The Weekender

Back in January I was lucky enough to attend the extravaganza that is Vogue Knitting Live in New York. When the tickets first went on sale I absolutely leapt at the chance to take a class with Andrea Mowry, especially as the topic was something I had been dying to get more experience with.  In "Beyond Brioche Basics" Andrea walked us through a quick refresher on two-colour Brioche Stitch, and then we dove in to the really nifty part: shaping. Andrea was an excellent teacher and she broke down each method with demonstrations, diagrams and hands-on assistance too. We all left confident in our new skills and eager to cast on new projects to try out these fabulous stitches. I quickly decided on my own version of Andrea's Ramble Shawl, which I'm thoroughly enjoying knitting right now. But I also took something else away from that class: a gnawing obsession with the sweater Andrea had been wearing! I couldn't get the clean lines and relaxed style out of my head. I was captivated by the subtle texture of the fabric and the clever details in the finishing. The Weekender is such a quintessential go-to sweater that I couldn't believe in all my years as a knitter that I didn't have something similar in my wardrobe.  In fact, to make up for it, I now want 10 of them... With my needles and limited knitting time committed to Ramble, I checked in with our superhero sample knitter Joy. She swooped in with needles at the ready and, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, Joy had this beauty completed: The original design calls for plenty of positive ease - 10 inches in fact.  Joy preferred a closer fitting garment and opted to make the XS size in the body and used the numbers for size S in the sleeves. Although the design is minimal, careful attention to detail has been paid to the finishing elements. Tutorials links are included for clever techniques like Long Tail Tubular Cast On and Kitchener Cast Off, so there are plenty of learning opportunities in this project too. The result is this stunning, laid back, wearable sweater created with less than 500g of Donegal Wool Spinning Company yarn. This 100% wool tweed is just the right side of rustic, retaining the charm of traditional tweed while still being soft enough to wear next to the skin. This pebble grey shade (3750) is almost luminous in nature, shifting in tone as the light catches the stitches... It's safe to say I'm in love... and once Woollinn is done and dusted I see several Weekenders in my future! Would you like to make your own version? (Or three?) Simply download the pattern from Ravelry and then shop the full shade range in Donegal Wool Spinning Company Yarn right here:

Approximate number of skeins required for each size: XS - 5 skeins S - 6 skeins M - 6 skeins L - 7 skeins XL - 7 skeins XXL - 8 skeins XXXL - 8 skeins

Oh and by the way, if you're reading this on a mobile device then you can view some of the highlights of our New York tripped pinned to our Instagram Profile. Stay warm everyone! Lisa