Persevere
When last we left the hat, I was wrestling with the perpetual brimmed hat question...will my laziness win out? Or will I conquer the deep folded brim. Four full inches of 1 by 1 twisted ribbing later, I can proudly say I was victorious. It looks ridiculous when it's left unfolded of course, but when it's turned up, it's adorable. Now comes the too short/too long/too short/too long dance that marks the final few inches of every hat. I have high expectations for this one.
Tempest (review and giveaway)
My love affair with SweetGeorgia yarns is well documented. I've used it in three of my books (it's on the cover of the most recent one), and there may well be a SweetGeorgia project on one of my sample knitters' needles right this very moment. So, when I heard that Felicia Lo (yarn mastermind at SweetGeorgia) and Holli Yeoh (designer of deliciously modern knitting patterns) were teaming up to create a book of patterns for SweetGeorgia yarns, I expected grand things. And, now that I've had the pleasure of seeing Tempest in person, I can happily say it's even more [...]
Perfectly Normal
Someone reassure me that it is perfectly normal to have 'block the knits you plan to photograph on the trip' as a step on one's adventure planning checklist. Everybody does that, right? That's the blue socks you've all been asking about and the purple hat and mitts from last winter. That hat and mitts are totally totally done (as in the pattern is written, laid out, and tested). As soon as I have proper pics slotted in, I'll be ready to release it. And The Boy (it's his hat) and I are off to somewhere both picturesque and chilly here [...]
How to Knit a Hat
The hat is underway. The hat, destined as it is to have a nice deep brim, begins with an almost interminable stretch of 1 x 1 twisted ribbing. The hat is whispering to me how much more interesting life will be when I start the patterned bit, and I am firmly pointing out that it will be more fun to wear with a deep brim. I'll let you know how the conflict ends. In the meantime, I thought I'd tell you how to knit a hat. 1) Decide upon yarn, pattern, and needles. 2) Knit a nice swatch and, armed [...]
Worth the Wait
Sometimes it takes a little while for the perfect yarn and the perfect project to meet up. That's not a bad thing. That is, in fact, why we have stashes. You have to be well supplied when inspiration strikes. I got this delightful mountain of yarn from Christine of Skeinny Dipping when I was sourcing yarns for the book that comes out next month (eep...next month...eep). We were chatting about colors and yarns and plans, and this lovely little experiment just happened to show up on my doorstep. It didn't turn out to be quite the right color for the [...]
Lifecycle
Once, long ago, I took a weekend trip. It was cold, so I made a hat. I had a tiny bit of yarn left, so I made some very very wee cuffs to go with it. Then, as is the way with knitted things, I wore the heck out of them. They've been used for four winters, and they are showing some serious signs of wear. But, this isn't all bad. I've been having great fun reworking and re-releasing old patterns. I've always wanted the mitts to be a bit taller, and I've been feeling the need for a hat [...]
Precise
Do you see that? That wee little tuft of fluff on top of that finished bit of knitting? That, my friends, is the sum total of the remaining yarn. I didn't quite use every inch (there are about 6 feet remaining), but there wasn't enough to do even one more row, so I'm calling it good. The piece is done (it's a modified version of one of the patterns in the book that comes out next month, so I can't really show you too much of it now) and will be seeing heavy wear now that it's gotten chilly. And, [...]
Protective
The blue thing has grown (erm, it's all lowering clouds and sunset glow here, hence this seeming to be a rather enthusiastically different color than in the last picture...I don't love you all enough to fiddle with the color on a blog picture, sorry). This is tremendously uncharacteristic knitting for me. I don't usually do blue (turquoise yes, blue-y blue like this, no). I don't usually knit flat. I don't usually knit on big needles. I don't usually knit wraps. But this simply needed to be done. It's cold outside. This is warm. The world at large seems exceptionally abrasive [...]
Forethought
This weekend, for the first time this season, it was well and properly cold. Not cool. Not brisk. Not chilly. Cold. As in, the temperature in the house was markedly lower than where we keep the heat set in the winter. Of course be haven't turned the heat on yet (I'm pretty sure we had the AC on a week or so ago, and I firmly believe there should be a significant period between last use of AC and first use of heat). So, like any reasonably well prepared knitter, I reached for the woolies. I put on my slippers. [...]
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