Holiday Knitting

Obviously I can’t show pics of finished items, although I might put some pics up on Ravelry before too long. I’ve been knitting a cotton and linen sampler neck wrap for a family member who gets cold under air conditioning. Lovely linen tape from a shop in Philadelphia called Hidden River Yarns, btw. I will try to get photos up soon, even if it’s just a closeup so you can see the stitch definition. I’ve been using stitches from the 365 Knitting Stitches a Year perpetual calendar, and it’s a fun project to test drive stitches for larger things. (Bramble stitch is great.)

In October, I knit a hat out of doubled laceweight yarn…. And I think it will fit a cousin. And then for the rest, it’s books or entertainment (for the kids), baked treats, or gift cards.

I found a kit I bought last summer for quilted Christmas stockings, and I think I need to put it away and just do the plain sewing projects I planned for November (the month is almost gone) in December.

So… how about you? Are you crafting this Christmas to avoid the lines and the mall and feeling like things are too commercial? Are you crafting to relieve stress after doing shopping and holiday prep? Or have you Cyber Mondayed everything (or decided not to do Christmas/Hannukah etc. or exchange presents)? It’s all legit.

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15 row countdown to next pattern shift – concerns about yarn

I’m still knitting on the Oslo shawl, doggedly trying to get to the next pattern shift (graph 2), and wondering if there will be enough blue and white for graph 3. If you click on the link, you should be able to get to the details page. As each row get longer, i get a little more concerned that I’ll run out of blue or white. Kind of wish that the store had more of the yarn (seabago) in the same lot so I could add a few more rows and maybe make mittens. If it washes, and keeps its color, I will be on the lookout for more of this, because knitting it is lovely.

Unfortunately very few good photos of the shawl in progress, because I’ve been stuck inside with a head cold on the one  sunny day when I could have gone out to take photos on my lunch break. The world turning dark while I’m driving home in the evenings is the trade off for the beautiful riot of autumn color on the trees at sunrise. We’ve had some sugar maples turn, and the streets up the block are red and yellow with fallen leaves…looking a bit like they’re paved in gold.

One simple scarf – grey, red, blue

This garter stitch scarf was made the first year we lived in the house nearer to downtown. It was knit on summer days, gazing out at the mountain in the distance while listening to the radio. I used Minerva wool, because that’s what was in my Mom’s stash, and chose simple garter stitch, so I wouldn’t forget what side I was on and purl when I should knit.

I chose grey and blue, because the scarf was for my father, who had blue-grey eyes, and then red, so it wouldn’t be too boring. The moths have gotten to it a bit, and the Minerva yarn isn’t all that soft (he didn’t end up wearing the scarf because it was too scratchy).

It’s a memory of hot summer nights, when I first started the project, then the desperate figuring near November, if the scarf would be long enough by Christmas before I ran out of stash. Of time that ticked away while I was content, alone with my thoughts — back before I was worried about Latin class and physics. For me, it’s a bit more than a simple garter stitch scarf, but it’s time for it to belong to someone else. How about you — any early projects that have grown in importance over the years?

Blocking in the sunlight

I’ve been working on this little project since before I moved out of the old house. That’s marination, not “putting on time out”.  I think I might have started Baby Bat Cape II in 2007 right after I created one for a friend of mine (preRavelry access in my case). Yarn details: needles were circular needles, US5 (3.75 mm). Yarn: mostly Manos del Uruguay (it is most close to the Classica line, in a mix of space dyed patterns and at least one stripe of bright blue). The extra dark stripe of blue and the stripe of dark burgundy/purple were from extra leftovers from another long-ago project.

I have basic instructions on how to make another, if anyone is interested. I will try to get a decent photo outside with an actual person wearing it, once it’s warm enough that my model (victim) can just wear a non-outdoors clothing and a small capeletl.

Interior thoughts on a knitting project

1. I wish I had figured out how long the thumbs would be before knitting these mittens.
2. I want to redo the Bird in Hand Mitts again, in a smaller scale (extra small here I come)
3. I’d love to shorten the fingers and thumbs (but they’ve already felted beyond the ability to tink back).
4. I wish I had known how great this wool would be — I would have acquired Foxfire Fiber Cormo Silk Alpaca for a hat and cowl.
5. The colors I used were aster and white.

The wool just gets lovelier as I keep wearing the mittens. And the mittens are the perfect thing to wear on your hands during our deep freeze winters. But if I lived in Wisconsin or Michigan right now –> thrums would be better. They “marinated” in the projects pile since 2010 (started while watching the Olympics). This year, other projects that have been malingering are getting done.

Weather – always a great conversation starter

If you’re ever in the USA, and you’re out of things to talk about… skip politics. Almost everyone can talk about the weather (while Christian charity, or fear of offending, keeps some people from talking politics). Weather is safer than talking football (you can offend 10 out of 10 people easily with American football). But there are a few simple things about regional weather:

• In the South/near the Mason Dixon line, people are a bit jittery about “the white stuff”.
  • This is why there’s the phenomenon of “emergency French toast”
  • If you don’t have eggs, milk or bread when the weather service forecasts 4 inches of snow, you won’t find any on the shelves
  • Take the day off to wait in lines — seriously
• People further North look at blizzard conditions and think
  • Finally, time to play with the new snowblower
  • Thank g*d this isn’t rain
  • Please, let the [favorite shore place] survive the high tides

No matter where you live (tornado alley/Bible belt, earthquake country/California) there’s weather to talk about. And my family isn’t too picky: if there’s no weather phenomenon near us, we’ll talk about the flooding they’re having in the UK in Somerset [like something horrible out of Nine Tailors, actually], or a warm snap in Canada. Our current cold snap has encouraged me to finish a whack of projects, including the Bird in Hand Mitts. Photos as soon as they’ve had their dunk or have the ends woven in. Also — a new hat started, probably inspired by the news that they’re likely to get snow in Florida (thank you Polar Vortex 2/Alberta Clipper or whatever they’ve dubbed you), and the high, cold winds we have here.

Finishing Up a DreamSwatch

Finally the end is in sight. This project, after logging in hours with me listening to BBC7 Listen Again broadcasts, is done. Stats: 38″ long and 3 1/2 inches wide. Made from Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Cotton Print in color 0435 Blueberry-Grape. The stitch on this one was lots of fun.

Of course, I’m having trouble photographing this one without natural light. So here it is with a blue background in an attempt to show the color. Look — two ends are in sight.

It may be a small project, but finishing this lets me focus on finishing other projects. And then start working on some of the projects that have been on hold. Anyone who’s seen my Ravelry queue knows it’s a long one.