Christmas II

Christmas knitting included several hats.

Beanpole Beanie, by Rachel Weaver.  This lovely cashmere hat found its way to its new owner over Thanksgiving, but I'll still count it towards my Christmas tally.  Lovely pattern, very warm, fun details.

Lina, by Joko Knits (ravelry).  Having been in a lace mood for the past year, it's been a while since I did any cables.  I really like the look of this hat and the cables make it oh-so-scrunchy.

Fan and Feather Slouchy Beret, by Violet Green (ravelry).  Created as a replacement for a hat that mysteriously disappeared between terminals on a certain someone's flight home last year.  Let's hope version 2 stays a bit safer!

There were a few more hats (and a purse that was mistaken for a hat).  Tracking down those photos, as I forgot to take any before they left Santa's workshop.

Christmas I

Christmas 2011 has come and gone, and how enjoyable it was!  While not as epic of a knit-fest as in years past (see my summer projects and my November delay), there were still a few knit gifts to go around.  We'll start with the scarves/shawls.

Kernel by Bonnie Sennott (ravelry) started as a travel project on one of my many work trips to Jamaica this year.  Here she is poolside soaking up some rays:

The finished project was lovely.  I adore the edging and think I might borrow that section of the pattern in the future.

In my undying shawl obsession, I also knit up Indian Feathers by Alina Appasov.  I really enjoy the quarter moon shape of her shawls.  While traditional triangle shawls lend themselves to great lacework, I find the moons to be a bit more wearable.

Mewwwwrry Christmas

Behold what happens when you leave the kittens alone for a week and forget to latch the yarn room door.  I can only imagine how much fun they had!



It could have been much worse, but their sitter thankfully discovered my error after only a few days.  I certainly am glad that they (and the house) survived their first time home alone.  

Mewwwwrry Christmas from the kittens!

Kudzu

I adore my newest creation - the Kudzu shawl by Rachel Henry (ravelry)  The pattern was easy but fun, not to mention the super soft cashmere yarn!  This one came off the needles a few weeks ago, but has been stalled in the blocking pile due to its size.

Leaf lace is becoming one of my favorites to knit, and this one has interesting detail with the progressively larger leaves.

Hats, hats, and more hats

Ugly Sweater Party 2011 is just around the corner.  I have promised a hat to the winner of the Ugliest Sweater competition, so I thought I'd toss a few photos of recent hats up.  Without further ado, I present hats, hats, and more hats!

Nothing can stop me!

Wrist surgery may have sidelined my everyday activities like riding a bike or cooking for a few weeks, but nothing can stop the Knit Machine!

Birthday Shawl

Another one of my favorite shawls from this year was Summer Flies by Holly and Ella Knits.  This one was for Mom's big b-day back in May. A quick knit with a very lovely result.

Wedding Shawls

2011 - the year of the shawl. Fascinated by lace and inspired by two big events, I spent most of my knit time this year on shawls.

The first wedding shawl came to be almost by accident. Having fallen in love with the Frozen Leaves pattern from anusla (using like2makething's adaptation of the pattern), I cast on with a cobweb wool in a cornflower blue with no particular recipient in mind. About halfway into the pattern it struck me that it was the exact same color as a certain someone's wedding theme. Thus, Wedding Shawl #1 was born:  

The detail of the leaves on this pattern was great in the cobweb yarn:

As soon as the idea struck that Frozen Leaves was for cousin-in-law-1, I knew which yarn belonged to cousin-in-law-2. It was a beautiful yellow baby alpaca that I has picked up from the thrift store about a year ago. It had been hanging out in the stash waiting for the perfect project. After several false starts, I discovered the Feather Duster from Susan Lawrence. With the yarn's slight halo, it was the perfect match.

I love the flow of this shawl. Circles (as opposed to hard lines) are harder to create than you might think!

Congrats to both beautiful brides!