sprout

May 22, 2026





I was feeling pretty grumpy about my knitting after finally admitting defeat on a gorgeous (and expensive) project that  was not working out and needed to be frogged. After all that frustration, I needed something sweet and uncomplicated on my needles—something guaranteed to make me happy. Enter Sprout! This little project felt exactly right. I already had my collection of yogurt pots saved and waiting, so all I needed was the yarn.

The designer happens to be a friend who works at my LYS, and when I stopped in to pick out yarn (impossible to imagine I had no brown or green in my stash that would work!) she was there and showed me a few more designs she’s currently working on. That only made me more excited to cast on.

These turned out so incredibly cute that I already know I’ll be making more of her designs soon. It takes just a tiny amount of yarn, very little time, and such a fun way to upcycle your pretty Le Fermiere pots.

The pattern is made from the ground up--literally the ground up, It is knit in one piece starting with the "dirt", then switching colors for the sprout.  Sprout is knitted entirely in one piece and at the end, a bit of stuffing helps the soil to mound up. Since the knitted piece is removable, I was thinking about replacing it with an autumn colored sprout come this fall.


The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn but you can fudge a bit. I used Encore Worsted in Dark Brown Heather and Berroco Vintage Baby in New Leaf. I have a few details on my project page.



Is is sacrilege to paint your Le Fermiere pot? The pot is a pretty blue but I knew white would work best for me. I painted them with my all time favorite white, Rustoleum Ivory Bisque. This white works every time. It's sticks to all surfaces, needs no undercoat and is a soft white. Left unpainted the Le Fermiere pots go in the dishwasher and oven. People love them in the kitchen for honey and jam pots and tiny souffles and around the house for blossoms, pens and pencils, candles, and now, a knitted sprout!


If you do keep the pots as is, you can still use them for baking as the little sprout pops in and out of the pot.



I save all kinds of jars—anything I find especially useful or beautiful. The old-fashioned glass dairy bottles are great for dressings, iced tea, and juice, while mustard pots make fun vases for flowers clipped from the garden.

I also tucked away empty Oui yogurt jars, convinced they would eventually become something worthwhile. Once I had collected two dozen, inspiration finally struck: a spice drawer refresh.

Twenty-four jars may sound like a lot, but for me it was actually an edited collection and is the maximum that comfortably fits in my drawer. The new setup forced me to keep only the herbs and spices I use, while the neglected ones were cleared out. I like these because they are large and hold 3/4 cup of herbs making it much more practical for me and how I cook  

The finishing touch was finding bamboo lids on Amazon that fit the Oui jars perfectly. They instantly made the whole collection feel cohesive and organized. And pretty too, even though they are hidden in a drawer!





I also purchased bamboo lids to fit wide mouth and regular mouth mason jars which I use to store everything from dried beans to dishwasher pods. In my sewing room I have a jar of biscuits for my own dear Biscuit when he comes in to keep me company. My son 3 D printed a mini Jeff Koons' balloon dog that I glued to the top. I love it!


And I have even more jars! I'm saving all kinds of glass pickle, jam, etc., jars for a Christmas project that I have high hopes for.  My goal is to have 10 large, 10 medium and 10 small so I can have ten sets of three jars for my secret project. Fingers crossed that it will be worth my while!


My nasturtium flower and chive flower vinegars are finished, and aren't they pretty? I let them steep for 5 days and that was long enough for them to develop strong color and flavor. The nasturtium vinegar has a fantastic peppery radish-like bite and the chive vinegar tastes like onion, no surprise! If you have access to nasturtiums or chives, you should make this. It's so easy and works like a charm! Many recipes will tell you to steep for several weeks, but I started tasting after 3 days and felt that 5 days was perfect.

FLOWER VINEGAR:
  • Pick unsprayed flowers
  • Gently wash, dry on a cotton towel
  • Fill a glass jar with blossoms and cover with white vinegar
  • Place in a dark place to steep and begin tasting after 3-4 days for flavor
  • When you are satisfied with the color and taste, strain through a fine strainer.
  • This should take no more than a week, but your tastebuds will be the judge.
  • Store vinegar in a dark cupboard.

Just last week they looked like this:



The garden is doing pretty good. We’ve had a cooler spring than usual and everything seems slightly behind schedule. The tomatoes look healthy and happy, the green beans are going to be ready for the first picking in a few days or so and we’ve spotted teeny weeny cucumbers beginning to form. I’m already looking forward to the pickles!










Thank you for visiting and hope you have a great weekend. I hope to be back next week with some more knitting, gardening, cooking and crafting. I hope you'll join me. xoxo Kristen


I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful—I’d love to see you back again! I publish about once a week and would be honored if you subscribed to the Knitionary blog. Just click here to join, and new posts will be delivered straight to your inbox.

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Kristen Rettig

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3 Comments

  1. GailMay 22, 2026 at 2:52 PM

    Thank you Kristen for another great blog post. Although I am also a multi crafter, I especially love to see what’s happening in your garden. I live in a mountainous area of British Columbia (growing zone 3), so your pictures bring me a great deal of joy. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 23, 2026 at 5:01 AM

    Beautiful garden and Biscuit photos. I’m a repressed jar collector (no room!) but do keep Bonne Maman jars for sewing and knitting paraphernalia and for shaking vinaigrette ingredients. Chloe

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  3. AnonymousMay 23, 2026 at 1:43 PM

    The vinegars are beautiful. I love the red nasturtium vinegar and I have nasturtiums! Making this today! I'm a long time reader and love your blog in the summer with your beautiful garden photos.

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