build me a sailboat, something made of wood

It's only a little melodramatic to say that I've been broken by knitting today but I am definitely still too fragile to blog about it. (Here I used to say that it was just yarn...) Instead, I'll give you details on some successful Christmas gifts, many of which have appeared in other forms on the blog. First up: mittens that match those of KZ's niece, the flannel sheet mittens. You've seen these before here and here. For my grandma, these are Grove mittens by Brooklyn Tweed, knit out of Plucky Knitter Cashmere Fingering Weight in Elegant Flannel. I loved knitting this pattern and knitting with this yarn. I'm planning a pair for myself in the new year, although not in the same yarn. The pattern calls for DK weight knit on 6s, but I originally planned to knit these mittens with worsted weight yarn since I had a skein that I thought my grandma would love. However, even on 4s, I couldn't get gauge with worsted yarn and it was incredibly painful to knit worsted on needles so small. Miraculously, I managed to get gauge with 4s and this fingering weight yarn. (EW has already demanded an explanation for how this worked. I don't have one. I'm sorry.)

Second on line: the cleft hat for my grandpa.

Seen here before, I definitely prefer the finished product over the process of knitting this one. But I think that's more a fault of my own impatience with cabling, rather than a fault of the pattern or the yarn. For the record, it's a Brooklyn Tweed koolhaas in Plucky Knitter MCN Fingering in Rock of Ages (Fascination Series #1).

Third up: the bioenergy hat for my father.
It's an improvised pattern in Plucky Knitter MCN Fingering (held doubled) in Moody Broody Blue. I couldn't bring myself to knit another koolhaas so soon, but wanted a similar look for this hat. I used a trellis stitch from a new-to-me stitch dictionary, Super Stitches Knitting and knit for about 7 inches before starting decreases. I think it turned out well, although I would do the decreases more gently if I knit a similar hat again. At the recent Bon House reunion, Daria captured some of my work process on this hat. Since I was holding the yarn doubled, it was getting tangled in my pocket as I pulled it. As she often does with tangled yarn, Meg jumped to the rescue to keep my yarn in line.

Last but not least: the day before the fall hat for the Iowan.
I never got a good picture of this one, despite forcing EW to model it for me. (It's not that she wasn't plenty photogenic, as usual. The lighting was off, though.) However, I pretty much loved it and can't wait to knit one of these for me. It's a Quincy hat from Plucky Knitter MCN Worsted in Rock of Ages (Fascination Series #2). The picture here is probably more true to color.

Here's to only successful knitting in 2010!

My knitting skills have become quite advanced.

Okay, not really. But check out this cool stuff my mom made. (this is my niece, not me... in case you're wondering). I believe both patterns come from Brooklyn Tweed. I also got a pair of the mittens, but they're not quite finished yet, hence no photo.

handknits in action (Christmas day edition)

Child's Placket Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, in Plucky MCN Fingering, held doubled. Only mods were to add the stripe and to leave off the buttons. Since I wasn't doing the buttons, I sewed about an inch and a half of the placket closed. And, yes, that is the 4-to-6 year-old size on my 3-and-a-half-year-old nephew.
Umbilical Cord hat from S'n'B, in Rowan Cotton Glace. No mods, except that I was working from memory so I ended up making the newborn size a little long.

Group Shot

Happy Christmas!

trying hard to learn

Just organized my Plucky stash today to figure out if there were any that I was willing to destash. The list is small, but you can see it here if you're interested.

thinking about leaving town

I had thought that I had packed all the knitting I could possibly need over Thanksgiving, but I found myself longing for something super simple and gratifying. Thank goodness for the lovely Lakeside Fibers and KZ's help picking colors for a quick baby hat.

I sewed in the ends as we drove to the airport for my flight back to the East Coast, so I could leave this cutie there just in case it's needed before I return.

For those of you who are traveling soon, what are your knitting plans?

Knitted Goods, in Use

I'll get my notes and pictures together for a real knitting post soon, but in the meantime I had to share this picture with you all.   Check out the multitude of knit wear in use!  (Also in use, though less visible are the mittens KZ made me.  It was really cold.  I needed two layers.)  Yay, warm woolen goodness!