Hey! I hope everyone's holiday has been fabulous. I know mine has. :) I spent the week before Christmas knitting my pretty little fingers off so that (almost) everyone in the family could have a hat to keep warm. It was really fun to knit for the girls, but a little harder for the guys. I kept asking my husband, "Is this too girly of a pattern to use?" lol, as it turns out I didn't use any fancy stitch patterns for the guys. I figured it was too risky. :)
Anyway I have a few photos of the hats for the women in my life:
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| Pamplemousse for mom |
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'Quick Cable Slouch Hat' - Andrew made this one!
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| 'New Sweetie Pie' hat for sis-in-law |
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| 'Thistle Cap' I modified the brim too - for my moh |
I didn't actually get any pics of the hats for the guys. They aren't super inclined to model anyway.
This year for Christmas, hubby made me a drop spindle and got me some hand carders, which are actually dog brushes, but same difference. He pulled a fast one on me and changed the packaging so it'd actually look like hand carders. He was pretty pleased with himself.
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| I took the brush out, but you can see what he changed. |
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I'm not sure this is what a real one looks like,
but it gets the job done. |
Anyway, I had an idea a while back about deconstructing yarn scraps and possibly fabric scraps back to the original fibers then re-spinning them into a new yarn. The original plan was to get rich off making and selling lots of yarn, but after trying it out I can see that it's going to be a very long process. It might actually be a few years before I even complete one ball. If I had to guess I'd say that I had maybe 3 yards? and that might be pushing it...
Other stuff I've been making for myself is Purl Soho's Big Herringbone cowl. It. Is. Amazing. It's super addicting to knit, that it's hard to put down. At first, I was a little wary of my yarn choice (pattern calls for Aran weight, a bulky yarn, and I bought DK, a light-medium yarn) but so far with sizing the needles down, it's been no big deal. And I find it quite easy to knit, though a lot of fellow Ravelers thought it was a tad difficult. I suppose it just depends on the knitter.
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| Herringbone Cowl |
I also just finished my Shipyard Mittens today! It was a nice feeling to actually finish a pair of something for once. I've started many sock and mitten projects where the furthest I got was knitting up one and stopping. I'm super pleased with how they turned out too. I also bought smaller yarn for this project too. I guess my recent ability to gauge projects properly is paying off. haha :)
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| Shipyard Mitts |
I'm also doing the Earth & Sky shawl that was a mystery KAL earlier last year. It's very interesting, and I'm loving the color blocking technique called intarsia. It's my first shawl, and I'm in love with the Madeline Tosh yarn I found when I was in Chicago. :) Love Loopy Yarns.
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| Earth & Sky |
Last but not least, I'm knitting up yet another Pamplemousse for my Aunt. She saw the one I made for my mom for Christmas and said that she has to get her hats custom made because hats are usually too small for her. Of course I'm all too happy to accommodate. I added 2 repeats in the ribbing for the brim, and I'm adding at least one more repeat in the main pattern, and I'll see from there if I need more, though I doubt I will. This pattern is already a loose fitting hat. And is a fantastic knit, any excuse to knit it again and I would jump on it. :) Oh I also made one for myself back in November. It was my first exposure to Manos Del Uruguay Silk Blend, and I fell in love. I used the same yarn for the shipyard mitts.
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| Pamplemousse take 3 |
Phew! and that was only 2 1/2 months of knitting! Oh.. and I started a pair of socks today, but I wont get into that just yet. ;)
So if any Ravelry people want to know more about my projects - what yarn I used etc., check out my project journal
here.
Happy knitting!
~Kate
