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Gifts of Christmas Past

Every year around this time I start to think about gift knitting for the holidays. I don't often give hand-knitted gifts, but I do usually feel the urge to, and sometimes around Thanksgiving I start to scramble and decide to make some stuff last minute. Like a crazy person. Since that urge hit me this week (whew - a couple weeks earlier than usual!), I thought I'd do a round up of previous knitted gifts. It was fun re-visiting some of these, and I clearly have some favorites (like the Wurm, which I talked about in this post). 

Here we go: 

One year Mom got a matching brioche cowl and ...

...wurm hat knit with Entropy DK.

The Hangover Hair Hider is always a fave...

...as is the Christopher Hat (double-sided!).

This one was very special ... 

...as was this one.

Sometimes a little whimsy is called for ... 

...and sometimes a pirate just needs a new hat. 

Sometimes an improvised dickey is just what the white elephant party calls for...

And socks are ALWAYS a go-to appreciated gift!

what a night!

We had such a blast hosting Marie Greene last night for the launch of her second book (TWO BOOKS THIS YEAR!). It was party central up in here, with guests from near and far (Kim from California wins for furthest travels)!

Marie signing 'til her hand falls off!

 

Laura, AKA #mcMondayMagic was a little excited

Julia found inspiration in the Glacier Cowl.

 

Look at all the attendees from Knit Camp!

Olive Knits sample knitter, Jill (AKA #jillofalltrades) with Marie

It was a night to remember! Thank you to everyone who traveled to attend, and to all our locals who turned out en force to make the evening extra special. And, of you weren't able to make it, we have signed copies of the book available now on our website! 

Unfettered

We have (sadly) wrapped up the 2019 Happy Hour Project Club. Our fourth and final project featured Unfettered. 

Unfettered is defined as “release from restraint or inhibition” - just like these brioche stitches as they ebb and flow around the cowl, with gradient colors slowly drifting. Cheers to the culmination of our 2019 Happy Hour Project Club, and cheers to unfettered knitting! 

I designed this cowl in the slow color-changing yarn Blossom by Wonderland Yarns. The colors in this yarn are rich, saturated and vibrant. I paired it with the kettle-dyed Manos Fino in a complementing color to best show off the gradient.

This pattern is inspired by and adapted from Knitting Fresh Brioche by Nancy Marchant. I highly recommend this book as a lifelong brioche reference tool!

This full package last month included a della Q project bag (Shh...I'm Counting!), one skein of Wonderland Blossom, one skein of Manos Fino, the Unfettered pattern, a candle from Sea Love scented "On The Rocks", and the recipe for Kay's Famous Margarita. 

 

Elegant Drinking Bib Re-Boot

(In an un-planned-for turn of events, the day I am writing about metaphorically re-booting one of my patterns our shop desktop dies while re-booting. Go figure.)

In our first iteration of the Happy Hour Project Club we debuted EDB - the Elegant Drinking Bib. Our original used Manos Serena, a lovely blend of alpaca and cotton that never quite caught on in our store. We let go of Serena a couple of years ago, but we still love the EDB and recently decided it needed some new love. 

Introducing EDB 2.0 - knit by Jill in a most delicious concoction of Pichinku Tawa (merino and silk, naturally dyed in Peru) and Knitted Wit Sock. The EDB relies on choosing a fun variegated yarn and nicely contrasting solid, and these two yarns are a match made in heaven. Knitted Wit's bold and mischievous color paired with Tawa's smooth, silky hand makes for the perfect drinking accessory.  (We used Tiffany in Tawa and If She Builds It in Knitted Wit Sock).

The EDB uses a special stitch, and I thought it might be helpful to give you a little how-to video on this special stitch, which I refer to as "D5" in the pattern. The D5 stitch allows you to create this cool "windowpane" effect - without ever stranding two colors! In fact, the EDB doesn't use anything trickier than simple stripes to accomplish this two-color look: 

We love this new version so much, that we want to share it with you as well. We had enough left over from each of our two skeins to offer YOU a chance to win this yarn and a copy of our EDB pattern! 

Just leave a comment here on the blog telling us about your favorite happy hour ritual - and it doesn't have to involve cocktails! Just tell us what you would ideally do at the end of the day if you had an hour just to sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself. We will draw a random winner on June 7th and announce it here on the KAH blog and in our June 7th FB Chat Live. Cheers!

Diving into Square #1

Since we are re-visiting the afghan next month, I decided to cast on and knit with my virtual students. I want to have each square done ahead of them, to refresh my memory (my last afghan was 12 years ago) and make sure I can best prepare them for what lies ahead.

We are starting off with Barbara Selesnick's square, which I dubbed the "heart" square. In my evaluation of all the square we are covering for class, this one is the easiest and presents the most basic cables, which means it is well-suited to those that will be cabling for the first time. 

I whipped this little guy up in about 3 1/2 hours - which means it is completely do-able in a day for most knitters. Of course, I don't use a cable needle to cable (if you want to lose the cable needle - check out my YouTube video), which speeds things up quite a bit. 

I am using Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted for this round, and at first I was a little dubious. While knitting the cables, it felt more robust than I had anticipated. My finished square was .... let's say ... hearty. 

But oh, after blocking? 

This baby came out smoooooooth. I have zero sensitivity to wool, so I can use the "heartiest" of hearty yarns and not really notice. But even I was impressed with how absolutely lovely this yarn feels after blocking. And knowing that it has that good 'ole workhorse wool quality, I can be sure that this heirloom will last long enough to actually become an heirloom. 

My current obsession

If you've been around the shop lately, you already know what I'm going to talk about. Chances are, if you've been around the shop lately, my current obsession has already become your current obsession, because it's spreading like wildfire. 

I'm talking about crochet. 

A few weeks ago, Jill and Kismitt were discussing plans to knit a blanket using their sock weight leftovers. I overheard, and immediately thought of the piles of fingering weight leftovers I have in my stash, in all colors and sizes of "bits". Instead of a knit blanket, though, my thoughts went to a blanket I had made before, but in worsted weight - the One Big Granny Square blanket from Churchmouse Yarns. I originally crocheted mine back in 2012 out of Silk Garden, and it is still one of my favorites to this day: 

That night at home, I dug out alllll of my fingering weight leftovers. Just imagine how many fingering weight leftovers I might accumulate - between my own knitting and knitting for the store - it's a lot. I sorted them roughly by color family: 

I changed the hook from a G to a D (3.25mm), and off I went: 

After this picture I changed from an old steel hook to the much more comfortable Amour hooks, and that little beginning quickly became this: 

In all honesty, to say I've been obsessed is an understatement. I've had to force myself to take breaks because my carpal tunnel and tendonitis are both flaring. But it's soooooo fun. I can't stop. I have a little pouch I carry around with me, and each day (or so) I go back to the stash, grab four or five little balls in some random color progression that appeals to me, and throw them in the pouch. I crochet until I've used them, then I go back for more. I'm trying not to give too much thought to the order I place colors and instead just go with what calls to me in the moment of choosing. And I am in love. 

Now the question is - when do I stop? 

(Some of my favorite yarns making frequent appearances in this are: Knitted With Fingering and Sock, Manos Fino, Dream in Color Smooshy, and Wonderland Mary Ann. 

 

Hammerish

This week brings our third installment in the 2019 Happy Hour Project Club! 

Presenting - Hammerish. 

Ben Franklin sometimes referred to feeling tipsy as being a bit hammerish. If you find yourself a bit hammerish, hunker down with this cozy cap and a nice tall glass of water -- you’ll feel better in no time. 

This hat is knit in worsted weight yarn and is quick to whip up as a gift. I originally designed it in Pichinku Qanchis, a delicious blend of merino and alpaca hand-dyed by a women's coop in Peru. 

The full package this month includes a Della Q bag (Cheaper than therapy!), one skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca, a matching Toft UK alpaca pom, the Hammerish pattern, a coupon for 50% off one skein of Pichinku Qanchis, and the recipe for the Wisest Ever French 75. 

At last month's meetup, we had enough knitters bring in their finished Swirly's that we took this great group photo: 

 

Cheers!

Reminiscing about the Great American Aran Afghan

The shop is abuzz with excitement about our Great American Aran Afghan Club re-boot. Laura and Jill will be teaching our famous 18 month course, beginning in June, and the talk is all-afghan, all-the-time around here. Jill and I each brought our finished afghans in to display, and all the excitement really has me thinking back to when I made my afghan back in 2007. (Side note - I started teaching this class in January of 2007, which means I was five months pregnant with Ms Mals at the time, and then had a baby right in the middle of the 18 month class! What was I thinking?)

Before I keep going - if you are interested in taking our Afghan Class, either in the store or virtually, you can find more info and register on our website. 

The first time I taught this class, I certainly had experience cabling, and I also had experience reading charts. But I think working through these 20 different squares really cemented some key skills for me. For one, I re-charted each month's square for the class. Unfortunately the book does not present the square instructions in the most easy-to-follow format. Each square's instructions lists all individual chart motifs separately and you have bounce around the page as you work to keep track of each motif's progress. I don't fault the publishers for this, because I understand that in the interest of saving space they had to do it this way. However, it makes following along very difficult, especially for a new chart reader.

So for the class, I take this:

Lots of written gobbledy-gook and individual charts to track ...

And convert it to this:

My custom re-format, aligning all instructions, symbols, and motifs into one page

I created all the cable and chart symbols as .jpgs in Photoshop so that they would exactly match the symbols in the book in case anyone needs to cross-reference (except I color-coded mine to be easier to read). Then I just put all the individual charts into Excel into a nice big chart that shows the entire width of the square. I added all the symbol definitions below the chart for easy reference on one piece of paper (usually). For me, it is SO much easier than having to reference each individual motif, then the symbol map for each cable, then the written definition of each cable, every time you need to work across the row. 

Another skill that was refined and cemented throughout knitting this project is cabling without a cable needle. I started on my first square, and never looked back. In fact, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've had to use a cable needle in the last 12 years. Our class will teach those interested how to cable without a cable needle (and if you can't join us in class, see my YouTube video on Cabling Without a Cable Needle). 

Here is my afghan after I had assembled all of the squares but had yet to do the border: 

Is a swing set where you display your FO's as well?

And a final image of my finished afghan (apologies for the low light): 

I truly love this blanket, and it is in regular use around my house throughout Fall and Winter. It now looks loved and well-worn, and I don't mind one bit. 

Hold My Beer

Last week was our second Happy Hour Project Club get together!  

Who needs a beer cozy when you have these warm felted mittens to protect your hands from your icy bevvie? These mittens are a straightforward knit on size 10.5 needle, with just a bit of contrast whimsical striping to make things fun. 

Introducing Hold My Beer:

Toss them in the washer after knitting, and voila! Warm, snow-proof, frosty-glass-proof mittens! Want to make them extra fun? Swap your Main Color and Contrast Color for the second mitten! 

The rest of the Happy Hour package included a della Q project bag ("Knitting is sitting ... for creative people!"), a JaMpdx yarn chicken enamel pin, a JaMpdx "serious balls" enamel pin, and a recipe for my favorite Bloody Mary recipe. 

Cheers!