Follow along and discover your next inspiration as we cast on for projects we love, explore new techniques, and dish about the latest and greatest from Knit Picks.
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Early February can be a mixed bag, depending on where you reside in the world. Still technically winter, the first signs of spring (yay!) are beginning to show themselves, and that has us bubbling over with inspiration. Come along with me as I highlight our latest pattern collections and say ‘hello’ to the return of some new and improved yarn lines.
Those frosted windshields and travel mugs full of hot tea mean that it’s accessory weather! Fingerless mittens have come out of storage weeks ago, I’ve started carrying around a slouchy hat in my purse for windy emergencies this week and I just sorted through my chest of knit sweaters. I’ve been pretty steadily increasing the winter wardrobes of my extended family and friends every Christmas and this year is certainly no different. I wanted to share a few of my recent favorites to add to your own gift list!
I heard that Tincanknits would be coming to my local yarn shop in a few months ago so I popped over to look at their patterns on Ravelry as a little refresher before I made a trip to see the projects in person. I fell in love with their Antler Hat pattern for a second time and decided to make one for my mother in Full Circle Worsted Ponderosa. I love the combination of simple repeats in this cable pattern and the lovely stitch definition of Full Circle. The single ply yarn makes such a bouncy, cozy fabric!
More recently, I whipped up a pair of Stacey’s Semplice Fingerless Mitts (free pattern!) in my favorite yellow: Turmeric in Swish DK. It doesn’t get more autumnal than that. I was able to do them two-at-a-time which means that both thumbs actually ARE the same length (I problem of mine when it comes to mittens). Unisex and super versatile – this pattern has been in heavy rotation lately as I try to whittle down my Christmas gift list!
Lastly, I wanted to try my hand a crochet beanie. I still have some Chroma Worsted samples kicking around in my stash and I just love how it crochets up. I discovered Rohn Strong‘s great patterns on Ravelry and tried my hand at his Grizzly hat pattern. It’s got just the right amount of slouch and fits perfectly, this pattern is definitely added to my “second time around” list for last minute gifts. I’ve got my eye on a ball of Chroma Worsted Soft Rock for one and Midwinter for another.
Are you still working on big gift projects for Christmas or are you trying to fill in some gaps with smaller accessories too? I still have one more sweater to get crackin’ on but then it’ll be smooth sailing for the rest of the month!
I have inched up to SpillyJane’s Cupcake Mittens like they were a wild tiger. I fell in love with the design, bought the pattern and even chatted with SpillyJane on one of my podcasts. Of course, while we were still in Mexico, I didn’t easily have access to Palette yarns. I decided that I could wait until I could try making a raid on our office yarn stash.
Last week, that is exactly what I did – pawed through our bins of extra Palette yarn. We didn’t have every color SpillyJane used in her design. But, thanks to the selection of 150 colors, I was able to find substitutions that I like.
Haze Heather (replacing Bluebell)
Custard
White
Rouge
Doe
Bison (replacing Bark)
Lipstick (replacing Pimento)
Blossom (replacing Cotton Candy)
Garnet Heather
Once I had the balls of Palette gathered, I began having a little trouble figuring just when I would knit my fingerless mitts. The balls of yarn took up a lot more space than the mittens themselves!
There are some projects that I find easy to imagine as my “sit-at-home” knitting – sweaters, for example. But, fingerless mitts clearly fall under my definition of “travel” knitting.
Ta Da!! I wound up tiny balls of all the colors except for Haze Heather. Now my project will fit easily into a Knit Happy Take Along Tote. These tiny balls will probably not get me through a pair of Cupcake Mittens but they will certainly get me through an evening of knitting in a restaurant or at a friend’s home. I can easily wind up new balls as needed.
