Monthly Archives: October 2017

Slayed

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Call me Buffy Summers, because I’ve slayed the vampire. OK, that’s a little dramatic, but man, does it feel good to be finished with my Vampire Project!

OK, I’m not technically 100% done with it.  I’ve finished the knitting portion and it’s blocking away in my studio (I’ve even got two fans pointed at it, in the hopes that it dries sooner than later).  As soon as it’s dry, I’ve got a little finishing to do; some ends to weave in and some last-minute additions.

It’s a huge weight off my shoulders- I was starting to worry about getting it done in time, but I think I’m good (unless it takes more than a couple days to dry).  And, I’m so stinking pleased with how it turned out- it’s massive and absolutely gorgeous (I really wish I could show you now… but unfortunately, I have to wait until next year).

Now that I’m done, though, I feel a little at loose ends.  You know that feeling when you finish a big project, or get done with finals, or get through a big stressful holiday, suddenly you don’t know what to do with yourself?  Maybe I’ll break out a non-knitting craft, or maybe I’ll read a book, or maybe bake something fancy… I’m not used to having options!

Have you finished any big projects lately?

Inspiration: Halloween Candy

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Halloween is next week, and all my students are going bananas.  They’ve all sewn extra-big trick-or-treat bags for themselves, and are talking about nothing but their plans for Halloween costumes (so far it seems like there are going to be a lot of Princess Leias and a lot of very creative “slash” costumes:  Vampire-slash-witch, dragon-slash-kitten, mummy-slash-bride).

But, when you’re a grown-up without kids, you don’t do much for Halloween, except make sure that your house is well-stocked with candy for the trick-or-treaters.  So far, I’ve not picked out my candy yet (I have very little self-control when there’s a massive bag of Almond Joys and Snickers bars in the house, so I try to buy it last-minute).  Maybe I could knit my candy instead of buying it?

I could go classic with candy corn.  People pretend like it’s some weird old-fashioned candy that no one admits to liking.  But, I call bull on that.  It’s candy!  It’s made of sugar!  Of course it’s delicious!

Candy Corns by Purl SohoOr I could be fancy, with these delicate little striped bonbons.  How cute are they?!  I bet they’d be a great way to use up tiny little leftovers, too.

Sweet Stripes by Tricia McDonaldBut I think if you’re looking to make Halloween candy you can’t get any more appropriate than this flipping adorable zombie candies.  I mean, honestly, could they be any more perfect?

Creepy Halloween Candy-Zombie by Dawn Finney(Don’t worry, I’ll give out real candy on Tuesday.  I imagine that giving out knit candy would be a great way to get our house TP’d.)

What are you doing to celebrate Halloween?

Inspiration: Christmas

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It’s October 25th… you know what that means.  2 months until Christmas!

That means you have 61 days to get all your Christmas knitting done (or at least started enough to have a good excuse when you wrap up a half-finished scarf in the wee hours of Christmas morning… not that I’ve ever done that).

Might I suggest a few patterns- a few of my free patterns?  These are some of my favorites, they’re small, simple, and fun enough (if I say so myself) to whip up a handful in the next two months.  Plus, they’re nice enough that even the pickiest gift-receiver will be happy to open them up on Christmas morning.

I love the Snowbank Spa Cloth.  It’s a super simple dish-cloth (with almost no finishing-just two ends to weave in!).  The pattern calls for fancy-pants cotton yarn to make it a “spa” cloth, but you could use any cotton you have on hand, and just rename it “dishcloth” or “washcloth” depending on how soft your yarn is.  It’s a simple repeat of knits, purls, and slipped stitches, surrounded by a nice garter stitch border, so it’s easy to work up.  Make a stack of them, or just one and wrap it up with a fancy bar of soap for a lovely gift.

Get the pattern here! I’m also a fan of the Snoqualmie Cowl.  I can’t wait for the temperature to drop enough so that I can break mine out again.  It’s worked with really bulky yarn at a massive gauge, so it works up in almost no time.  I used fancy leftover yarn from a big shawl I made years ago, but you can use whatever you have on hand- the colorblocking is perfect for using up leftover bits and bobs of your fancy bulky yarn that you couldn’t bear to throw away.

Get the pattern Snoqualmie Cowl.

If you ever need a super fast gift (for Christmas or otherwise), you’d be hard-pressed to find a simpler (or easier) project than my tiny Coffee Sweater.  Worked in the round with just enough cabling to make it interesting, this little guy knits up in an afternoon.  Use your favorite yarn, or whatever worsted-weight yarn you have laying around your craft room- it doesn’t take more than an ounce or two. If you start now, I bet you can make Coffee Sweaters for everyone on your Christmas list before Thanksgiving has passed!  Wrap up each sweater with a gift card to your favorite coffee joint- and I can’t imagine a better gift!

Get the pattern Coffee Sweater!What are your go-to patterns for gift giving?

What If?

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Sometimes when I’m working on a particularly slog-y project, I start playing “What If” with my knitting.  (When I was an office drone I also played “What If” with my job.  What if I was a barista?  What if I started working for the postal service?  What if I went back to school?)

I’ve been thinking “What If” I didn’t have to finish the Vampire project?  What would I be doing instead?

And, since my calculations tell me that I’ve got a little over a week left before I finish (assuming I haven’t made any major mistakes/don’t have to rip back the whole thing/am able to stay on schedule), it’s just about time to start thinking about the next thing I’m going to do.

First, I think I’m going to finish up my Papaya Sweater.  It’s been sitting, abandoned, on an end table in my studio for more than a month now.  Poor thing.  I’m really looking forward to getting it finished.  (And I’m really looking forward to a simple project that doesn’t involve any cables.)I’ll probably work up a handful more Christmas Balls, or at least take some time away from actual knitting to finish up the ones I’ve already knit.  I’ve got a stack that still need to be stuffed, and almost all of them need their tails woven in and their hangers added.  (I feel like “hangers” isn’t quite right, but I can’t think of the right word.  I mean the dangly loop they’ll hang on the tree from.)I also need to spend a weekend finishing up my Mother Bears before the end of the year.  I’ve got 4.5 bears that need to be stuffed and assembled, plus another 6 more that need their faces sewn on.  Maybe that’ll be a Christmas Vacation project?And, I think I want to do something new, something fun, and something that uses up some of the yarn I’ve already got in my stash.  Maybe a new pair of socks, or some sort of shawl that uses the last few mini-skeins of fancy yarn I got last year for Christmas.  Options!What are you working on now?

Vampire Knitting

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I’ve been attacked by a knitted vampire.

(Vampire Doll by Tatyana Korobkova)

No, my vampire is nothing so cute or sweet or quick to knit up.  My knitting vampire is a monster.  It’s gray and massive and covered in cables.  (Yes, I know I love cables, but everyone has their limit. And I might be reaching mine. Y’all, it’s so many cables.)

It’s a pattern I’m working on that’s going to be published next fall… so, sorry, you’ll have to stick around until next year before I’m allowed to show it to you.  Such a bummer!

This project is taking up all my time- I have to work on it at least three hours every day to stay on schedule to get the finished project sent out by the due date.  It’s taking all my knitting energy- at best, after I finish my day’s worth of vampire knitting, I can add a few rows to one of my Christmas Balls, or maybe an inch or two to my next Mother Bear, before I give in, lay down on the couch and zone out in front of the TV.  And, it’s eaten up all my knitting imagination.  Usually I break out my sketch book or a favorite stitch dictionary every few days, and come up with a plan for a new shawl or sweater.  These ideas usually don’t go anywhere, but it’s nice to be able to kind of constantly brainstorm.  This vampire project has sucked up all my creative juices.  I am now only a husk- a husk that only thinks about gray cables.

Now, of course, I’ll be done soon enough, one way or the other (it’s got to be done by the beginning of November).  And after that I’ll be back to normal, flitting from project to project like usual.   But, right now, I’ve got no choice but to slog through the last quarter of my pattern.

Ugh.

Have you ever had to deal with vampire knitting?  How did it go?

Christmas Knitting

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I’m feeling much better today (thanks for all the advice!), and hopefully I’ll keep up the streak of no-headaches for a while.

It’s cool (40s and 50s) and rainy outside, and the leaves are all changing.  So, obviously it’s the time for me to start making my Christmas plans!What?  You’re not a total Type-A planner like me?  Crazy!

Usually, I plan out Christmas gifts (and really, Christmas Knitting) super early- like, over the summer early.  But, I’ve decided to do something truly shocking this year.

I’m. Not. Knitting. Anything.

I swear!

(OK, I am making one small gift because it was specifically requested, and I made a promise.)

Every year I spend months knitting at top speed to make it to December 25th- I make sweaters, I make socks, I make mittens and hats and stockings.  And, they totally stress me out.

This year, I’ve got a bunch of work knitting that’s keeping me busy, and really, I just want to sit back, relax, drink some peppermint cocoa and enjoy the holiday season.  (And maybe selfishly make myself a few dozen more Christmas Balls.)That’s not to say that no one will be getting knit gifts.  You remember my stash of finished objects, right?  There’s nothing to say that someone won’t be receiving a nice scarf that I worked up in March, or a pair of socks from January.  I’ve got people in mind for a bunch of my finished projects, and I’m sure they’ll be excited to get them.  And, for people that aren’t getting anything knitted… well, that’s what shopping is for!

I’m just excited that I’m not going to have to worry about knitting my fingers to the bone, racing the clock (and Santa) to get everything done before Christmas!

Do you have any big plans for your holiday/Christmas knitting?

Inspiration: Headache?

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Y’all.  It’s been a rough week, I’ll be honest with you.  I’ve had a headache for probably 6 of the past 7 days (Saturday was OK for some reason).  I’ve tried everything.  Painkillers, extra caffeine, removing caffeine, more sleep, less sleep, sitting quietly in the dark, going out and running errands to keep my mind off of my headache, extra hydration, hot packs and cold packs.

At most, I’ve gotten a relief for an hour or two at a time, but my headache keeps coming back.  It’s now managed to migrate from my head, down into my neck and shoulders (probably because I’ve gotten so stressed about it, I’m tensing up the muscles in my shoulders… sigh.)

This morning I’ve been sitting quietly in a semi-darkened room, knitting and listening to podcasts (because looking at screens (like the TV) seems to exacerbate my headache), drinking a Coke (because coffee sounds gross right now, but I wanted to see if caffeine might help my head this morning), and taking turns with the hot and cold packs.  It seems to be helping, and hopefully by the time I need to leave the house for work this afternoon, I’ll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (or at least I won’t be dragging as much as I have been the last few days).

I’ve got a bunch of cold packs left over from when I used to play roller derby, but none of them have sleeves as nice as this- I might need to make one or two to have on hand the next time my head gets the best of me.

Knitted Ice Pack Cozy by Ampy Versalles-CurtisI’ve got a heating pack that I made years ago that I filled with barley.  I like it a lot (I’ve got it on my shoulders right now).  But, it’s gotten a bit stained and worn over the years, so maybe I should crochet up a cute little pouch for it.  I like the little crocheted buttons, especially

Comfort Pack by Donna Hulka

I’m so ready for this headache to go away!  Do you have any remedies for a stubborn headache?

New Pattern: Tannenbaum Tree Skirt

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It’s a very special day today.  (No, it’s not just Friday, October 13th, the spookiest day of the year)  It’s new pattern day!  And, better than that, it’s new Christmas Pattern day!

Knit Picks just published an insanely adorable collection, cram-jammed with cozy holiday patterns.

Everything in this book is stinking cute, and gives me “Cozy Christmas Cabin” vibes, which is exactly what I want when I’m gearing up for the holidays.

I think the cutest pattern might be this adorable color work Santa pillow.  I see myself spending the next couple months knitting up a handful of these bad boys.  I love how the hats of one row of Santas form he shoulders of the next row- very clever!

Santa Pillow by Kathy LewinskiAnd these stockings are just too sweet!  I love that they’re worked in bulky yarn (making them extra-big for extra presents!) and the non-traditional burgundy, navy and cream are a really nice alternative color scheme.  If I hadn’t already made my stockings, I’d be seriously considering whipping up a few of these guys for my family.  Maybe I’ll end up with a sweater featuring the reindeer and snowflakes…

Holiday Stockings by Michele Lee Bernstein

But, if I can totally toot my own horn, I think my pattern might be my favorite.  It’s the Tannenbaum Tree skirt!

It’s a creamy, cabled, cozy tree skirt knit in a single piece, featuring Christmas-tree-shaped cables all the way around.  (Trust me, it’s even cuter in person!)It’s a smallish skirt, about 30″ in diameter, so it’s perfect for a skinny tree, or a small table-top tree.  It’s worked in bulky yarn, so it works up in no time at all.  Plus (and I realize this might not be something that everyone agrees with), the cables are insanely fun to work, all complicated and twisty, but really satisfying at the end of the day.

If you want to get a copy of my pattern, head over here!

Or, if you want to get a copy of the whole Merry Knitmas book (and why wouldn’t you?), head here!

Christmas Ball Update

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Lately, I haven’t had much time for “fun” knitting. (“But, Allison!” You protest, “All knitting is fun!”)  I’ve been hard at work on a very cool (yet, ironically  very cozy) and very top-secret pattern.  I have to knit X amount of the pattern every day to stay on track to make my deadline at the beginning of November.  It’s not a very relaxing schedule for my knitting, but it’s what works best for me.  If I don’t give myself a daily deadline, I try to get the whole darn thing done in one sitting and I go a little crazy.

On the days when I finish my assigned knitting early, I’ve been treating myself with Arne and Carlos’ Christmas Balls.I got the book last year for Christmas, and have since then, I’ve harbored hopes that I could cover our tree with nothing but red-and-white knit bobbles.  So far, I have made a bunch (just over a dozen), but unless we get a very small tree, it’s not going to be enough.

Despite being a little disappointed with my progress, I’m still loving making these balls.  They’re the perfect in-between project. They’re interesting, and great colorwork practice.  They don’t take long to make (one ball takes me about 2 hours to knit- just enough knitting to watch a movie).  And, they’re very satisfying.  I want to make all the Christmas Balls!

I just have to finish my stupid work knitting first… sigh.

Do you have any favorite “in-between” patterns you keep going back to?

Inspiration: Pumpkin Spice

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Y’all.  It’s that time of year again!  And I think you know what time I mean.

Pumpkin Spice Time.

Now, I’m not a huge fan of the OG Pumpkin Spice Latte (too sweet for me), but I love all other things Pumpkin Spice.  I mean, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice?  You can’t go wrong!

I made some applesauce the other day with some Pumpkin Spice in it (very tasty), and I’ve been known to whip a batch of pumpkin pancakes and a loaf or two of pumpkin bread (with pumpkin spice, natch).  Not to mention several pumpkin pies every fall/winter.  I mean.  Can you think of a better breakfast than a slice of creamy pumpkin pie with a steaming cup of coffee?  (Of course pie is a “sometimes” breakfast, I’m not completely a monster.)

Anyway, let’s celebrate the reason for the season with some Pumpkin Spice knits!

This baby hat is too cute to be trusted.  I bet that baby is scheming to steal my pumpkin pie!

Pumpkin Spice Hat by Cuie Patootees

 

This cowl is such a lovely combo of textures and colors, I can’t think of anything better.  Except maybe a Pumpkin Spice chai?

Pumpkin Spice Cowl by Agnes Kutas-KeresztesI couldn’t talk about Pumpkin Spice projects without including a coffee sleeve!  Perfect for your next Pumpkin Spice Latte. (You can’t use it for a regular drip coffee, or even a vanilla latte.  It’s particular.  Pumpkin Spice Lattes only.)

Pumpkin Spice by Evan MiddletonWhat’s your favorite part of this time of year, and why is it pumpkin-spice everything?