Fall came in like a lion. A big jerk lion. In Montreal, there wasn’t a smooth transition and an Indian summer. It’s just COLD. I was shivering in my apartment this morning and looked at the thermostat – 16 degrees! (that is 59 Fahrenheit, Yankees) It’s only mid September and I had to turn on the heat, which I deeply, deeply resent.

But there is a silver lining in the dropping temperatures, besides the fact that I get to wear all my beloved layers, wool hats and ankle boots; I’ve rediscovered knitting. Every year I’ll make at least one scarf, but inspired by my conversation With Veronik Avery last week, I headed to a great local knitting and quilting store called Ellifoche armed with 3 possible patterns. I had spent the weekend trolling Ravelry for simple, easy to knit sweaters so I wouldn’t be discouraged labouring over something outside my skill range like last time. It had to be designed for worsted weight wool, use a reasonable needle size, and not have a lot of complicated details or patterns.

As you know Ravelry is huge and overwhelming. There are tens of thousands of patterns there, but I winnowed it down to some cool, modern options that would be relatively easy to accomplish if you have some basic knitting skills.

After much deliberation, and with some super helpful advice from Sarah at Effiloche, I settled on the Brooklyn Tweed Bedford. It’s got a cozy crewneck sweatshirt vibe and will knit up fairly quickly. I bought a reasonably priced charcoal wool since I didn’t want to spend a fortune on my first go, but if all goes well I will be dropping some bank on Madeline Tosh Vintage or Brooklyn Tweed Shelter for another project. So far I’ve knit up 3 swatches to find the right gauge, which I eventually got using 4.5mm bamboo needles. It’s really the perfect project for me right now since I don’t have a lot of time to sew for myself while I’m working on the new pattern. I can always carve out time for a movie or reruns of Buffy at the end of the night which = knitting time. I still feel like I’m making time to create something for myself even when I’m working long hours.

In the meantime, I have a knitting pattern to giveaway! I bought 3 on Saturday but I don’t think I’ll be making the Plowline (the colourblocked number above). It only comes in one size fits all, but it uses a garter stitch so would be ideal for someone new to knitting. If you’re interested, please like Closet Core Patterns on Facebook and leave a comment below. I’ll choose a winner randomly at the beginning of the week.

Happy knitting!