Knitting Giftables & Review - Vogue Knitting Holiday 2010

 

A blog I saw recently had a counter with a large, blinking number '40' - as in 40 days until Christmas! Suddenly the newspapers are full of toy ads and I already know every word to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" just from one trip to the grocery store.

I guess it's time to put on my Santa hat and get into full gifting mode.
 

 

Oh, and if you like vintage clip art graphics like this one, I recommend the Graphics Fairy's cool site.

I've been squirreling away completed projects all year, but there are still one or two things I want to make, and I thought I'd share some ideas for fast, giftable items (all photos to follow not mine, see source links). 

 

Gudrun Johnston's Shetland Shorty shrug from Knitty.com is sweet, simple and uses popular fingering-weight yarn.

 

 

My Estonian blogging friend Anna has some beautiful patterns for download on Ravelry (her username is Kuduja), including this lace shawl Sivilla.

Shawls and wraps make great gifts as they're very popular in current fashion trends, practical and useful items, and you don't have to worry about sizing for the recipient.  

Now might be a good opportunity to try cabling if you've never done so.  It's a lot easier than you might think!  You can't go wrong with Knitty.com's classic Fetching cabled mitts by Cheryl Niamath, 

 

or it's more male-oriented version, Dashing.

I love that fingerless mitts let you to keep your hands warm while driving, and still have a firm grip on the steering wheel. And these make perfect gifts for teens or anyone who does a lot of texting.

For a super fast option, you might consider a very easy pattern I knitted for my husband last year, Ysolda Teague's Garter Stitch Mitts (seen photo at the top of this post).  My husband works at a computer in a chilly office building and he loves these for on-the-job warmth.

If lace is more your thing I (cough, cough) recommend my Greyhaven cowl, 

or for a super speedy project, the Lavande neckwarmer.

Both are easy introductions to lace knitting. 

And it wouldn't be the holidays without all the knitting magazines' special editions, including Vogue Knitting's recent Holiday 2010 issue.

 
This issue is a mix of styles, but I'd say on the whole, Vogue played it safe, rather than daring, with this one.

There does seem to be a little something for most tastes, albeit items more complicated to make than those discussed above and more likely to be worn by you for holiday revelry.  If you've already completed your gift preparations, maybe a little reward to yourself is in order?

The flowing lines of Mari Tobita's "Raindrops" dress are simple and flattering. 

Norah Gaughan's classic cabled yoke turtleneck is gorgeous in lush angora-blend tweed.

Several smaller items including a leaf lace capelet,

 

and a selection of delicate, traditional lace scarves could serve as gifts or festive accessories, depending on yarn choices.

For more everyday-type wear, Wayne's slouchy mohair stripe pullover.

By the way, according to their website, all of Vogue Knitting's patterns are on sale for $2.99 each now through November 19th. 

I hope this gets your creative juices flowing whether making something smashing for yourself, or a nice gift for someone else.  More gift ideas, reviews, and holiday recipes  coming soon!

Autumn Inspiration on the Needles & Hook

This time of year it seems the calendar starts to fly by.  Wasn't it just hot as blazes?  Now the air is cool and crisp with curls of woodsmoke rising from chimneys, mornings are frosty and I'm in the mood for warm, woolie things to wear.  I've winnowed down my works-in-progress (WIP's), but still have a lot going on.

This morning I went to one of my favorite nearby parks and took this photo.

The silvery-frosted leaves and berries against the backdrop of golds, greens and oranges made me want to get stitching!  I went home and dug through my stash to find several candidates but the winner was, hands down, a skein of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn in colorway S242.  

It seems Eisaku Noro must have a penchant for these same shades of Autumn as I have.

I've used the Kureyon Sock to start a crocheted shawlette called Elise Shawl  by designer Evan Plevinski.  This photo shows his shawl, mine is shown in the photos above and at the top of the post.

After the set-up rows, the pattern is a simple two-row repeat worked from the neck down, using only basic crochet stitches like double and triple crochet.  I'm working it with a US size I hook. Fast and fun so far!

Also on my needles are a gazillion prototypes for a hat to match my Lavande neckwarmer pattern, 

a cardigan, from another designer, left over from my vacation (more details when I have photos to share) and a couple of versions of this pattern project.

I'm also playing around with yarns for a variation on the Greyhaven cowl.  And I am excited to announce...

...that Greyhaven was voted as the November knitalong free pattern project for the Ravelry Cowls group!  Thanks to everyone who voted for this pattern.  By the way, I uploaded a new version of the pattern on November 1st, 2010, so if you downloaded one before that date, go ahead and grab a new one. 

This cowl KAL will be going on all month, so it's not too late to join if you still want to.  Some members have already completed multiple versions and are still casting on for more, many looking ahead to making holiday gifts. 

As for KAL's, the Ravelry Anthropologie group Brandywine Falls KAL will continue for quite awhile, so there's plenty of time to join in on that one too.  

This week when I stopped at the post office to pick up my mail, I had a surprise package waiting from my very talented, Chicago-based Ravelry buddy Loren (Twisted1 on Ravelry).  It contained some awesome birthday goodies including cute project gift tags, a Vogue stitch pattern calendar, and most especially this gorgeous scarf she knit for me!

Loren has been working a lot lately with Jane Thornley's amazing tutorials using color and texture in multiple yarns, and designed this scarf herself and titled it Ephemera.  Thank you so much Loren, I love it!  You're so thoughtful! 

Happy stitching everyone!

Happy Birthday-versary

 

This weekend I celebrated my birthday with wonderful things - lots of cake and ice cream, knitting, and time with family and friends.  

I use my birthday as a way to look back on the events and growth I've experienced in the course of the past year, and to make plans, set goals and look forward to what the next year will bring.  For me, a 'birthday-versary' is like a personal new year's day, a celebration of the unique individual each person is and the special place only they can fill on this earth.

None of us is guaranteed another moment so making the most of each one is important to me.  This includes spending time with those I love and, of course, yarn!  

My birthday yarn treat was some Alchemy Haiku mohair silk blend, and a skein of Koigu KPPM, both in Autumn tones of greens, browns, golds and rust. 

For the knitting part of my birthday weekend, I finally blocked a project I started and finished during my trip to New Mexico, my Ishbel shawl by designer Ysolda Teague.  

 

I don't often have time to knit other people's designs these days, so I like to use vacation time to enjoy the benefits of some other designer's patterns.  This little shawlette is a nice scarf size and the pattern was easy to use.  I'll post more when I have FO photos to share. 

In addition to a little knitting on a cardigan (not of my design), and some current patterns-in-progress, I also began work on a hat to match my Lavande neckwarmer design. 

More birthday swag included flowers from both my mom and my husband, and some  favorite super dark chocolate!

And oh yeah, the treats. This little pumpkin patch cheesecake from Whole Foods was so cute and yummy too.  

And no birthday of mine would be complete without one of my favorite treats, an ice cream sundae!  

Those of you who come to Columbus for TNNA or Knitter's Connection might be familiar with Jeni's Ice Cream and their unusual, incredibly delicious flavors.  

We had a terrible time choosing, but settled on Brown Butter Almond Brittle ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream and a chocolate-covered cherry (we shared).  Swoon...

So, another year has come and gone and although there are some regrets, as usual, I am also very thankful for the good times, the blessings, the love of people and animals in my life, and the ability to do the things I enjoy most, like knitting!