Knits & Peaks

Category: Sweaters

  • Waterfalls, Wool, and a Trip to Oregon’s Oldest Yarn Shop

    On a recent trip to Oregon, we spent a few days in Portland and took a day trip out to Silver Falls State Park. It’s where we hiked the popular Trail of Ten Falls. It’s a beautiful 7 mile loop that features mossy forests, cliffs, and a total of ten waterfalls. The highlight is the massive South Falls trail which actually passes behind the curtain of water! The whole area can feel cinematic, and has actually been a spot for multiple films. You might recognize it from the original Twilight movie.

    On the way back into Portland, we took a slight detour through Multnomah Village. It was a quiet, walkable neighborhood that feels like its own little town. That’s where we found Northwest Wools, which is the oldest yarn store in Oregon. I did a few laps around the shop and finally settled on a boucle yarn, a texture that I’d never knit with before. It came from a local yarn brand in Oregon, Shaggy Bear Farms. I also couldn’t resist picking up a Northwest Wools T-shirt too with their sheep logo, I’ve worn it way more than I thought I would!

    I also picked up a second yarn to hold with it, from Blue Sky Fibers. In total I grabbed 5 skeins of their Woolstok light fingering weight, 100% fine highland wool yarn in color 2302 Gravel Road. The combination was perfect, fluffy and soft with just enough weight to knit on US 7 needles.

    I found a couple boucle patterns after searching Ravelry and Reddit, settling on Sweater No.24 from My Favorite Things Knitwear. This was the perfect pattern to make a comfy, oversized sweater. My only modification was doing 2×2 rib along the edges, instead of 1×1, which I felt made the boucle texture really stand out.

    The finished sweater feels like the perfect Oregon souvenir that I’ll definitely wear for a long time.

  • Revisiting the Cloud Sweater

    After knitting the Cloud Sweater in Hobbii yarn for my trip to White Sands National Park, I couldn’t resist making it again, this time with Juniper Moon’s Moonshine yarn. I really loved the pattern construction from PetiteKnit the first time around, especially the shaping of the shoulders and neckline. This design has been really popular online. I think it’s due to the simple edges (no more 2-3 inches of ribbing), and it has a flattering fit! I figured why not try it with a different yarn?

    In Albuquerque we’re lucky to have access to some great local yarn shops, and one of my favorites is the Yarn Store in Nob Hill. It’s a cozy, welcoming spot, and during a visit, I found Juniper Moon’s Moonshine yarn. This yarn is incredibly soft, with a blend of 40% merino wool, 40% alpaca, and 20% silk. The most difficult part was choosing which color to use, after debating for a long time I went with the color Honeydew, a bright glossy light green.

    As I knit through the sweater again, I could tell the Moonshine was a perfect match for the pattern. The yarn worked up beautifully, creating that a squishy, comfy texture, but with a little more sheen thanks to the alpaca and silk. I love how neat the edges turned out with this yarn. The final product is a soft, light sweater that’s perfect for layering.

    All in all, knitting the Cloud Sweater again was just as satisfying as the first time. It’s a pattern I’ll definitely return to, and the Juniper Moon Moonshine yarn made this second version feel even more special.

  • Fernlys Sweater

    I finished the Fernlys Sweater by Liv Ulven this past spring and wanted to share a project recap. I used yarn I found at Rhinebeck from Shenandoah Fiber Company and the pairing ended up working really well.

    The pattern is a top-down circular yoke, with shaping around the neckline. It has an Estonian braided detail across the chest, shoulders, and cuffs, which adds some subtle texture to the sweater. In addition, to some simple color work with usually 3-4 repeats, making the color work come together easily. It’s mostly simple stockinette once you get past the yoke, which made for a low-effort knit.

    This was my first time knitting with Shenandoah Fiber Company’s yarn. I bought it at their booth at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. I had been walking through their booth and noticed these skeins for how soft they were, it really stood out from all the rest. They explained that this wool came from their Alpaca’s Marzipan and Ziva. I loved the little cards telling us more about the alpacas! I grabbed one skein of the green and four of the light blue. In retrospect, these colors looked beautiful next to each other as skeins, but overlapped quite a bit. If you knit this pattern, I suggest getting two colors with more contrast to make the color work stand out.

    The yarn held up well while knitting, and it blocked out nicely. It’s soft but still has enough structure to show the yoke pattern clearly. I didn’t make any major modifications to the pattern, just followed the size I normally knit and aimed for gauge.

    If you’re looking for a simple sweater that has a bit of detail, Fernlys is a good option. It’s great for knitters getting into color work or learning new techniques. And if you come across Shenandoah Fiber Company at a festival, their yarn is definitely worth checking out!

  • Sipping Lavender Lattes at Los Poblanos Farm

    If you’re in Albuquerque, definitely check out Los Poblanos Farm and Restaurant, located in the quiet Los Ranchos area. This part of town has such a laid-back, rural feel, even though it’s just a short distance from the city. It’s right along the Rio Grande, and the nearby Farmers Market is a great spot to pick up fresh, local goods. The farm itself is a beautiful, especially when the lavender fields are in full bloom.

    I couldn’t resist trying the lavender latte at their café, it’s as good as it sounds. It has a background floral flavor that pairs perfectly with the relaxed vibe of the farm. It’s definitely a unique twist on your usual latte.

    After my coffee, we stopped by the farm store, which is full of lavender-infused goods like lotions, soaps, and even sachets. There’s also a great selection of local foods and handmade items. It’s a nice mix of the farm’s own products and other local finds. On the farm there are plenty of animals to visit, some sheep and alpacas grazing too.

    I wore my Field Sweater while I was there, knit with Green Mountain Spinnery’s Sylvan Spirit in Citrine. It’s a blend of wool and tencell, a type of wood pulp, making the yarn more lightweight. The pattern is popular for this yarn on Ravelry, as the yarn knits up the grain stitches so well. The pattern is also well written, with neckline shaping merging seamlessly with the grains. This color felt like a great match for the lavender fields and sunflowers, the perfect piece to explore Los Poblanos.

  • Sands, Sun, and Sweaters

    We took this trip in January, both of us on vacation and wanting to see parts of New Mexico we hadn’t explored yet. It felt like the perfect time to get out of town. We started our trip in Albuquerque and drove south through Alamogordo on a sunny winter morning. The scenery changed from high desert to rolling hills as we got closer to White Sands. On the way, we stopped at the famous pistachio farm, yes, the one with the world’s largest pistachio out front. We grabbed some snacks and stretched our legs before heading into the dunes.

    White Sands National Park was incredible. The dunes were bright white and stretched out forever. We hiked part of the Alkali Flat Trail, which took us up and down soft hills of sand. If you hike this trail, most start out on the intended path, and then slowly wander off exploring the dunes. The sun was blinding, the sky was clear, and the contrast between the white sand and blue sky was unreal. It felt like we were walking through a dream, except we were sweating and getting sand in our shoes. Totally worth it.

    I wore my cloud sweater on this trip, and it was perfect for the cooler winter temps. I knit it using the Cloud Sweater pattern by Petite Knit. It’s a top-down construction, first knitting the back flat, then shaping the shoulders and joining in the front. Highlights of this pattern are the shaping with short rows along the back, shoulder, and underarms, combined with a loose and comfortable body. For those who can’t stand knitting 4-5 inches of 1×1 ribbing on the neckline and cuffs, this is the sweater for you! Petiteknit designed a simple edge that rolls inward, making the collar and cuffs super comfy. I used yarn I ordered online from Hobbii, holding Highland Wool in color Dark Moss with Diablo in color Thyme (a soft mohair). It was easy to make and cozy to wear, especially in the cool desert breeze.

    After our time in White Sands, we continued on to Las Cruces and explored Old Mesilla, a small historic district just outside the city. The plaza was quiet and full of charm, lined with adobe buildings and local shops.

    The next morning, we went for a hike on the Dripping Springs Trail in the Organ Mountains. It’s a fairly easy trail with great views and just enough incline. The trail leads to some old stone buildings that used to be part of a tuberculosis sanatorium and resort. We spent some time exploring the ruins, peeking into doorways and reading a few of the signs about what the place used to be. It was quiet and a little eerie, but also really cool to see something with so much history hidden in the mountain.

    On the way back, we made a quick stop in Hatch, New Mexico, known as the “Chile Capital of the World.” It felt like a must-see given the town’s reputation, so we took a stroll through the local shops and grabbed a dried chile ristra for our door. It’s a small town, but it’s one of those places you can’t miss when exploring southern New Mexico.

    The whole trip was a mix of fun stops, amazing landscapes, and the perfect excuse to wear a handmade sweater in the desert.

  • Visiting Green Mountain Spinnery

    While visiting back home in Connecticut, my mom and I make a trip up to the Green Mountain Spinnery in Vermont. It was such a fun experience! The spinnery is tucked away in the Vermont countryside, it feels cozy and full of character. The whole space had that wonderful woolly smell, with shelves stacked high with their products.

    We got to look around the spinnery and hear about their process of turning raw wool into the soft, colorful yarns they’re known for. It was fascinating to see the machines in action and hear about how they work with local farms to source their wool. They have a commitment to sustainability, which made the visit even more special. Of course, we couldn’t leave without picking up a few skeins of yarn. We spent some time chatting with the staff, who were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, and it was clear how much care and passion goes into every skein they produce. Below our pup Archie makes an appearance!

    The first project I worked on using yarn from Green Mountain Spinnery was the Alpine Sweater, which I made for my dad. He specifically requested his favorite green and blue colors, so I chose a combination of their Mountain Mohair and Weekend Wool that would give the sweater a bit of depth and texture. The yarn’s softness and warmth were perfect for the cozy sweater, and I love how the green and blue blend together in the colorwork. I used colors Blueberry, Peacock, Edelweiss in Mountain Mohair and color Spruce in the Weekend Wool for the body and arms. I had been so excited to knit the Alpine Sweater pattern by ViolentCatLady, especially since I’d been following her on TikTok for a while. Watching her create and sell this pattern made me even more eager to try it out myself. The sweater turned out perfectly, and the combination of Green Mountain Spinnery’s Mountain Mohair and wool gave it just the right balance.

    One of my current projects using Green Mountain Spinnery yarn is the Inge Sweater by Le Knit, which I’m also knitting with their Mountain Mohair. The colors I’ve chosen are Edelweiss, Grey Birch, and Blueberry. I’ve only completed the yoke so far, but I’m already in love with how it’s coming together. The sweater is a raglan design with shaping, and I’m especially excited about the stark diamond patterns throughout. There was some talk online of this pattern being oddly fitted in the yolk, with the lack of front neck shaping, so I’m hoping this sweater will block out nicely. Regardless, I’m looking forward to having this sweater in my wardrobe. I’m picturing myself wearing this while skiing this winter in Santa Fe!

    The visit to the spinnery was a great day with my mom, and if you’re ever in the area and love yarn, I highly recommend stopping by. It’s the perfect place to get inspired and learn more about the process behind the yarn we all love to knit with.

  • A Walk in My Riddari Sweater

    Spring in Albuquerque is one of my favorite times of year. The days start out cool but warm up quickly, and the skies are almost always clear and blue. Trees start to bud, flowers pop up, and everything feels more alive after winter. It’s the perfect season to be outside, walking through neighborhoods, visiting farmers markets, or spending time in Old Town. The weather makes it easy to wear my handknits too, like my new Riddari sweater, which was comfortable for a spring day out.

    The Riddari sweater is a classic knitting pattern. With thousands of projects and color combos to visualize on Ravelry, I see why it’s become a popular knit. The pattern is written as a bottom-up design. Personally, I’ve never liked working the body and sleeves first, saving the yoke (the best part) for last. So I decided to rewrite it to be knit top-down instead. This was the first time I rewrote a pattern backwards! I struggled at times to interpret the chart backwards, but SO worth it. The yoke is satisfying to knit with small repeats of colorwork, and neckline is simple with a smooth edge. It was fun to make this Lopapeysa style design while also learning to change the construction myself. The yarn selection was done by my boyfriend, he visited Mooncat fiber while in Taos. By his account he told them “she likes worsted” and came home with some amazing finds. For the main color A I used a Pink Adobe Dyeworks yarn in color Wheeler Peak. For Color B I used Malabrigo Rios in English Rose, Color C is a Ziawoolz blend, and Color D is Malabrigo Rios in Sunset.

    Partway through the body, I realized I was going to run out of my main color. The original yarn was from Mooncat Fiber, but the base color was actually dyed by Pink Adobe Dyeworks. They’re an independent yarn dyer based out of Nevada. I reached out to the dyer, and she couldn’t have been nicer. She offered to dye a new batch just for me and made sure it matched as close as possible. When the yarn arrived, not only was it beautiful and spot on, but she had also included the cutest little New Mexico-themed stitch marker. It was a thoughtful touch and made the whole experience feel really special.

    On one of these spring mornings, we decided to take a walk through Old Town Albuquerque, one of our favorite spots to visit. We stopped by the Tiny Grocer for a coffee and browsed a few shops, including a little bookstore and a pottery shop. I always enjoy the mix of old buildings and local spots.

    It was a great way to spend the day in Old Town while wearing my new Riddari sweater. Knitting this sweater was a journey, from the color choices to the slight hiccup with the yarn, but in the end, it turned out to be a piece I’m truly proud of. I can’t wait to wear it again as the seasons change. Thanks for following along with my little knitting adventure, I hope it inspires you to take a walk, pick up your needles, and create something beautiful of your own!