Kelley has always extolled the merits of hot water bottles, and I didn’t pay much attention for a long time. I thought they were old fashioned and maybe even a little frivolous. Hah – well, now I know better. I finally caved in a bought one and now I love, love, love the gentle comforting warmth it provides on cold winter nights.
But, hot water bottles definitely need cozy covers. Their rubbery surface isn’t very conducive to cuddling. So, here’s my offering for a custom-fit hot water bottle cover pattern. My goal was a very snug-fitting cover, of densely knit stockinette so there is only a thin layer of fabric between me and the warm bottle. I’ve seen cabled hot water bottle covers, but I think the cables add extra layers of insulation that don’t let the warmth come through as much.
Yarn: Bare Superwash …

Packages are slowly starting to arrive from our vendors with some of the new spring yarns. I couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at the new colors of Felici and Risata. That’s a photo I snapped of a box of Felici we just opened. I didn’t get a picture of Risata, but I can say that anyone who loves bright, cheerful colors is going to be over the moon about the shades we picked to fill out the Risata line.

Deidre’s got a big job ahead of her sorting all the yarn as it comes in and trying to keep tabs on it as we snag skeins for photography, project development, and color correction for the web. We’ve only got a few more weeks to get it all together before these new colorways go on sale! …

As soon as I saw the Winter 2008 issue of Interweave Knits, I knew I had to knit the Positano Tote for my sister – for Christmas! Yikes! My yarn, Wool of the Andes in Amber Heather just arrived yesterday, so I cast on right away. I’m going to be a busy knitter for the next couple weeks – I hope I can make it!
What about you? Any gift knitting goals you’re worried about reaching? <

Yesterday was our Holiday Party! As Christy said, it was a blast, what with hilarious gifts being exchanged and lots of good food. Even though she stole my bag of Comfy, I still made out well.
I wasn’t going to jump on the cookie decorating contest at first, but well, I can’t stay uncreative for too long! So I grabbed a cookie and some intensely bright frosting and put down on that cookie what had been in my mind for the past few days:

And whaddya know, I ended up winning the contest!
You see, I’ve sort of had flowers on the brain lately. We have a super-awesome new yarn coming very soon, and I get to do the honors of introducing the first patterns for it. The colors are rich and complex, but are all so perfect together – just like a well-balanced garden. The colors …

Hi,
I’m sorry I didn’t get to post the winners on Monday!!! We got so much snow in Washington that we had to close our offices! I’m actually in North Carolina right now visiting my family for the holidays, but I knew you guys were waiting on me, so I logged on to post a quick update.
We had so many entries for Amused, that we decided to pick 3 Amused winners! Here they are:
Mostlyselftaught
jmfknits
jackielemon
Our Surface winner is:
Kayray
And our Everybody Knows winner is:
bronxgrrl
Congratulations to all of our winners and thank you to everyone who participated. This first giveaway was such a success, I have a feeling we’ll be doing more in the future, so keep checking back for more chances to win.
Sorry again for the delay in posting the winners. Talk to you guys in 2009! <

It was close, but I made it! My sister got a finished Positano Tote under the tree. She did see it ahead of time, though, because we were snowbound together at my house. I finished it the morning of the 23rd, right before we packed up to make the long trek to our parents’ house.

Pattern: Interweave Knits Winter 2008 Positano Tote
Yarn: Wool of the Andes Amber Heather
Needles: US 7 24″ circular and US 5 DPNs <

Okay, so I only made one mitten when I was snowed in at home last week, but it’s all a part of the plan. You see, I’ve long admired all the cute colorwork mitten patterns out there, but I don’t wear mittens (or know anybody gift-worthy who does). I’m a devoted glove gal because of what I refer to as “finger claustrophobia”–fellow glove wearers probably know what I’m talking about!
Anyway, so a while back I decided that I would make mittens, but I would make one each of several different cool patterns using different combos of the same colors and frame them as an art display in my home. I think colorwork is art, don’t you?
The yarn I chose was my personal favorite, Palette, and the colors I picked for my little art project are Pimento, Golden Heather, Green Tea Heather & …