March has come and gone and with it I bring you another monthly favourites post. This month has been very busy on all fronts, with a bit of sunshine among all the cloudy and rainy days, which is always welcomed. I am finishing my new design at the moment and already thinking of the next one of course.

As predicted, lately I am knitting more than crocheting. There are not many crochet patterns that attract my attention lately, and when they do it is usually for shawls and accessories but and my garment mood has still not left me. So I am taking it as it comes, making sure that it doesn’t go too long without crocheting something. I think my next project will be the Riveret top from the latest Pom Pom magazine (you can check out this post where I mentioned it), I have a short holiday coming up and it seems like the perfect project for sunnier days.

So, as usual I will begin with a few stats for the month:

FOs: My only FO for this month was my Missed Kingfisher shawl by Joanne Scrace. I love love love how this shawl turned out and have been wearing it a lot with my Ramona Cardigan. I used some Shilasdair Luxury 4ply yarn that I purchased while on the Isle of Skye last year and also from Mei at Be Inspired Fibres. I love the subtle tones of their natural dyes, it matches my style very well and the yarn is also very soft.

WIPs: My main WIP this month has been the Rosemont Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. I am so anxious to see how it will turn out, I have high expectations for this cardigan and I am a bit scared I will end up disappointed (I have always been a “glass half empty” kind of gal). I am using a 100% BFL yarn by West Yorkshire Spinners and it is so fluffy and soft it is like knitting with butter. Fingers crossed it will turn out alright!

I am also very proud to say that I picked up one of my dormant projects and it is almost finished, my Red Robin shawl by Helen Stewart. This was one of my first knitted shawls and had been abandoned after I made a mistake and needed to do a bit of unknitting. I don’t have any pictures yet but will share these soon.

Yarn purchased: The only yarn I bought this month was the one I bought at EYF, you can see my complete haul here.

So, the favourites for the month of March are:

Favourite Patterns

I don’t have a favourite pattern that I have worked on this month, my Rosemont cardigan has been OK but nothing special really. In terms of patterns I have been browsing this month I have been dreaming with casting on every single pattern by Carrie Bostick Hoge, particularly her Sibella Pullover (for which I already have the yarn, thank you EYF!). There has not been much crochet that has appealed to me this month except for the Yoga Top by Elena Fedotova,  I think this is definitely going to my queue.

Favourite WIP

Simply because I am proud to be finishing it at last, my Red Robin shawl wins for favourite WIP this month. It is a simple and small pattern (compared to my cardi which is huge at the moment) and therefore it has been my social/train project this month.

Favourite yarn

Even though I love the WYS yarn I am using for the Rosemont cardigan, I had forgotten how much I loved the Hedgehog Fibres yarn I was using for my Red Robin shawl. This is my first big project using variegated yarn and it was so nice to see how the colour changed through the stitches, never knowing what was coming next. The different tones of pink, fucsia and copper are just stunning. The base is their Sock yarn in the Pheasant colour way.

Favourite New Technique

I have a new section this month since I learned a new knitting technique and have been loving it: German short rows. Since most patterns call for wrap and turn short rows I had learned this but thought it was a bit easy to forget a step or miss a wrap. I had purchased a Craftsy class for short rows so decided to take a look and discovered the German short rows, now I am never going back to wrap and turn! There are loads of tutorials on Youtube and a free class on Craftsy so if you are not familiar with this technique I recommend you check it out.

Favourite Accessory

My friend Sariann from Chopped Ginger made a beautiful project bag using some fabric I purchased when I went on a Highlands road trip last year. I love the size and have been using it for my Rosemont cardi all month. Sariann also sells beautiful yarn through her Wool Project, which focuses on sourcing from local farms, make sure to check it out. I love having such talented friends!

I also ordered the cutest stitch markers from Of Blithe Spirit, I just had to get them! They came in such a lovely package, there was even a green tea teabag in there 🙂

Other things I enjoyed this month:

Life Favourites

• Decaf Peach tea: This is my go-to tea for the evenings, the peach flavour makes me think of warmer days.
• Sunbites Crackers: Have your tried these crackers? I keep buying them to take as a snack to work, they are soooo tasty.

That is if for last month’s favourites, let me know what you enjoyed during March in the comments section!

xx

Sol