The Land of Wool and Honey

In Between

Somehow, sandwiched between last night's Christmas party (what kind of idiot stays up until 2:00 a.m. when they know they have to get up in four hours?!?), the longest work day of the week and another Christmas party tonight, I squeezed out this week's project.

Finally.

Now if only I could squeeze a nap in there somewhere....

Question

What do you do when the power (and heat!) goes out at work? 

Is it:

A. Pile on a good portion of the knitwear collection you've got at your fingertips;

or

B. Start a new project?

Answer?  Um, duh.  Both.

The Noro sweater in the first photo is one I've had for years--a hybrid pattern knit by my friend Marcia; the granny bandit is the Traveling Woman I knit in Costa Rica; and the black hat is one of my most recent FOs.  The new project is tomorrow's weekly installment of The Twelve Knits of Christmas.  (You know how I do my best work under pressure.)

Pattern: Super Cupcake Hat by Bonne Marie Burns.  (I love this pattern.  Obvs.)

Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Primo Worsted in Carbon--one skein, with just a few yards left.

Started: Friday, November 18th, 2011.

Finished: Saturday, November 19th, 2011.

Needles: US 6 & 7 16" circular and US 7 dpns.

Notes: Followed the pattern exactly, but popped down in needle size and added one inch to the body for more slouch.  Best hat pattern I've knit in a long time--everyone loves it.

(Actually, I took this photo of myself on Tuesday--a normal day.  With heat.  Today I wore four pieces of knitwear plus my knee-length puffer.  And just so you know?  I had three shirts on underneath that Noro sweater.  Wispy, I am not, but gosh darn it--I don't have arm rolls.)

Sparkle, The Christmas Elf

I don't know about you, but I've been experiencing a huge influx of tiny elves in my circle of friends lately--everyone I know seems to be welcoming a Santa's little helper this season.  What better way to welcome the season than a ridiculously cute silver cap--one that's shaped almost like a Hershey's Kiss.  This pattern is easy enough to whip up in a weekend--just in time for those holiday photo shoots.  Who wouldn't love to see this hat on their favorite little elf?

Pattern: Sparkle, The Christmas Elf.

Started: Wednesday, November 16th, 2011.

Finished: Thursdasy, November 17th, 2011.

Yarn: Schulana Mosco in Silver, one skein.

Needles: US 3 16" circular & dpns.

Notes:  I knit the sample in a newborn size (0-3 months), but the pattern is written for four sizes: 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months.  The only problem is the fact that I haven't seen it on a baby yet. 

C'mon, ladies--anybody want to humor me?  

Fireside Slipper Socks

Now that my Christmas tree is up (white lights, homemade ornaments and all,) I am trying to think of any way I can to stay home, curl up in front of our wood stove and stay there.  Indefinitely.  I want to cozy up with all of my creature comforts--hot, spicy cider, a sleepy kitty, baskets of knitting and thick, cozy socks.  

I designed these slipper socks specifically for winter moments--they're heavier than fit-in-your-shoes socks, but because the cuff is short and the needles are large, they may just be the perfect thing to knit yourself for the Christmas holiday.

Project: Fireside Slipper Socks by yours truly.  

Started: November 1st, 2011

Finished: November 3rd, 2011

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Zarzamora, one skein.

Needles: Brittany US 4 dpns

Notes: The path to coziness starts here.  All I need now is a snow day.

 

Dotty

In the years before I bought the shop (back when it was Inish Knits), I knit.  A lot.  Hard to believe, I know, but I actually knit more when I worked for someone else--when my livelihood didn't revolve around sticks and string.  The type of work I used to do was fine, even great sometimes.  Listening to Radiohead at truly epic levels while wearing ripped jeans and latte-stained hoodies, roasting 500 pounds of coffee a day isn't a horrible way to carve out a living, especially when you're making $15 an hour.  I was in great shape, the work was easy (albeit mindless) and the coffee flowed like free, caffeinated water.  What's not to like? 

You know that old saying about an English degree gone to waste?  (Okay, so there isn't really an official saying.  But there should be.)  Well, with all that simple task mastering, you spend lots of your time busying your unquiet mind.  Weeks worth of menus are planned months ahead of time, unspoken conversations are staged, your next seventeen knitting projects get planned--you know the thing.  And because you've spent so much time working out all the mathematical/design kinks in your head, when it's time to actually sit down to knit, well.  Those needles are smokin'.   

I used to knit so much, in fact, that I was almost (almost) considered a production knitter.  If you didn't already know this about me (ha), I rather like knitting the same pattern over and over (and over) again. Knitting isn't always about the chase the challenge--I'm big on repetitive motion.  It's probably my favorite part about it.  That the same motion, done ten thousand times over, creates one long, continuous wearable fabric.   How's that for Zen?

One of my signature projects, knit sixty three times if I knit it once, was the ubiquitous clutch purse.  This week, I felt a little nostalgic.  Not only am I headed over to Leelanau Coffee Roasting tomorrow to do a bit of holiday packaging, but I decided it was time to share the pattern.

Pattern: The Dotty Clutch--Week Number Ten's project.  (Ten!)

Started: Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Finished: Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Yarn: Shepherd's Wool worsted weight in Granite (one skein) and oddments of Peace Fleece roving in Antarctic White, Shaba Green, Volsippi Blue, Baltic Blue and Blue Jay.

Needles: US 8 16" circular.

I've knit this clutch for friends, co-workers' wives, sisters, holiday craft shows--I even worked up a variation for each of my seven bridesmaids.  Somehow, no matter how many times I've knit it, I'm supremely pleased with the end result. 

I hope you'll find this little project as satisfying as I do. 

Waylaid

Big plans had I.  I was hoping to have really good percentage of another Brooklet cowl to show you today, after a solid weekend of production knitting.  I also thought I would reorganize my kitchen cupboards, bake a batch of cookies and go for a Sunday morning run.  (Seriously.  I really thought I would do all of those things.) 

Needless to say, there was no production knitting this weekend.  There was sock knitting while waiting for a late-night quesadilla at the local Tex-Mex joint (go Green!), a few crochet rounds during a class on Saturday and I finished the M on my sampler last night before bed, but there haven't been blissful stretches of uninterrupted knitting for me lately.

However.  This is a good thing.  A very good thing.

Because of this,

The Twelve Knits of Christmas 2011, Week Four(!): Thrummed Mittens.

I spent the majority of my weekend doing this,

(This is just the box that didn't make it in today's mail!)

which is why all I have to show for my weekend is this:

Yup.  The provisional cast on.

 

* * * Thank you to everyone who has been participating in our wildly popular Twelve Knits of Christmas!  Intrigued?  Email me at woolandhoney AT gmail DOT com to sign up for our email newsletter. * * * 

Never Say Never

Turns out, I can teach myself to crochet!

Freshwater pearls + flexible silver wire + 2 hours with furrowed brow and tongue sticking out =The 12 Knits of Christmas 2011: Week Three.

(The truth?  I like knitting more.  Waaaaaay more.)

Skippin'

I think I'll skip the rest of this afternoon's work and enjoy this rare warm October sunshine (72!) on the front porch....with my knitting.  (Well, technically, that's work, too!)

How are you taking advantage of these last glorious, sun-filled days?

Collections, Rules & FOs

Confession: I have a collection.  

Well.  One that's totally unrelated to yarn.  Ahem.

I normally wouldn't balk at this sort of behavior, but I'm afraid the Road to Tchotchke is fraught with good intentions.  Today it's a collection of pretty blue-and-white pottery.  Tomorrow, who knows?  It could be a china hutch filled with fairy mushroom salt-and-pepper shakers.  (No, seriously.  I want these.)

It started about a year ago when I won this dotty teapot on eBay.  Then my sister-in-law's mother (what?  we're a close family!) gifted me with another full tea service in white.  And then?  Well, I added three teapots, four cream pitchers and ten? twelve? teacups a few more.

A few of my favorites.

Of course, there are a few rules and specifications to what I'll allow to become a part of my set.

1.  Space.  Our house is quite small and there are only so many tea accoutrements that one person can use, although I'm not entirely opposed to a few decorative pieces. 

2.  The style I'm going for is floral/English/folk art/Scandinavian country--Japanese is out.  (No Blue Willow here.  It's the dragons, really.) 

3.  All-over crazing and small chips (in cups) don't bother me, but cracks in teapots and chips on pour spouts are not be tolerated.  Period.

4.  I prefer sets of two or three in teacups, and would consider purchasing a set as large as seven.  Saucers are a non-issue.  Matching is not the goal, nor is it a preference.

5.  Pieces from particular or famous time periods are not especially important to me.  I don't really care whether they're antiques or new pieces.  The more authentic folk, the better--I abhor 80s reproduction Art Deco.  And Pier One interpretations.  I do, however, love these cups.  They just happen to have been manufactured during Madonna's reign. 

6.  This is strictly a blue and white grouping--creamy farmhouse white, preferrably. 

7.  Except when I let the occasionally silver-plated piece sneak in.  Especially when it's as cute as this little one-cupper.  I'd never actually use it, but it's so adorable I couldn't resist.

8.  I've decided it's okay to have one knitted item in this grouping--because what would a good knitter's collection be without a proper tea cozy?   Knit in one Saturday afternoon in July, I used a skein of my handspun that used to be this cowl.  I like it much more now--and I've already used it more than I ever wore the cowl.

* * * * *

So when coming up with this year's lineup for the Twelve Knits of Christmas, I immediately thought of my little blue and white pieces.  The yarn that I chose--Canopy Fingering by The Fibre Co.--is a perfect match.  These striped mitts are so classic, wintry and look just like my favorite china.

Thanks to my sister Liz--a perfect hand model!

Project: Delft Fingerless Mitts

Started & Finished: sometime in August 2011

Yarn: The Fibre Co. Canopy Fingering in Macaw (Blue) and Orchid (White)--one skein each.  (I know there's enough leftover to make another pair!)

Needles: US 1 dpn

I'm feeling (almost) ahead of schedule this year and can't wait to share all of these gift ideas with you.  If you'd like to keep up with The Twelve Knits of Christmas and our email newsletter, drop me a line at woolandhoney AT gmail DOT com and I'll add you to the list....the more, the merrier!

 

Be Here Now

 

  

Right now, I am:

: loving my newest little painting--a teensy 4 x 4 original oil I forgot I bought.  (Note to self: wine + credit card + interwebs = almost always a bad idea.)

: giggling over the two (two!) postcards that arrived on Saturday morning.  When was the last time you received actual mail?  From a friend?  In your mailbox?!?

: remembering how perfectly fall it is to sip hot tea in the morning.  While wearing wooly cardigans.  And handknit socks.

: savoring the last (fairly) quiet week before the explosive month of October in the shop--and then the beginning of the holidays.  The leaves are turning, the grapes are almost ready....the second best season in Northern Michigan.  I plan on doing a bit of wine tasting with the tourists this year--some friends are debuting a new line for one of Leelanau's finest. 

: prepping for our famous 12 Knits of Christmas--starting on Friday.  Twelve weeks from Christmas?  I can hardly believe it.

: stretching some stiff muscles.  It's back to P90X after a two month-long hiatus.  O hai, hamstrings!

: stalking my Postmaster anxiously awaiting another of Alicia's exquisite stitch kits.  Hurry, hurry--I know they won't last long.

: enjoying some major Finishupitis.   Over the past few weeks, I've finished a whack of knits that have been lingering on the needles for waaaay too long, including a cowl, a hat, two pairs of fingerless mitts, a tea cozy and this shawl. 

Project: Daybreak Shawl by Stephen West.  (Yup.  Another one.)

Started: July 2011.

Finished: Thursday, September 22nd 2011.  (Again, I could have knit this soooo much more quickly.  I guess I just didn't want to.)

Yarn: The Fibre Co. Canopy Fingering in River Dolphin and Obsidian, one skein each.

Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm) 24" circular.

Size: Small

Notes: Love this pattern.  It's easy to knit, fun to knit, and well, you know how much I love two-color stripes.  Modifications?  Well.  None that were intentional.  The garter ridge section is four rows shorter than it should be, only because I ran out of yarn.  Not the yarn's fault, nor the pattern--my gauge may be a little looser than suggested, which (I think?) requires more yarn.  (Experts?  Wanna weigh in here?)  And in the body, I took a little Creative Licensing while brandishing my needles--I will give you a cookie if you can spot the mistake....and not point it out.

* * * * *

And of course, I am crushing all over the shop's new website, which is now live and open for business!  Because of a few shopping cart hiccups, I hadn't been as loud and proud about it as I've wanted to be, but here goes!  Shop away!  And to celebrate, enter coupon code NEWSHOP10 until October 22nd to receive 10% off your order. 

So happy.