Pattern: Two-Tone Mitts!

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I’ve got an early Christmas Present for you!  A super cute (if I say so myself) and super quick pattern for those last few people still waiting for gifts.

Two-Tone Mitts!img_4346These simple fingerless mitts are shockingly fast to knit up, really cute, and surprisingly flattering.  The minimalist design means that they look just as good on men and women, young or old.  Knit up a pair in your dad’s favorite team colors.  Or make some for your niece’s new school.  Or maybe you have an aunt who loves a particular shade of blue.img_4362These mitts are surprisingly thick and warm, knit with Knit Picks’ Swish, and they’re machine washable (important for gloves- or at least important for my gloves. I always manage to spill my coffee everywhere).  But, if you don’t have Swish in your stash, any firm worsted or DK weight yarn should do the trick.

Want to knit up a pair for yourself?  Grab the pattern for free here:

Two-Tone Mitts

600!

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Hi everybody!  Guess what today is!

It’s my 600th post!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERACrazy, right?!  It’s been three and a half (almost four) years of posting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.  I’ve surprised myself that I’m still going all this time later!  And I’m that I still have things to say!  (If you were to estimate that each post is about 200 words, that’s 120,000 words total!  That’s the length of a nice long novel!  Who’d have thought that there was that much to discuss around knitting?)

I want to thank you guys for reading along, and hanging out with me on the internet- it really means a lot to me to see people reading my work, knitting my patterns and commenting on my posts.  Not to be too sappy, but “You like me, you really like me!”

We’re just about done with holiday knitting, so soon, we’ll be able to get back to some good old-fashioned selfish knitting.  So, then the question is- what are we going to work on?  I’ve got some ideas, but let me know if you have some, too!  Did you get any yarn for Christmas that you just can’t wait to use?  Is there a pattern you love with a technique you can’t quite grasp?  I’m here to help, just ask!

Christmas Bears

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Phew!

My goal was to finish my Christmas knitting this weekend, and after a weekend-long knitting marathon, I did just that.  Barely.  I may have been up on Sunday night until 11:00 weaving in ends and blocking.  And the last piece of knitting might still be quite damp, and sitting in front of a heater with a fan blowing on it (behind closed doors so that Ollie won’t decide to take a nap on it).  But, other than that- everything is done!

And that means one thing:

It’s bear time again!

My goal was to make at least 10 bears this winter, and I’ve been so busy with presents for my family, my bears have been neglected until now- I think I have 8 or so in my bear box in the closet. (What? You don’t have a bear box in your closet?)  So, I’ve got to get cranking.

Luckily, since I just finished up my Christmas knitting, I’ve got lots of half-skeins of yarn laying around, perfect for making bears.  And, sure, you could use whatever worsted weight yarn you have at hand, but I like using Knit Pick’s Swish Worsted.  It’s pretty inexpensive (especially if you wait for one of Knit Pick’s big sales), it comes in a ton of colors, it’s lovely and soft, yet is surprisingly strong and washable.  Also, I happen to have a bunch hanging out in my stash.

This morning I got on a roll, and I worked up this grey bear (with a pink top and purple pants) from the top of his head, almost to the leg split.  (That’s why this post is up a little later than usual- I got distracted.  Also, the couch was very comfy.) img_4381

How have your bears been coming along?  Have you been using up your leftover Christmas yarn, too?

Dear Christmas Knitting,

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img_3557Dear Christmas Knitting,

Hi.  It’s me.  We’ve been spending a lot of time together lately, and I think I need to get some things off my chest.

When we started, almost six months ago, everything was great.  We got along great.  It felt like we had all the time in the world.  Everything was easy, fun, even.  I enjoyed spending time with you, and planning the projects for everyone on my list.

But then, something happened over the course of months.  It was a slow change.  Instead of looking forward to spending an hour or two with you every evening, you became a chore.  I’m sorry if I sound harsh, but that’s what happened.  You know it, and I know it.

And now, this close to Christmas, we’ve been spending every free moment together, working hard to make our deadline.  I’ve been feeling the crunch as the due date looms closer.  Of course I’ll stick with you to the finish, but then… I think we might be done.

I don’t think we’ll be doing this again next year.  I think I might just go shopping for Christmas gifts, or possibly some nice gift cards.    Sure, I’ve said this before, but this year I mean it.  For real.  I promise.

Maybe.

Oh, who am I kidding. I’ll see you next year.

-Allison

Inspiration: The Crown

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I’ve been hard at work on Christmas gifts, so I’ve been watching more TV than usual.  (I’ve got one gift left to finish- and it feels like it’s taking forever!)

Lucky for me, I just got to spend 10 hours with the excellent new Netflix show, The Crown.  I love a good costume drama, and this is a good costume drama.  It follows Queen Elizabeth from just before her ascension through to the late 50s (I believe, I’m not great with dates).  It’s a very interesting view into the life of the young queen, her advisors, and her political opponents.  It’s a family drama, a political thriller, and kind of a coming-of-age story, all in one.  And, of course the costumes are gorgeous- the dresses, the jewels, the ridiculous military garb Prince Philip wears.  It’s all amazing.

Of course Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip don’t wear knitted jumpers to attend to matters of state, but when she’s at home, dealing with the day-to-day of “Queening,” you’d better believe Elizabeth rocks a cardigan (I bet they’re all cashmere, too).

She’s got somber ones for supervising work around the house.

crown-2And collared ones for meeting with her advisors.crown-1But they all look quite lovely with a big silk skirt with lots of petticoats.crown-3Want to let your inner Queen Elizabeth shine?  Try one of these royally cute cardi’s:

I love the touch of cables on this one, though the Queen would not approve of the short shorts.

Chimera Cardigan by Amy Herzogchimera-2_medium21I love the texture on this cardigan, but I think the Queen would think the big flower was a little “common.”  I bet she’d decorate the sweater with a gold-and-diamond brooch from her personal jewelry collection.

Christina by Kim Hargreavesp1020535-1_medium21I love the little fake peplum at the bottom of this sweater. It might be a little “much” for the queen, though.  She’s got very refined tastes.

Myra by Kim Hargreavesmyra_-_alpca_dk_medium21Have you watched The Crown?  It’s so good, right?

Snow Day!

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It’s a snow day!

Which doesn’t really mean much in Seattle, except that everyone gets really excited about the three snowflakes that land in the greater King County area.  It’s not sticking, the roads are all clear, and I sill have to go to work this afternoon (unless the weather takes a rather dramatic turn later).  I couldn’t even get a good picture of the snow, it’s so light.  But I’m still going to enjoy it.

It’s been so long since we had any real snow around here.  I had a real snow day four or so years ago, when I still had an office job.  They closed down the whole campus and made us go “work from home” for two days.  We barely had to do any work, and we still got paid.  It was great!  There was actually a few inches’ on the ground that time.  Since then, we’ve had sprinkles of snow here and there, just like today.  A little pretty snow in the air, but no accumulation.

But, today, for my snow day, I’m going to enjoy it.  I’ve got Christmas carols playing, and my tree is all lit up.  I had hot cocoa with my breakfast, and I have the first batch of Christmas cookies in the oven (meringues, so they’ll be a disaster in this weather, but I’m trying anyway!).  Ollie’s got the right idea, he’s been napping by the window all morning.img_4084I think I’m going to take the rest of the morning to work on my one remaining (unending) Christmas knitting project (I’ve only got a week or so left before I need to get gifts in the mail!), and watch a movie.  That seems like a good thing to do on a snow day.

What’s your go-to snow day activity?  What’s your go-to snow day movie?

Inspiration:Terrace House

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OK, I’ve got a confession to make.

You all know I like TV, and as someone who knits professionally (HA! That sounds funny), I probably watch more than I should.  And, most of the time, I try to limit my TV to stuff that’s a little bit wholesome- something with some cultural or educational value.  You know: BBC dramas, documentaries, cooking shows (and, yes, some Law and Order).

But I have a soft spot for some reality TV.  RuPaul’s Drag Race is my favorite, and I just began watching Project Runway again.  I’ve started watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette family of products.  They’re just such perfect ridiculous, escapist nonsense (especially these days when I need some escapism).

But we’re between seasons of the Bachelor, so what’s a girl to do?

One of my favorite podcasts of all time, Rose Buddies (a Bachelor fan podcast, and the reason I’ve started watching the show), suggested that I start watching Terrace House on Netflix.

And it’s magical.

It’s the Great British Bake Off of dumb reality TV.

Six men and women are given a fancy house in Tokyo and a big SUV, and they… just do stuff.  But, where in an American show all the contestants would get super drunk and cause all sorts of trouble right off the bat, the contestants on this show are so freaking polite and nice.  It’s a delight (if you’re into that sort of thing, and if you don’t mind reading subtitles).

But the best part is that they have a panel of six hosts (judges?) that pipes up from time to time during the show, offering play-by-play commentary.  I’m sure they’re all famous Japanese people (except for the 14-year-old boy whose presence is never explained), but I don’t recognize them.  And, the last episode I watched (Episode 11), two of the hosts were sporting some pretty great knitwear.bothSerious sweaters.

They’re even better close-up:graybrownThey’re not hand-knit; you can see where they were cut and seamed back together in the factory.  But, I love a good, classic Icelandic sweater (even when they’re on a Japanese TV show).

Want your own Serious Sweater?  Try one of these:

Asymptote (Men’s Pullover) by Lars RainsAudKnits snowflake scraves

Veturlidi by Liennea Ornstein9722624247_5b117d7d1f_z1Fosslaug by Linnea Ornsteinimg_2554_medium21What’s your guilty pleasure TV?  Have you watched Terrace House?

Bulletin

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I make a lot of swatches.  I’m not religious about it when I’m working someone else’s pattern, but swatching is an absolute must when designing.  I think of them sort of as a sketch, a way to get my ideas out into the world.  Maybe I’ll have a really great idea, but it ends up looking really bad when knit up.  Or maybe the swatch will reveal a design flaw that I didn’t foresee.   Or, I start swatching, and I come up with an idea that is even better than my original one.

Long story short, I have a big stack of swatches.  Several dozen at least.  I can’t bring myself to throw them away, and they’re too varied to be sewn together into a blanket or anything useful.  All different sizes, shapes, and weights.  Some have been turned into fully-realized patterns, and some never got out of the planning stage, but I like them all.

And I can’t throw them away.

For a long time I had them strung up on the back of my closet door.  But it started to look messy (actually mess, not messy-on-pupose in a Pinterest-y kind of way).

So, I got some great big bulletin boards, and have started pinning up some of my swatches.  And, you know.  I think it looks pretty good.img_3951It’s fun to see all my ideas laid out like that.  Some of these are only ever going to be swatches, some are patterns that have been published already, and some turned into patterns that are going to be released in the future.  (Don’t ask me to tell you which are which!  It’ll be a surprise!)

I think Ollie likes my bulletin boards, too.  (HA!  He couldn’t care less, but he did like the box the boards came in.)img_3957What do you do with your swatches?  Do you keep them? Unravel them? Throw them away?  Or, do you not bother with swatches to begin with?

More Bears!

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There’s bears all over!

Well, not really.  They’re just in a box in my closet, but it’s a pretty big box.  And right now, it’s full of 8 bears.  (Well, 8-and-a-half.)img_3934I don’t have anything insightful to say about these bears, I just think they look cute, all packed up together.

At least they look cuter than the “half” bear.img_3942 I’ve finished knitting her, but she still needs to be stuffed, sewn up and embroidered.  Right now she looks kind of like a crappy glove for someone with two fingers and no thumb.  But soon enough she’ll look as cute as her brothers and sisters.

Are you making any bears?  Join me!  I promise they’re fun!

Panic

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Now that we’ve got Thanksgiving out of the way, it’s time to hit that Panic Button.panic-buttonYup. It’s one month from Christmas.  I’m going to go finish the Thanksgiving dishes, then I’m going to sit down for the next four weeks to knit.  Wish me luck.