pattern: Simmer Dim . Gudrun Johnston . Shetland Trader

yarn: Viola . Silky DK . Seastorm

Not sure how I feel about my combination of this pattern with a thicker-than-called-for yarn…  It’s still pretty and I love them both, but together it seems a bit dense.  But I couldn’t resist using the Viola yarn again, and the shawl is super fast.  The shape is very unique.

pattern: Attabi Wrap . Laura Chau . Cosmic Pluto Knits

yarn: Rowan . Baby Alpaca DK + Viola. Silky DK . Mineral

Moderately modified the patternto make it an infinity wrap.  There was not one purl stitch in the whole project, after mods!  I love the neutral colors with just a hint of subtle bling.  The Viola yarn is so luscious and subtly varied.  Lovely and heavy drape.

pattern: Muira Cowl . Olga Buraya-Kefelian . Knit Creations of a Curious Mind

yarn: Filatura di Crosa . Zarina Kid

My mom loved the original, so I gifted it to her. Then we came across a yarn/sewing store that’s been around since her childhood in the same location, so she gifted me this yarn. I finished it the day I left. So cuddly!

What really means a lot to me is that my grandma (who taught me to knit, though that story will get told some other time) knit a few stitches, just to show me her hand position, since I was curious. I refused to take them out, so I would always remember which ones they are. Now that she doesn’t knit, they are so precious to me. She also did a few in pattern for fun. Then I asked my mom to place a few stitches, and my dad did one too, even though neither knows how to knit.  I can find the little purls in a block of knits and know who made them!

It’s really special to me.

pattern: Improvised (but influenced obviously by having read mitten patterns before)

yarn: Lorna’s Laces . Shepard’s Worsted . Powder Blue + Rowan . Kidsilk Haze (dyed by me to match)

This was going to be a 16 Cable hat to match the ones I knit for me and my mom, but it was decided my grandma needed mittens much more, and got frogged. Worked them up one a day apiece. Ribbing is just the Worsted, and the kidsilk is added only for the body of the glove. Definitely a couple things I would change. The top bind-off looks a bit peaky (the technique [here] would help from now on) and I wish I’d made the top of the hand slightly larger than the palm. They’re a bit wonky but do the job.

pattern: Koolhaas . Jared Flood . Brooklyn Tweed

yarn: Abuelita Baby Merino Lace . charcoal + light grey + natural overdyed to red

I changed the gauge and knit in a fingering weight, 160 stitches around but it still needed vigorous blocking to achieve size.  The cables made me absolutely crazy, especially on the rows with 80 crossings!  Personalized hem, sewn down and then continued to form lining. Thank goodness there’s no boyfriend-hat-curse, because this one really was a big investment…

pattern: Struan . Ysolda Teague

yarn: 1 strand Rowan . Felted Tweed + 1 strand Rowan . Cashsoft

Twin to my previous Struan. The giftees are twins. Same mods. It took forever to find a yarn that would blend nicely with the Felted Tweed without looking too marled or overwhelming the tweed flecks.

pattern: Dimple Hat . Whitney VanNess . PurlBee

yarn: Valley Yarns . Northampton (overdyed from this) + Rowan . Kidsilk Haze (also dyed by me)

I forgot one “rest” row of the pattern, so added another repeat to make it taller.  Instead of doing the pom-pom for wrapping purposes, I made it removable for the hat, an idea I got from here, although I probably used a different method.  Sorry there are no photos of this, it was a last-minute addition…  All you need is a large button, preferably flat, not with a shank.  It must be too large to slip through the hole at the top of the hat that is created when the last few stitches are strung together.  Thread the strings holding the pom pom through that hole to the inside of the hat, and through the button holes.  Tie a bow.  That’s it.  Super simple.

Apologies for the long hibernation – RobbyRaccoon has been snuggled in a burrow crafting away through the short days and long nights of winter.

Busy hands stay warm.

Busy with getting holiday gifts ready and packed, busy with internet-less family time, busy making some me-stuff.

Now things have calmed down a bit, so in an effort to catch up (and keep the blog easily search-able / chronological), I’ll be doing a smattering of posts short on exposition, but with the vital stats of the project presented, rather than one big summary.

The photos here are my holiday gift wrappings.  As with last year I wanted all the gifts to have a uniform look.  Inspiration hit when I saw this post by the Yarn Harlot.  Who doesn’t love pom-poms, right?  The fabric I used is from Ikea and each package has a pom-pom made of scrap yarn from the project inside.  A great way to remember who gets what bundle, without the need of gift-cards.

A while ago I wrote about some of my experiences with fabric design / printing, but never completed the series.

Here you can see one of the designs “Zest” that was picked for the BonBonKakku page as well as pillows I made with my fabric to celebrate the birthday of a friend who helped “get out the vote.”  The fabric is definitely for housewares, but also quite thin and holey, meaning that it can fray.  I haven’t tried washing it, but the print seems very professional and looks like it will hold up to gentle cleaning once in a while.

What’s really exciting about BBK is how they encourage designers to try large repeats (thus, the minimum order is very large) and these can look super as drapes for home decor.  I like that my pattern isn’t recognizable up close, but from far away you can see the image.

This sweater was so much fun to knit! It’s the Acorns sweater by Carol Sunday from the Fall 2010 Twist Collective, and the number of kinds of increases and decreases that are in the yoke pattern is crazy – I just had to trust that each had a distinct look.

The color is way off from what I originally intended, but I know my grandma will love it no matter what… I think the subtle patterning will really suit her!

The yarn (Northampton by Valley Yarns) held up really well, especially the knitted garment, important since it had been dyed at least 5 times.  It started out as white, then cyan, then subtler cyan, then knit, then dyed darker, then darker still, then undyed when the dye was falling out all over the blocking surface. Unfortunately, the overdying took away some of the subtle variation, and left a little vinegar smell, which I will have to rinse out again, but the color is so much more suitable.

a little mending fabric with some scraps and extra buttons

while knitting

after the first dip in the kettle

For all the modifications made, check the Ravelry project page. (It would be boring for anyone who doesn’t knit.)