One of the biggest problems was that I thought it would be a GREAT idea to knit all of my Christmas presents in 2016 and I almost bit off more than I could chew. Having committed to huge projects for both my sister and my son, as well as several smaller gifts for our family gift exchange, I had ZERO time to work on my own projects, new designs, blogging, etcetera... AND, since they were intended to be surprises, I couldn't post any pictures of anything I was working on. Believe me, I was working!
I compounded my problem by giving away all my gifts WITHOUT TAKING ANY PICTURES OF THEM. So, post Christmas, I embarked on a mission to get all my gift recipients to send me photos of their goodies. Apparently, none of them were as committed to my self promotions as I. So it took a little time. And a lot of nagging.
HOWEVER. After a lengthy absence, I have lots to share with you and you can look forward to more regular posts going forward. Because, I actually have been very busy. In addition to my Christmas knitting, I have released two new designs, gone on a fantastic vacation, and developed all kinds of great new tips. So the drought is over and I'm back!
Without further ado, here is the project that took four months to knit and nearly killed me!
The handsome lad in the picture is my son, Harry. He is a stylish dude who is ALWAYS cold and he decided he would like a cabled cardigan for Christmas. I will never knit an all over cable pattern on a deadline again! This was complicated! I spent almost as much time going backward as forward on this one, but eventually, I got into a rhythm and it came together.
Despite the amount of effort required, I LOVE how this project turned out. The pattern is called Timberline by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed and the BT patterns are among my very favourite designs. They can be complex but are so well written that you really can't go wrong as long as you follow them carefully. I highly recommend checking them out on Ravelry. Because this was a huge project and I knew my 22 year old was NOT going to hand wash it, I chose a very reasonably priced superwash merino wool from Knit Picks called Swish. It is soft, warm, and very nice to knit with. BUT. Even before I finished knitting the sweater, it was starting to pill. It also grew when I blocked it, making it larger than intended. For that reason, I would not recommend this yarn, Because, let's face it, when you spend this amount of time knitting a project, you have every right to demand that it last forever and be included in the recipient's will, to be handed down to future generations. Forever. Sadly, I can't see this sweater standing the test of time.
The other big project I took on was this very simple turtleneck sweater for my sister, Jill. Everyone, say, "Hi, Jill!"
This sweater, called "Minimalist Pullover" by the redoubtable Joji Locatelli was a fantastic pattern. A super well designed, top down turtleneck that should have been a breeze. BUT. It was knit in fingering weight yarn (very fine) on 3mm needles (very small). It took forever. But again, I love how it turned out and Jill says she wears it all the time. I used my favourite yarn, Madeline Tosh Light which is 100 % merino so it's very soft and warm. Plus, they have the BEST colours. This one is called Leopard and I love it!
In addition to the two BIG projects, I knit an oversized cowl, a brioche stitch scarf, and this hat for our family gift exchange.
Yes. It's a Chicken Hat. No, it's not actually intended to be worn by the dog, but she looked awfully cute in it. 'Nuff said.
Then I learned that my son's best friend and roomate, Greg was going to be joining us for Christmas. Clearly another hand knit gift was going to be required. So I knit the Pebble Peak hat by Susan Lawrence in the leftover yarn from Harry's cardigan. Harry says Greg is too ugly to model it, so he graciously offered to model it for him.
I'm pretty sure he didn't intend for me to use all of these on my blog, but that's what you get for being my son and calling Greg ugly. (For the record, Greg is NOT ugly and I love him like a son). This was a GREAT pattern. You can't see it in these pics but the top of the hat features a funky open loop that it created using the Kitchener stitch grafting method. Amazing. It was a revelation to me. It is not hard to do and it looks like there is no seam at all. You have to try it; there are multiple great videos on YouTube waiting for you!
Then, I decided that Harry needed a hat. I saw a really fun funky pattern called Scrapalong. It was more of a recipe than a pattern and I thought it would be a great way to use up some odds and ends of leftover yarn. That turned out to be true. It also turned out to be HUGE! I am still unclear as to why it turned into a Rastafarian hat. I'm willing to admit that I could have done something wrong, but, since it turned out to be too big for Harry, it went to his friend Cass, who through sheer volume of hair and personality turned out to be the perfect person to fit this hat.
You are ROCKING that hat, Cass!
I also knit a hat for my husband, but since he never wears anything I knit for him, I decline to feature him in this forum. So there.
That brings us up to date as of Christmas 2016. Which leads me to my next Purl of Wisdom:
"Don't promise people hand knit sweaters for Christmas. They will take over your life!"
Next post, I'll tell you all about our fabulous trip to the Florida Keys!
Hang in there, we'll be caught up in no time!
