Knit Gifts Received

It was a bountiful Christmas and I was lucky to receive some tools that will help me improve my knitting organization and process this year. I am now the owner of both a yarn ball winder and an umbrella swift. I’ve been winding my yarn in stores after purchase or mostly by hand all these years.

I was so inspired that I decided to go ahead and start my annual stash review and reorganization and have completed it a week early! Part of my newly organized and photographed Ravelry stash is pictured above.

I also received some new blocking mats and a lace blocking kit, as I plan to try my hand at some lace projects to use some of the lace weight yarn in my stash that has been patiently waiting to be made into something.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a year full of promising knit projects!

Knit Gifts Given

I haven’t posted about knits in a while because I was busy finishing up a bunch of gifts for the holiday season. Now that most of them are with their new owners, I can share what I’ve been up to.

I went to Ravelry for inspiration and found a bunch of patterns that were fun to knit and helped me find the perfect gift.

Here are a few of my favorites:
· Mountain Form Slippers by Tricoquelicot
I modified these a bit to add a moss stitch bottom, but they are great as   written. Here are my notes.

· Celtic Dancer by DROPS design
This pattern takes some concentration as it asks the knitter to pay attention to measurements as you go along instead of giving you specific row counts, but its worth it.

· Up On Top by bruggadung!
These are about a simple as can be and turn out beautifully. Easy to modify or use as a jumping off point.

· Don’t skid, honey! by Justyna Lorkowska
Very nicely written pattern and the finished gloves turned out just as expected. My only caution would be to check the finger lengths as you go along and modify as needed. I made the pinkie and thumb shorter by a couple of rows because they were a bit long.

· Rosazura by Alegria DaSilva
This is a case for creating a gauge swatch first! The pattern calls for US8, but it took US4 needles for me to hit proper gauge. Once you determine the gauge for yourself,  its a fun one to knit and a beautiful hat that looks great with any hair style.

Prints: Untitled (Candy Stripe)

I put a wrap on this print way back in the spring but haven’t posted it until now. It’s a simple geometric abstraction influenced in some way by signage, but the color scheme calls to mind all sorts of sweet treats. It seems especially apt this Christmas season, what with all the candy canes, ribbon candy, taffy and other visions dancing in their heads.