Category: blog

Merry Christmas! No, I’m not afraid to say it. Though I do appreciate the winter holiday traditions of many cultures, at the moment I happen to be working on a stocking cap that will look like a country Santa hat when it’s done. I purchased the pattern last year from Knitpicks and started it while visiting my dad. But alas, when he died I could not finish it. Then when I picked it up this year I realized it was a bit smaller than I would have wanted. So I set out to start over, but then I couldn’t find the pattern. Of course Knitpicks doesn’t sell it anymore. But then Amy from my Knittalk group came to my rescue. And so here it is! Thanks, Amy!

Of course, I have no real expectation that this hat will actually be done in time for Christmas. That’s just not my style! Haha. But I’m giving it a good try. The hat has cables, which I love, and it is knit up in sort of a spiral pattern, wherein you shift the position of the stitch markers over by one at the start of each pattern repeat. It took doing about four repeats before the cables started to “pop” for me and I could see the pattern happening. I think I definitely will be making this pattern several times. I was showing the pattern to someone at the skating rink today and nearly left it there! I’ll have to be sure to make one copy for myself to keep as a backup, since I can’t buy it anymore.

When I wrote to Knitpicks about the pattern, they said the designer’s name was Brian Kohler, and that maybe he is selling the pattern on his own somewhere. I’ve done a search on his name and have come across several Brian Kohlers, but none of the sites mentions knitting. Are you a closet knitter, Mr. Kohler? Or just laying low? You know, I just got this amazing DVD called “Real Men Knit” which is produced by the company, “Unconfined Mind.” The video is great and I loved watching it. Not only is the main feature fun to watch, but it shows many men (and boys!) engaging in their craft. It also includes a conversation with Kaffe Fassett, which I found fascinating. How someone could be so gifted as to never have knit a sweater and be able to pick up 20 yarns and design a sweater that he saw in his head, well… wow! I can’t imagine being able to do that. Someday, maybe I’ll make a hat inspired by a Kaffe Fassett design. I could never imagine doing a whole sweater.

And so I must sign off for now… it’s my friend Steve’s birthday and he wants to go to the Melting Pot for dinner… twist my arm! Plus there are Christmas cards to address and a couple of things left to wrap. Catch you later!

Here is a photo of my friend Nadine, wearing her new turquoise blue hat! She loves warm weather and the beautiful seas, and so this is her favorite color. She looks great in it, don’t you think? I must say that I am quite proud of myself.

I’m itching to start another felted hat, but for now I’m knitting on a long stocking cap that is done in the colors of a “Country Santa” — burgandy and off white. Of course the design has cables in it. I got the pattern last year from KnitPicks, but they don’t seem to carry it anymore. So imagine my heartbreak when I misplaced the pattern! But then Amy from my KnitTalk group sent me her copy. So yay! I can make the hat. I actually started it last year while my dad was in the last stages of his illness, so I couldn’t bring myself to work on it at that time. And when I picked it up again, it seemed too small anyway. I guess it was the stress of the whole thing. So, I frogged and restarted it this year. I’ll get a pic up as soon as I start the red section! Soon, I promise.

Well I finished it! This is my Fiber Trends AC-01 hat with wide brim. I was afraid I wouldn’t get it done in time for its recipient’s retirement party on Thursday, but with a little luck (and staying up til 2:00 a.m. this morning over a hot sink!) I made it just under the wire. The dome of the hat wasn’t quite coming out the way I originally wanted to so I grabbed it around the edges at the top and pinched a crease in the wool to create the flat top. It kinda looks like a big blue bowl of flan, eh? Not really… I think it turned out cute. The wide brim is a bit much on my head but my friend wears “big hair” so I think it will go on her head really well. Of course these hats usually take most of a week to dry, so I set it out on the table over a bowl to hold the shape, with a towel and a trash bag underneath. When I woke up this morning the towel was quite soaked! Thankfully a lot of the water came out. But it was still wet enough to need to dry for days, and the party is Thursday! Then my smarty-farty DH says to me, “you know, our big, expensive dryer has a drying rack!” Ding Ding Ding! Give that man a prize! Two 45-minute cycles on medium-high heat and the hat is perfectly dry and ready for its debut.

And look at this cool hat box! I mentioned to my mother-in-law that I had been searching online in vain for an affordable hat box for my gift hat, and she said, “I saw these really pretty ones just the other day!” So she went and got me one, and it was only about $7.00 at Ross. I couldn’t believe my luck. Isn’t it pretty? Hopefully I’ll get a photo with the recipient wearing it on Thursday. Yay!

It seems like I’ve been knitting forever on the brim of this hat… and this morning I finally started working on the crown. It’s a good thing, too. because the time is growing short until I am due to give the hat away to its recipient. It is going well, and is fairly mindless knitting as usual, which is a good thing, because this time of year can be so stressful. I can’t believe the holidays are coming so fast! I hope to be completed with the knitting on the hat by this time next week so I can do the felting process. That in itself can take days! And I don’t have much time to get it right. Help!

And this is the pin I’ve selected to adorn the finished hat. I hope it has enough “Bling” to match the personality of the person who is receiving it!

Knitting DOES Rule!

I may be a latecomer to the party on this one, but I just bought Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot’s Bag of Knitting Tricks yesterday, and WOW! As usual I am enjoying Stephanie’s wry wit, along with her “Pearl”s of wisom! It’s not a hugely solid knitting reference book in the way that “Kniting for Dummies” or “Vogue Knitting” is, but I’m definitely learning a few things along the way… while laughing at the same time! A home run, if you ask me! Be sure to add this one to your Santa list…

I just cast on a couple of days ago for my next hat project, and this one has a deadline! Oh no! Deadlines spell doom for sure, but I’m gonna give it a good effort to get done in time.

Once again I am using the Fiber Trends AC-01 Hat Pattern, but for an added twist I am doing the wide brim version. I’m also not sure yet how I’m going to embellish the finished hat, whether I’m going to knit a hat band or do something with fabric or flowers or jewelry. It’s the little embellishments I do at the end that I like best, and the things that make them unique and interesting. I certainly don’t have a long time to think about it, though, so hopefully I will decide soon!

I’m also working on a knitted long stocking cap, which I am doing in a colorway that will make it look like a Santa hat. I don’t have enough of it done yet to show, but when I do have some of the cabling done I’ll snap a photo! But of course I have to finish the blue snake first! December 7 is the big day when this needs to be done. Wish me luck!

Not much going on in my knitting world… I’ve been working on this simple two-color ribbed scarf for my four-year-old son. It’s a simple 2×2 rib. Originally I started it in Brioche Stitch, but I kept dropping stitches and found it impossible to re-seat them properly on the needles when that happened. I dozed off a couple of times while knitting, and would awake to dropped stitches, so rather than rip out and start over for a fifth time, I copped out and switched to simple ribbing. It’s ok, my little boy won’t notice the difference; he’ll be happy to finally have his mom-made scarf. (He’s been asking for one for a while, but I’ve felt he’s been too little for a scarf. Wouldn’t want it to get tangled up on the playground!

New Book!

I finally received the long awaited Melissa Leapman book,
Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting. Wow! What beautiful designs! There’s even a reversible cable scarf design in here, which is a concept I’ve been playing with.
I have a total fear of charted knitting patterns, and of course, this book is full of charts! I know my eyes will drive me nuts on this one. But I love cables so much that I’m willing to give it a try. This book has quite a few patterns in it, but it is also filled with stitch designs too…. plenty to keep the avid cabler quite busy! Love this book!

All for now…