My Spring Project Moodboard
Spring is here, my friends. And with it comes a shift in inspiration and the projects I’m focused on. You may be surprised to read that I often become inspired by more projects in a season than time allows for. Hubris? Me? Shocking, I know. But over the years, my interests in sustainability and personal style, along with my desires for direction and dopamine, have led me to begin organizing my ideas into a quarterly moodboard that allows me to visualize my planned projects and chosen colors and play with how they’ll all mesh together. My brain can become very loud with ideas, and this helps quiet things down and narrows my focus. My original Spring Moodboard had 21 patterns on it! But by thinking about what the weather may be, what I’ll be wearing with my knits, and what colors and yarns I’m excited to use, I can think in a more concrete way about what I’ll actually wear consistently and with multiple different things in my wardrobe. This, to me, is vital for a successful and sustainable knitting project. And, in a perfect world, I could totally make all of this by the end of spring! This organization of my ideas helps with that lofty goal - an artistic task analysis, if you will.
I’ll be starting this little collection of projects the week of March 20th and reviewing what I’ve finished the week of June 20th. Check back in to see what all I finish!
Here’s what I’m currently inspired by this season:
Click on the image to go to the Ravlery bundle!
Here are the patterns and my plans/progress. Patterns are listed from left to right:
Cloudbow by Reed Keyes - This one is already cast on! I’m using Icarus in “Old Growth” for the body and some Spincycle Dyed In The Wool Ish-Tints for some stripes. My goal is to finish this before my birthday, which is on April 25th, and given how quickly it’s knitting up I think that’s pretty manageable. I’m really excited to start wearing it!
First Date Slip Dress by ShanaKay Salmon - I’ll be using some Truboo I’ve had in my stash for ages for this one. I’m imagining that this dress will be very versatile, and I’m especially excited to wear it out to date night and to layer it under the Jupiter Crop and the Midland Cardigan, mentioned later on this list, and my new Retrowave Raglan, which I mention below.
Islet Triangle by Leila Raven - I’ve actually already made one of these! I rarely make something more than once, but this is maybe my favorite shawl. It’s just gorgeous. It’s a quick knit, and a lot of fun. I’ll be casting this one on sometime in April using a skein of Nephele in “Familiar” and a skein of Spincycle’s Dyed In The Wool in Andromeda. I can’t wait to see how this new version turns out.
Midland Cardigan by Laura Penrose - I will absolutely be layering this over everything else on this list. I think I’ll be making it using a new base of mine in “Old Growth” because this shade of green is my truest neutral at this point.
Trille Top by Pernille Larsen - I’m already working on this one! This will be a sample of one of my newest colorways, “Offering Of Stones”. I’m making it using two strands of Daedalus, and I’m so excited to block it and wear it!
Blank Slate Tee by Winter’s Weather Knits - I’ll be making this with yarns from my stash - Spincycle’s Wilder and Dyed In The Wool in “Andromeda”.
Hardly Harness by Lydia Morrow - I want to make a million of these because I can’t pick just one idea, but I’m currently obsessed with the thought of making it red with white spots so that it looks like an amanita mushroom. I’ll be making it using my new DK base and a new shade of red I’m working with (both coming soon!) and another of my newest colorways for the white spots - “Offering Of Linen”.
Cervo Button Down by Alexandra Tavel - I’ve been working on my crochet skills, so this will be a bit of a hubris adventure for me. But I’m excited for it! I will eventually wear it during /a/ spring even if I can’t finish it this spring. I’ll be using a new-and-coming-soon colorway for this one as well.
Curtsy Collar by Park Williams - This will be another April cast on. I actually wound up the yarn for it a while ago, made the i-cord, and then realized I needed to buy a new needle or finish a project to make the main collar. I decided to be responsible and finish the project my needles were in before starting this one, so here we are! I think this may end up being a project I make multiple times as well. This one will be made using Icarus in “Aconitum” for the collar with Argonaut DK in “Beneath the Lilacs” for the i-cord.
Barbroe Top by Pernille Larsen - I’ll be casting this one on soon - as soon as I finish my Trille Top. I didn’t intend to have two patterns from the same designer on this list, but Pernille Larsen’s patterns are very approachable and make for great sample patterns, which is what both of these will be! I have a lot of fiber expos coming up this year, and I wanted to make two tops I’d wear myself and not just display and then pack away until the next marketplace. Given that I’m making both with luxury yarns, it was also important that I find two tops that only take one or two skeins for most sizes, so that they’re actually affordable for people other than the dyer to make! I’m really excited to make and wear this one especially - my favorite color, my favorite yarn, and I can’t wait to wear it with the Copenhagen Pants! My Barbroe Top will be made using Golden Fleece in the colorway “Old Growth”.
Jupiter Crop by Caitlin Hunter - I’ll be making this with scraps from my stash - namely, the leftover Wilder from my Blank Space Tee and some Dyed in the Wool scraps left over from other projects. I’ll be teaching a colorwork class using this top at Starlight Knitting Society this spring or summer, where I’ll be making it alongside my students. I can’t wait to pair it with my Copenhagen Pants!
Copenhagen Pants by Milena Juhola - I am obsessed with ruffle hem pants right now. Ruffles in general. I plan on wearing these with everything, so I’ll be making them black for maximum mix-and-match within my wardrobe.
I know that list seems like a lot; That’s because it is! The first thing that I do when putting together project lists like this is give myself permission not to finish them. Life is going to happen, and nothing sucks the fun out of handcrafts like feeling obligated to do them. But when life isn’t getting in the way, putting together a list is the first step towards actually finishing all of this. It helps me organize things in order of time needed and urgency to finish, and then use the snowball effect to keep my momentum going as I knock things off of the list.
Knit pants and dresses were central to my moodboard this spring. I love the possibilities they create. I tried to really center the beauty and uniqueness of knit fabrics and put a lot of thought into color palette with my choices so that my finished objects can be worn over and over again in any season. I’m really excited about the opportunity to mix the Copenhagen Pants, the Midland Cardigan, and the First Date Slip Dress with other knits on the list and already in my wardrobe. I’m also really excited to try adding some crochet pieces to my closet this year!
While working on the article, I was also test knitting a pattern that has since been released - the Retrowave Raglan by Jenna Mulder. This sweater majorly inspired the palette and some of the layering options of the moodboard this season, so I’m including it in the Ravelry bundle as well. I can’t wait to see if it mixes well with the items on this list! But I’ll certainly be wearing it while I work on them.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking over my little list. I know that it’s silly that such a small tool can curb so much anxiety and provide so much direction and focus, but I love the ways in which focusing my passions have both made me stronger and reduced my scarcity mindset towards completion. I will complete projects in their own time, and find joy in appreciating the accomplishments that I have in front of me right now.
I’d love to see or hear about your spring makes! You are all warmly invited to join me in making any of these projects or in making your own spring checklist. I’ll be making monthly updates on this project, and I’d be overjoyed to see updates from you all as well!
Please note: None of these links are affiliate links, but I will earn money if you click on any of the links to my yarn and then purchase said yarn. And while it makes me happy when you do that, that is not the purpose of this article.