have a train journey this week where the holy trinity of coffee, a sunny window seat with table and the perfect travel project all coincided. My Worth The Fuss Shawl is progressing nicely and was at just the right stage for a few productive hours of travel knitting.

All was going swimmingly until I overheard an older couple seated across the aisle from me discussing in not-so-quiet tones whether I was knitting or crocheting. The fact that I also wasn’t deaf and could hear them plainly didn’t occur 😂

Despite his utter lack of experience or expertise the man was adamant that it must be crochet because ‘everyone knows’ that knitting needs two needles and I was only using one. His wife, with a long suffering air was insisting that she was pretty sure it was knitting.

Normally I’ll do anything to avoid speaking to strangers on a train - I mean, I am British after all - but on this occasion and after about 5 minutes of loud stage whispers I gave in.

I leant across the aisle and confided to his wife that she was indeed correct. Knitting was being undertaken and I showed her my long circular needle.

He retreated to his phone to scroll angrily (probably trying to find some YouTube evidence to prove me wrong) whilst she completed the journey with a slightly smug smile.

Who knew that knitting could prove to be such a topic of marital disharmony 😂

What’s made me smile this week

🧡 Correcting mansplainers - obviously

🧡 Knit for Peace - if you are in the UK and thinking of having a yarn clear out don’t forget about this amazing charity. They take yarn donations (as well as donations of finished items - check their website for what they currently need) and distribute it to causes such as women’s groups, prisons and other places in need of yarny support.

🧡 Again, another one for UK people (sorry) but please do consider taking a moment to sign this petition in support of our beautiful hare population. These wonderful creatures are much in danger at present from unregulated hunting. Other animals have a ‘closed season’ to allow the population to breed and recover numbers but hares are not covered by this.

🧡 This post recently generated a lot of comments about making more sustainable crafting choices - if you haven’t had a look please do check out the comments where people are sharing their own experiences.

Simple ways to make your knitting more sustainable

🧡 I love a good yarn review. Even if it isn’t a yarn I have ready access to I am always fascinated to see how it knits up. I love this piece from

Sandi Rosner

of The Good Yarn substack, particularly how thoroughly she investigates the yarn and puts it through its paces.

Yarn Review: Knit Picks Ewe & Billy

Happy Weekend

I feel as though that’s enough from me - we all have places to go and things to knit. May I wish you a very happy weekend and hope that you find a little crafting time all to yourself.