Happy New Year 2013!

 

Thanks to everyone for being such wonderful blog-friends in 2012, I wish you a  Happy New Year filled with much love, laughter and stitching. May your yarn stash be bottomless, your stitches be even and all of your projects a perfect fit!

For last year's words 

belong to last year's language
And next year's words 

await another voice. 

And to make an end 

is to make a beginning.

 
~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

A Christmas Wish

Wishing you 

a Christmas 

filled with peace, 

love and light.

Happy Holidays - Easter & Passover Wishes

I wish happy Easter & Passover greetings to all my readers who celebrate. And to those who do not, you are welcome too, there are many more fun holidays for everyone! Have a wonderful week, and happy knitting!

photo via pinterest.com

Inspiration - St. Patrick's Day Green

Many things inspire my creativity, but perhaps none more so than texture and color. And since today is St. Patrick's Day, I'm claiming the smidgen of Irish heritage in my ancestry to do some sharin' o' the green along those lines, with a few green images like the one above featuring part of my collection of vintage knitting needles in green aluminum, plastic and bakelite.

There must be shamrocks, of course!

And Irish Spring soap (original scent). I wrap chunks of this soap in mesh bags to use as moth repellent in my stash. So far it has worked wonderfully and leaves my stash with a fresh fragrance.

Dewy moss sparkling in this morning's sun.

And always, a favorite yarn!

I believe it is commonly accepted that on St. Patrick's Day, everyone is Irish, and I wish for you one of my favorite traditional Irish blessings:

 

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

-traditional Irish blessing

Leap!

Some leaps are the result of immense determination

and effort,

some are an expression

of joy,

and still others require great faith

and courage.

Whatever you are facing today, I wish you determination, joy, courage and faith as you take the leap, and the great reward of landing safely on the other side.

HAPPY LEAP DAY 2012!!

images via Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/226868899948276167/, http://pinterest.com/pin/66709638199951826/, http://pinterest.com/pin/207024914090164316/, http://pinterest.com/pin/88101736429947855/, http://pinterest.com/pin/93238654754882970/, http://pinterest.com/pin/242490761155715362/

Happy Valentine's Day!

On this day when love is celebrated, I celebrate more than romance. I love many things - knitting (and many other arts), my husband, family, friends, my dog, God, chocolate - although not necessarily in that order, lol! To mark the occasion, I've collected a few quotations about love, I hope you enjoy them. photo vintagerosebrocante.tumblr.com

"Every gift, though it be small, is in reality great if given with affection"

- Pindar, ancient Greek poet

“Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.”

- Elbert Hubbard, American author

"I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love."

- Mother Teresa  

Happy Valentine's Day!

PS - Today is the last day to post a comment in my free knitting pattern, yarn and bag giveaway (posted here), I'll be drawing the winner and posting later this week!!

New Year, New Knitting

So long 2011, helloooo 2012! 

In a nod to the 'out with the old, in with the new' way of thinking at New Year, I decided that I would empty out my WIP basket and finish up a few things, then reward myself by  starting something new, so I spread everything out and wove in ends, added trims and blocked like mad. It was somewhat tedious, but rewarding to see some of 2011 projects complete and wearable.

I haven't been able to share as much of my knitting progress from the latter half of 2011 as I'd have liked to because much of it was for publication. Some things, like my new Bosc hat and scarf, have been revealed, but the others are for publication in print for 2012 and are still top secret. 

One of the secret projects was developed in this yarn from Royal Fibers Spinnery, a heathered dark charcoal gray, aran-weight pure alpaca yarn I purchased from the close-out bin of their booth at the Taos Wool Festival last year. The yarn is extremely soft and surprisingly lustrous, with the exquisite drape of pure alpaca. 

Although the pattern will appear in a very different yarn for publication, the open nature of the main stitch pattern is easily worked in a variety of yarns. Can't wait to show you more when the pattern is released!

Another pattern for print publication was also developed in alpaca yarn, shown here in a dusty purple color, although the official version is, again, knit in a different color.

I've been playing around with these fun little doodads for a project,

and these handmade beads, a few of which were purchased from a glass artist exhibiting at Rhinebeck (sorry about the crummy photo, trying to take fast photos under artificial light is not a great idea).

In the 'in with the new' knitting category, I just finished a shawlette design prototype, wrote up the basic pattern outline and am now knitting it up in another yarn, incorporating some new ideas I had. And I've cast on for a cable cardigan - a hoodie? - in some stashed Berroco's Ultra Alpaca (see photo at top of post). 

The Ultra Alpaca was some of the only yarn I had enough quantity of on hand for a large project, so it will not surprise you to discover that it is... gray, lol. I do also have plans to knit purples, some gorgeous cobalt blue, a little red, lovely creamy white, a bit of green, perhaps more gold?, definitely more gray, eye-popping orange, a touch of pink, and a few other of my favorite colors this year.

I'll be able to show many more photos of WIPs and FOs as the year progresses.

And finally, to help celebrate a fresh new year of knitting, I will be holding another free pattern and yarn giveaway contest, so check back for details on that in an upcoming post.

Happy knitting and Happy New Year everyone!

Holiday Wishes

angel with harp, artist unknown

My holiday wishes for you this day, dear friend, are for all your stitches to be even, for your yarn stash to be fruitful, and for all your projects to fit perfectly. May your Christmas be joyful and filled with love, and your home be blessed. And may angels watch over you and yours always.

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to (all)
From heaven's all gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

 From a classic Christmas carol, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, based on a poem written in 1849 by Edmund Hamilton Sears, and set to music in 1859 by Richard Storrs Willis. Word in parenthesis, mine.

Thankful for...

In a world where so many have so little, I am very thankful to have so much - the ability to love, to share, to comfort, to serve, to create and to give. On this day when Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you and yours much love and much to be thankful for this year. 

And - thank you - for being a part of my knitting and blogging world.

Interweave Knits Pattern - Northwoods Coasters

With Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2011 special issue about to be released and the pattern preview posted on the website, I can finally share news about a pattern I designed for this issue - the Northwoods Coasters squares!

Although I've had print and downloadable patterns available for some time, this is my first magazine design and I was thrilled to work with such wonderful people at Interweave Knits.

This issue is packed with gorgeous patterns to get started on your holiday knitting. 

The Northwoods pattern is included in the 'Log Cabin Knits' story theme, and makes a nice  project to cozy up your winter tabletop, or as a set for a quick but thoughtful gift. 

These easy short row squares are knit all in one piece from very small amounts of yarn.  The squares make wonderful drinks or mug coasters, but might also be cute (perhaps made with leftover project yarn) pieced together for sofa pillows, table runners or even blankets.  

I'll do a proper post with more photos, information and details about the pattern soon. Holiday Gifts 2011 will officially be on newsstands September 6th, so check your LYS or local bookstore for it, and you can see the full issue or pre-order it on the Interweave website here.

With dozens of gorgeous patterns for knitting and gifting included, this issue is a terrific value, and will certainly be one of those 'keepers'.  

Magazine cover and mug photos courtesy of Interweaveknits.com

Yarn -y Greetings

Freylakhn Pesach,

Happy Earth Day,

Easter Blessings,

and 

Happy knitting to all this weekend!

Knitting into the New Year 2011

 

The toasts have been made and Auld Lang Syne has been sung for yet another New Year's eve.  I hope everyone had a joyful and safe celebration.

Every January 1st I feel as if the new year were a fresh, blank calendar page waiting to be written upon.  I get a little thrill at the prospect of setting new personal life and crafting goals for myself.  Not resolutions exactly, but challenging points that I want to aim, stretch and reach for.  

 

Some of these I set and might or might not have accomplished in 2010, but I want to increase or renew for this new year as well, including publishing more knitting patterns, learning new and unusual methods of constructing knitwear, and experimenting with designing my own stitch patterns.  

 

I'd like to get back to making more sweaters and garments as mine are looking sadly worn this winter.  I also want to spin regularly (and use my handspun for projects), and crochet a little every month.  

 

Can I stick with these goals for the year?  I believe I can, and will enjoy the process of trying to, but only time will tell.  

One thing I know for certain is that if I don't first set out, I cannot finish.  I like this quote from Horace, the Roman lyric poet (65 BC-8BC):

"He who has begun has half done.  Dare to be wise; begin!"

Happy New Year everyone, and may your 2011 be filled with love, joy, peace, prosperity and lots of knitting and fiber-y adventures.  Go forth and knit!

Thanksgiving Knitting & A Tasty Recipe

 

This year we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving, along with one of my sisters and her family, at my brother's home.

Although I love my family, hours spent in a bustling house full of people can be nerve-wracking, so an easy, on-the-go knitting project is a must for me to relax with while catching up with everyone after the dinner dishes are done.

I'm taking the project shown in the photo above, a simple scarf made from Fleece Artist's Nyoni wool/ silk/ kid mohair/ nylon fingering-weight yarn.   

Interestingly, the yarn feels both rough and smooth at the same time.  That is to say, it is smooth and lovely to knit with, but still has enough roughness and is not too soft.

The silk and mohair content add rich luster and grab the dye differently from the other fibers, and I love how it softens to a silky drape after blocking.  Yum!

And speaking of yum, my friend Mary is a super baker, and when I sampled her pecan praline-topped pumpkin pie, made from her mother's recipe, I knew she had another winner. 

I have my own favorite spicy custard cream pumpkin pie recipe, but I'm using Mary's idea for a pecan praline layer on top to make the pies for our Thanksgiving festivities.  If you like pecans or toffee, I think you will love it too.

If you are short on time this week (who isn't?) this topping could dress up a store-bought pie, and if you serve it from a glass pie dish, nobody will know you didn't make it if you don't tell them.

Serve it slightly warm with a little heavy whipping cream, or topped with vanilla ice cream for a swoon-worthy treat for your gathering.    

Pecan Praline Pie Topping Recipe

Makes enough topping to cover one pre-baked pie.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2/3 cup brown sugar (I used dark brown)

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecan pieces

1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400* F

In medium-sized bowl, stir together butter, brown sugar and vanilla, until thoroughly combined.  Stir in pecans, coat thoroughly. 

Spread topping evenly over your pre-baked pie, starting with the outer edges and working towards the center.  Be careful not to spread topping too close to the edge as it will melt and spread slightly during baking.

Place pie on a cookie sheet in the center of oven, bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Use caution when handling hot pie, praline topping is very hot and can easily burn bare skin.

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!