Christmas is coming…!

Are you the type of knitter who knits a lot of holiday gifts, or not?  I fall somewhere in the middle.  I usually knit one or two significant gifts – often far ahead of time – but additionally, I succumb to some last-minute idea for something else handknit.

I’m right on track this year.  My big gift is for my mom (she doesn’t read the blog, so you all know about it already): the Pamuya shawl I finished in September:My last-minute gift is something a little less “me.”  Here’s a peek: Remember when I went to that yarn shop in the Outer Banks a couple of summers ago?  It was full of bright colors and stocked way more cotton than wool, not my aesthetic at all.  But I got caught up in that vibe and bought the yarn to make a little bag.  The multicolor yarn is made from recycled viscose from Indonesia.  It is held double with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% cotton, 20% wool).  You got the pattern (a shop original) for free if you bought the yarn.  I did it. I don’t know what I was thinking… this doesn’t look like a bag I would carry.  But you know who it does look like?  A 4-year-old girl!  So when I ran across this project recently when tidying up, I decided to knit it up for my niece for Christmas.  I think she’ll love it.

This is one of those projects that is deceptively simple.  The pattern is dead easy – you knit the base of the bag flat in garter stitch, then pick up stitches on 3 sides and begin knitting in the round – but working with these two yarns together is difficult.  I can see a beginner knitter being drawn to it and then frustrated by it.  But I will push through.  I got some done while errand-ing yesterday and during a music concert.I’ve noticed that knitters like to take care with the wrapping of their gifts, also.  If you aren’t already aware of the fabulous gift tags designed by Laylock, you should make your acquaintance.  She just recently released some free, printable tags shaped like mittens with care instructions already printed – you just circle the appropriate symbol(s). I’ve been using Laylock’s KnitLove tags for years.  They are really lovely.

For non-handknit gifts, you might enjoy these retro-look printable gift tags.  So many independent designers make things freely available for us to use – it’s a wonderful gift.

What are you knitting for Christmas, Hanukkah, or anything that’s celebrated this month?

Pamuya!

Guess what is finally done?

The Pamuya shawl I made my mom for Christmas this year is off the needles and blocked!  With Nathalie’s help, I finally got some decent shots of it.  Look how stylishly my French friend models a shawl: I hardly know what to do with a shawl, but she instantly looks elegant, even in a Sunday tee and shorts.

I ran out of yarn and had to leave the last two rows off.  Can you tell?  The scalloped edge is the bindoff:I used the same stretchy bindoff specified in the Sugared Violets shawl (*K2tog tbl, slip st back to left needle*), which seems to eat up some extra yarn but is worth it.  I used every last inch of two balls of Brooks Farm Solo Silk.  I ran out with about 20 stitches left to bind off. Luckily, the tail where I changed balls was rather long, so I scavenged from it.The whole thing is 6 feet long on the long side, and 45” long on each of the scallopy edges.  It took me a couple of months to finish, but that was with Sock Summit and some other projects along the way. This is a very nice pattern.  I highly recommend it.  I’ll put this in the Christmas pile…(making sure to hide it from Nathalie, who rather liked it)

Alien takeover

Okay, maybe “takeover” is a strong word… but I did whip up another mini-alien / impalien for Joanna: It’s nestling in a hops vine that goes crazy out of control over part of our back fence/gate.  The vine came with the house.  Apparently birds like the berry thingies in the winter (the previous owner was a far better gardener than I!).

I’ve also been working on the Pamuya shawl for my mom.  This is probably a Christmas present – I’ll want to whip up something smaller for her September (yikes) birthday.  I know what you’re thinking, but she’s not really the alien type. :) The colors are washed out a bit here but I’ll get more accurate pictures when it’s off the needles.

…and in other knitting news – as in Other People’s Knitting News – my friend Nathalie has made her third hat!  She learned to knit as a child and still had that knit/purl muscle memory, and declared a desire to knit a slouchy hat last winter.  We trekked to The Mannings and found a fun yarn, as well as a slightly cheesy looking (but very serviceable) booklet of patterns called Celebrity Slouchy Beanies for the Family (Leisure Arts #75358).  She made a very plain hat from her multi/mottled yarn and wore it all winter, and then she made a smaller men’s beanie cap out of the leftovers.  Before going on a long trip overseas this summer, she professed a desire to make a cabled hat – but ran out of time to return to Mannings.  So she shopped in my stash.  The only worsted weight yarn I KNEW I had enough yardage of for a slouchy cabled hat was left over from my Must Have Cardi, a heathered colorway called Lake Ice.  She sent photos from France (the hat hasn’t returned stateside yet) and look how great the hat came out! And here’s the best part: next, she wants to learn socks.  Be still my heart.  I bought a skein of sock yarn at the Summit with her in mind – and promised to knit her a pair myself to spur her on.  Stay tuned for future chapters of Nathalie’s Knitting Story.

I know I still haven’t flashed my SS Stash, but the weather hasn’t been conducive to photography (as witnessed by those lamish photos I took this morning).  I’m happy to report that it rained a lot yesterday, which we sorely needed.  I’ll keep waiting for the photography window.

Smiley Shawl

I started a Pamuya shawl for my mom yesterday. I got this yarn at MDSW in May, specifically for this pattern.  The yarn is Brooks Farm Solo Silk – the same yarn I used for Karen’s Cedar Leaf Shawlette, just a different colorway.  The Pamuya pattern is written for fingering weight yarn and this is a bit bigger (the label says “sport”), so I increased my needle size to US 6.  So far, so good!

This pattern is essentially a sampler.  If you look closely, you can see I’ve just begun the first section of what the designer calls “tiny cross pattern” I was thinking of taking this along to Portland as my airplane knitting project, but I can find something that will take up less space instead.