Shadow Knit Hat

Here is the Shadow Knit hat (pattern also from Cabin Fever) which is quite fun. I used Cascade 220 and I sent this off to a friend's child who is 5 years old and wears the same size hats as I do.

I'm almost finished with the first Kristi's mitten and am starting the cable patterns on the second Aran Sandal Sock. I think I may have enough Cormo left over to use it for Merike's gloves which is nice because the Elann Peruvian Cashmere I purchased probably isn't crisp enough to show the cables perfectly. It does block out surprisingly well though which is good because the Kristi's mittens have really long floats and my knitting tension is not terribly desirable.

For some knitting eye candy today check out the beautiful cardinal Christmas stocking HERE.

Paradoxical Mittens

Karine from Norway sent me the most beautiful yarns in a trade. She generously sent me five skeins of Gjestal Vestlandsgarn in five different beautiful autumn colors along with three skeins of Tiur in pretty coordinating colors also. Thanks Karine! I am definitely going to make myself a Dale of Norway hat with some of this beautiful yarn.

I didn't get any work done on the multi-directional scarf. Instead I started Kristi's mittens from Folk Knitting in Estonia in Elann's Peruvian fingering weight alpaca/wool/cashmere blend. Janet emailed me and asked what I thought of the yarn. It is an interesting yarn although I'm not sure I'd buy more. It splits a bit (I'm using size 0 dpns) and has a bit of fuzziness. It is nice and soft though and highly durable. I made the weirdest mistake in the cuff of the first mitten and tried various methods to fix it before finally ripping the whole thing out. You really can't tell the yarn had been abused like that from looking at the mitten. I keep comparing the Elann Peruvian cashmere to Stahl's Baby Merino. I bought a ton of the Baby Merino yarn from Elann a few years ago and it is about as soft but much more elastic.



Here is a photo of the completed Paradoxical Mittens. The yarn is J&S jumper weight purchased at Four Seasons Knitting and the pattern is from Lucy Neatby. I enjoyed every second of these although I'm not sure I'd do her method of closing the top again - kitchener should work just as well and is easier.

Oh and Geane - I did manage to use your word "fid" in the Scrabble marathon this weekend.

The Squawkbox comments don't seem to be working. I received the comments for today via email but they're not showing up on the blog. Larry, I think you'll enjoy the Aran socks. They are pretty fun and the finished look is quite classic. Hi Robin - I'll check out Schoolhouse if I don't get Knitting in the Old Way for Christmas. Dj - thanks I'll check out Hill Creek Fiber Studio as well. I envy you working at a yarn shop! Kerstin, thanks for your kind words. I have Knitting in America and I enjoy browsing through it too.











Weekends are not optimal knitting time around here. DH and my friend Diane and myself are all Scrabble maniacs. We probably play 15-20 games of Scrabble a week so I've started planning knitting and spinning projects just to work on during Scrabble. My first Scrabble/knitting project is to finish hand-spinning this Easter egg dyed mohair and to keep working on the multi-directional scarf from the resulting yarn.



For those of you who also like Scrabble, I highly recommend the book Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players by Stefan Fatsis. It is about a sports reporter who accidentally finds himself swept up in the wacky world of tournament Scrabble. He starts out complaining about being assigned a story on Scrabble and ends up becoming one of the top players in the country. The book is filled with great tips on improving your game such as memorizing all the two and three letter words.



I have an additional tip for fellow Scrabble maniacs - get the hard-to-find international Scrabble English dictionary (called SOWPODS - it includes British and Australian words and spellings) so you can use qi as a word. Much more handy than qat, qoph, or qaid.





Yes, I know, I know. I need to get a life.

Wellington Hat

This is a fun pattern - the Wellington hat from Cabin Fever in Cascade 220. I made it in a size small and I thought I found an error in the pattern. I emailed the pattern designer who wrote back and explained to me how to read a knitting chart. I've done the math several times and I still think that Chart 2 - Crown for size small needs to be started on row 7, not row 5. It is a cute hat for a kid and has already been sent off to its destination.

So what is on your knitting Christmas wish list? I've already received Weekend Knitting and I'm going to get the Virtual Yarns Lismore pillow kit. Here are other the books that are on my wish list.

1. Handpaint Country: A Knitters Journey by Cheryl Potter - This book surprised me when I finally looked it over a few weeks ago at Borders. It really feels more like Knitting in America and I felt it had some excellent technique info even though I rarely use multi-colored yarns.

2. Nursery Rhyme Knits: Hats, Mittens, and Scarves with Kid's Favorite Verses - Of course I had to have this the minute I saw the cover and spotted some rabbits.

3. Kaffe Fassett's Pattern Library: Over 190 Creative Knitwear Designs - Clara's write-up at Knitter's Review convinced me I needed this.

4. Arans & Celtics: The Best of Knitter's Magazine - Since I don't subscribe to Knitter's, I figure there will be some designs new to me.

5. Vogue Knitting on the Go: Pillows - I've looked through this one and there are a few intarsia patterns I want to do.

6. Knitting with Beads: 30 Beautiful Sweaters, Scarves, Hats & Gloves - I don't do much bead knitting but this book looks pretty interesting.

7. Aromatic Gifts: In Classic Knitted Cotton - This one just intrigues me - I'm not sure why.

8. Caps & Hats Two: Vogue Knitting on the Go - I always need more hat patterns.

9. Traditional Fair Isle Knitting - Sheila McGregor - A reprint of a hard-to-find book. I'd actually like her Scandinavian/Norwegian more but beggars can't be choosers.

10. Knitting in the Old Way - Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Another reprint but Amazon says it won't be out until February.


Anita asked in the comments yesterday about the Aran Sandal Socks. They are a pattern from the book Socks, Socks, Socks by XRX and you can't buy the Cormo yarn I'm using. I want it all for myself! No really it is sold only at the Taos Wool Festival by Elsa Sheep & Wool. You can buy some of their already knit products though from their web site.

SLOWING DOWN



Like most knitters I wish I could be more productive. I wish I could finish more sweaters and other projects and find even more time to knit. I wish I could knit faster. However, every now and then I find myself enjoying a project so much that I purposely knit slowly to make the project last longer.



That is the case with the Aran Sandal Socks (shown above). These are knit in the Cormo yarn from Taos Wool Festival which is by far the most wonderful yarn I've knit with for many years. The socks themselves are really designed well and fun to do. I admire a knitwear designer who manages to make everything fall in place in a relatively complicated design. I like how the designer managed to find a complex cable (the 22 row mirror cable) that is just long enough to fit the heel. I like the way the sole of the sock is done in stockinette stitch so you don't have to worry about the seed stitch matching up at the jog. And the yarn is simply perfect. All yarns should feel the way this Cormo yarn does.



Am I the only one who ever feels this way or are there some of you out there who also find knitting projects you prefer to knit slowly?



ONE MORE RESOLUTION



I forgot I have one more knitting New Year's Resolution to add. I want to knit EVERY PATTERN in Folk Knitting in Estonia. There are 26 projects and so far I've only knit 5 of the patterns. Lisa, who is deep in the late stage of glove madness, is doing a beautiful job on Anu's Christmas Gloves and inspiring me as usual. I may start Kristi's mittens in the Peruvian Collection cashmere this week. Nancy Bush rules!