Selfish Knitting Season: Sloane's Top 5

So, confession time: between design samples, yarn development, and teaching, I have not actually knit anything on a purely-for-myself basis since I made my first-ever Rhinebeck sweater in—wait for it—2015! (I suppose I knit each of my kids a sweater that winter, but does that count as selfish knitting?) But, I'm determined to change that this year, and to spend some time knitting things just for myself and the people I love, and learning new things by knitting from other people's patterns. Here's a quick peek at what's on my list:

1. Silverlake, by Amy Miller

This pattern just came out last week, and I'm totally smitten. I'm typically more of a cable gal (in news that surprises no one), but I'm really into this bold, graphic take on an allover colorwork sweater that looks so very modern and wearable. It's written for a DK gauge, but one that I've frequently gotten in Weld, so I'm going to swatch carefully and probably size up a smidge if I end up a little bit in-between on gauge. I'm also flipping the MC and CC on this one, and making it in Evergreen with Aspen accents. It's next on my list after I finish my cardigan for our Spring 2020 collection, and I'm super excited about it.

2. Tensile, by Emily Greene

To my unending dismay, Emily lives 3,000 miles away in Brooklyn, but her entry from Wool People 12 is pretty much the perfect three-season Northern California sweater. It took me a long time to embrace the idea of wearing this kind of drop-shouldered, serious-positive-ease silhouette, but more and more of them keep mysteriously appearing in my closet, so I'm thinking it's time to knit one for myself. The meditative lace pattern looks super soothing to work, and Weld's super-balanced three-ply structure will make for really beautiful, round eyelets. I'm torn on colors on this one, but I'm pretty sure I'd aim for Lake.

3. Freja, by Jared Flood

Jared's bulky, open front cardigan is the kind of thing I would wear the you-know-what out of (and indeed, if a little bird could make it for me before I have to go back to Wyoming next week, that would be great). We have chilly mornings and evenings here all year round, and an easy, drapey cardigan that I can throw on over anything is just what I need. I'd work this one up in Forge held double in our Charcoal for maximum versatility.

4. Wool and Honey, by Andrea Mowry

I've had this one in my queue for a while, and, again, its a silhouette I find myself wearing more and more of (indeed, I measured one of my favorite RTW sweaters, and it matches the schematic for my size pretty closely), and is part of my ongoing love affair with fingering weight sweaters. No surprises here, but I'd make this one in Weld in Red Feather for the perfect wear-it-with-jeans sweater. 

5. Citrine, by Emily Greene

This is another one of Emily's that's been on my list for a while, and it has so much of what I love about her designs—the straight-from-RTW silhouette, the detailing, the sneaky shoulder construction (did you know it's a drop shoulder, and not a raglan?), her trademark thoughtfulness... I'm torn on colors here, but I'm thinking I'd make it in Forge in Jam, and I'd style it exactly like Emily has here, with a long necklace and a pair of dark—or maybe even black—jeans.

I've got a lot of travel in my near future, so I'm hoping I can knock out my work on my Spring 2020 sweater and get started on some of these! What are you knitting for yourself this month? Let us know in the comments!