LauraPNW puts the A in amazing with her stunning Beck by Dani Sunshine. She used Tosh DK in Kelp and Tosh Vintage in Prairie Fire; an unspeakably perfect color combination that has an all new special meaning now that both colors are discontinued. Originally planned for a pair of socks, Laura dove deep in her stash for these colors and knew they couldn’t be wasted inside a pair of shoes. Let’s add to the special meaning of this sweater with one precious detail: she knit this as an exact replica of her daughter’s Brook sweater. That’s right, Laura and her sweet girl Eleanor have matching sweaters:

Too much to handle, right? Well, once I chose Laura’s Beck as my Kitty Pick, I was so curious about this tiny blonde beauty. Is she spunky? Shy? Curious? Laura’s response is too perfect to paraphrase:

“Eleanor has been a large influence on my knitting life. Before she was born,
I knit the occasional baby sweater for a friend or maybe a hat for a family
member. After she came into my life, I started knitting so much more, and
getting way more adventurous with trying new techniques. The instant
gratification of knitting for littles is perhaps too motivating. She is a
fun, spunky, headstrong girl who has opinions on everything. I used to love
finding patterns that came in both our sizes so I could try them out on her
first and decide if I wanted one too.”

Aside from the color combination, the thing that stood out to me was the fit Laura achieved. As most sweater knitters know, gauge is the key to a great fit and, after a full frog, Laura has learned the importance of swatching.

“It knit up so fast at first that I thought for sure I would get the bonus star for my Giraffes. But after finishing the body, it was huge (note to self…gauge swatch). I
somehow mustered the strength to rip it all out, start over, and still finish in a month. Very glad I did.”

Featuring projects is so much fun but the best part is hearing the story behind each stitch. I’d like to give Laura a special thank you for this beautiful sweater but, more importantly, sharing with us! If you’d like to see more of Laura’s beautiful projects,  amazing photography, and, of course, see more Eleanor, check out her project page here.

Our Q3 Sweater KAL was a great challenge for many of you. Whether you were racing against the clock to finish your sweater within 2 week or if you were putting your skills to the test by knitting your very first sweater, so many of you CRUSHED this KAL! We love hearing that KALs encourage you to push yourself and try new things – that’s what it’s all about. That being said, you all made this quarter’s Kitty Picks extremely difficult. Here are our picks:

Angie 
Prize: Free shipping coupon

Pick: KeiB Butterfly
Why? Love the this sweater! It would be good to wear either as casual or dressed up and I really love the great fall colors!

Emily
Prize: Feature your project on ESK’s social media

Pick: LauraPNW’s Beck
Why? Laura not only used one of the most amazing Tosh colorways, now discontinued Kelp, but she made this as a replica of Brook that she knit for her daughter. I adore the pops of Prairie Fire and the amazing fit she achieved!

Erin
Prize: Skein of yarn

Pick: ginni’s Couronne
Why? I completely forgot that I loved this pattern and even own it until I saw ginni’s version. When I saw her color combination, I immediately pushed it to the top of my queue. Thanks for the inspiration!

Janine
Prize: 3 stars for your team

Pick: watchdawnwork’s Keera
Why? This beauty! It looks timeless and modern at the same time. The backside full of lace and texture was executed beautifully. I’m fully inspired to make one of my own 🙂

Jenny
Prize: Custom illustration based on your Ravelry profile

Pick: ragamuffinjane’s Rock Creek
Why? I LOVE wearing sweaters over dresses. I did it yesterday…while mowing the lawn on the farm. And way to go on making pattern alterations on your first sweater!

Jess
Prize: Glamor-shot of your favorite yarn

Pick: liveinthesun’s Buckley
Why? You can tell how happy Carolyn is with her sweater by the big beautiful smile on her face! I love the cheerful pops of color! 

Kinsey
Prize: Free shipping coupon

Pick: antifreezekills’ Sunset Highway
Why? I love this color scheme! I would so wear this all Winter. Love It!

Lindsay
Prize: Free shipping coupon

Pick: Sirijor’s Shapely Boyfriend
Why? I love boyfriend sweaters, and this color combo is perfect! Fantastic job!!

Tracey
Prize: 1,500 yards

Pick: shootermcgruder’s Stone Fence
Why? Thea Colman’s modern classic cabled sweaters and the Hedgehog Fibres colourway Wish are two of my favorite things. I love shootermcgruder’s Stone Fence! Particularly the meshy openwork panels!

If your project was picked by an ESK Kitty, please e-mail us at trivia@eatsleepknit.com. We will need your ESK username and, depending on the prize, some other information. We hope you enjoyed this Rhinebeck-esque Sweater KAL. Thanks to everyone who knitted-a-long and submitted their projects!