Cold winter has hit our nest this week. Brr! I have several warming projects on the needles or in sketching stages. My question to the world is thus:

Why do I wait until it is actually frigid to work on replacements for those knits I wore hard last year and are beyond mending?

I know denial and strong dislike of the cold kept me from facing the inevitable chilly fact that winter arrives here in late December and stays for a while. I’ve had plans to knit a new pair of mittens since that cold week last January. Oh I’ve knit them many times this past year. I’ve even knit them several times today… in my head.

Imaginary knitting leads to imaginary mittens which leads to imaginary warmth.

Even if the yarn choice is alpaca. *sigh*

Hmm… these socks cannot keep my feet warm unless I knit a bit more of them. They are a little further along than this photo proves. On Sunday their heels were turned so it might not be too far in the future that I’ll have a new pair of socks. The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Soulmate. It contains some (30%) Outlast and theoretically result in a balanced fabric. I’m not sure if this yarn will live up to its hype, but for now I’m enjoying knitting it. The twist is tight and the nylon (15%) content has me hopeful that this sock will last longer than some of its mates in my sock drawer.

This year I hope to knit a little more for myself without guilt. I’ve been knitting lots for the shop. I did not knit many socks last year, yet the sock stash bin is overflowing and I’m afraid to tally up the total yardage napping innocently there. My current plan is that a sock will alternate with a project for the shop as commute knitting. That should restore some balance and make a dent in the stash.

Many cowls, mitts, and hats have been knitted and I’m working out the pattern kinks before I send the set out for tech editing. I hope to begin releasing in (gasp) January. Dearest knitter, with that special skein of yarn you’ve saved as a treat you’ll be able to reward yourself for the many gifts that were knitted for this holiday season. Ok knitter, back to work! The rest of this post is for friends of the knitter. ;)

Dear friend of a knitter, I cannot give as well thought out and curated a list of gift ideas as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but I offer the following list of items that may be somewhat easy to acquire at this late date:

• Sticky notes, flags, etc. Bonus if you can find the elusive roll of tape. Knitters and post-it notes go well together. I’ve written about this in the past. You do not have to get the brand name product. I got my roll of sticky note tape at Muji since I couldn’t acquire it elsewhere without having to pay shipping.

• Ziploc bags. I’m a fan of quart and gallon sized. Yes, your knitter has lots of bags. These are for stash storage. Your knitter keeps their yarn out in baskets because it looks pretty? Edu-ma-cate yourself on bugs and have a discussions with your knitter about what could happen to the stash. Plastic zipper bags are not the be-all and promised answer of a bug free stash, but they could help mitigate damages.
• highlighter tape. I have a hard time finding this, but it is useful in a myriad of settings.
• a coupon book that you made to include items such as assistance for month of _____ winding 3 skeins of yarn greater than 200 yards, bringing home pizza for dinner because the (example) sock must have its heel tonight, free pass to go over budget on one skein of yarn, offer to drive to destination so knitter can knit, etc.
• a gift certificate to the knitter’s favourite local yarn shop.
• a gift certificate for audiobooks, or quietly download and load favourites from Librivox or Podiobooks. If the selection at Audible is too much, consider a gift to a podcast your knitter enjoys, such as CraftLit, PodCastle, Escape Pod, Clarkesworld Magazine, or many other publications that are out there.
• a donation to Heifer International. While a Knitter’s Gift Basket sounds right up your knitter’s alley, I highly suggest giving a gift that can be used where most needed. There is also always MSF, info about the knittery connection is here.

Next week look for my review of The Knitter’s Life List by Gwen W. Steege. Any knitter, I believe, would enjoy this book. It’s more than the title would lead you to think was in its 320 pages. With beautiful photography you can enjoy too!

I struggle to read garter stitch. It took me a while to learn that attaching a small note “this is the front” was not silly and would greatly help me remember on which side to do required shaping.

I think many knitters see EZ’s Baby Surprise Jacket as the piece to knit to show that you are a committed Knitter who can do more than scarves. It took me quite a few tries to get it right. When I knitted one in 2008, I relied heavily on a worksheet listing row numbers and stitch counts.

I wish I had tried this pattern instead. I owned it when I knitted the BSJ.

I apparently was not ready for it. I guess it’s similar to the Doris Lessing quote, and one should not knit a pattern outside of its right time for you.

I don’t think my garter stitch reading skills have improved a large amount since 2008. I just now have no qualms marking which side is the side on which I do decreases and on which side I rest.

This project went smoothly and has less bits that fold up onto each other and so I think it is an easier knit. I get it so much that I’m pawing through my stash to find the right yarn to try my way again through a BSJ. This time without the cheat sheets.

Note: If you use a BSJ cheat sheet I do not think of you as a poor Knitter. I have set a personal challenge to knit a BSJ by only EZ’s pithy instructions and a few scrawled notes-to-self.

Why is it progress? Because it went from almost a ball of yarn knitted:

back to this:

Which is full of possibility and opportunity. I love knitting for the re-dos it often allows us. Sewing fabric isn’t so kind and forgiving once you cut.

I also need to thank Sir Shadow for not chasing any of the yarn while I was ripping, for leaving the very nice long circular alone, and for guarding the light box and checking all the lights while I was doing what I needed to.

I was recently able to attend two book talks and finish two hats. It all goes together, trust me.

First up, the day after Rhinebeck, when this knitter was still in a sheep and wool induced coma (3647.5 yards of wool (aka about 2 miles worth), sport weight or finer came home with me. Oops?), I went to Park Slope’s Barnes & Noble for the first stop of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s book tour. We were a slightly difficult bunch, still recovering from our weekend of all things wooly. Stephanie didn’t let us tease her too much (watch out for the spindlers) and Ping is still talking about how happy he was to meet Stephanie. He’s also still yelling at me for not creating and gifting a coffee emergency kit for her tour. I deserve the rebuke. Many thanks to Limonene for taking our photo. I wonder how they plan the floor layout of of a book store.

Her newest book, All Wound Up: The Yarn Harlot Writes for a Spin is pure Stephanie with a slight twist. They aren’t so deeply knitting related. I think muggles will relate well to many of the stories and I plan to read a few to E when the timing is right.

During her talk I pulled out my Porom Hat to figure out where I was going wrong in the crown decreases. Discovering my error while in a book store was a bit amusing. Apparently I misread the chart. They’re still slightly off, but it’s consistently wrong so I now believe I just rewrote the chart to fit my reality. This hat is knitted from about 150 yards of my never-ending skein of Lion Brand Fishmen’s Wool and is super warm. I wasn’t planning on wearing it any time soon but I received a very unpleasant semi-surprise birthday present in the snow storm that blew through here on Saturday. The hat fits well and is warm.

Last Monday, Ping and I went to the Craft Activism book talk and signing at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. I think Beverly’s book review is perfect. During the talk, I worked on my own little bit of crafty activism and almost finished another baby hat. Remember my 30for30 project? Thought so. Well, I have an extra hat to knit now that I’m yet another year older and I have a few new places to donate them to. I learned about PatPat’s Hats through Stephanie and have now set myself a quota of five hats by the end of the year. That’s completely possible right? I think so. I’ve finally gotten around to standardizing how I knit the hats so they are easier for how I knit. I hope to write up the pattern in the coming week and release it soon. Sorry about the fuzzy photo. My phone takes wonderful pictures if I allow it to focus.

Wore it.

Love it.

What’s left? Button bands, sewing in the buttons, hiding as many of the ends as I can, and lightly steaming the sleeves. All before sunset. We won’t talk about sukkot prep. It’ll happen. Just not with the more complex meals I wanted to make.

So, I think it will be safe to say I will have a Rhinebeck sweater! The current forecast for Rhinebeck on Sunday is partly sunny and a high of 67°F, so I might even be able to wear it!

In light of the destruction, I wish I had a beautiful charity project to post here. Sadly, I don’t. I have a few ready to jump onto the needles but nothing complete to share at this time.

If you want to contribute to a project and can come to NYC to drop it off, the Lion Brand Yarn Studio is again collecting squares for Warm up America blankets. Please note their Holiday Hours (and assume mine are similar ;) ).

If you can’t make it to the Studio, you can learn more about the Warm Up America Project or visit the Lion Brand Charity Connection to find other projects and groups.

Note: I am not officially affiliated with the LBYS or LB.

I can share more summer socks. I finished another pair a few weeks ago from the remaining yarn. I hope to use the last few scraps to make tiny sockletts or whatever they are called.

Yarn: Handmaiden Camelspin (70% Silk, 30% Camel)
Needles: Addi Lace size US 5 / 3.75mm?

Finished size: Eleven repeats blocked to a 42″ wingspan and 22″ to tip.

Ravelry Project Page

This shawl about did me in and made me want to search out both brandy and wine (Groan. Sorry…). Why? Knitter not paying attention.

I have a difficult time reading garter stitch on good days. Combine that with yarn I’m scared of and you get a knitted blob that comes out unique.

Why was I scared of this yarn? When I started knitting this pattern in February 2010, it was the most expensive bit of yarn I had in my stash in one humble little (328 yard) ball. Actually per yard, it’s still the most expensive bit of yarn in the stash but it’s no longer so scary. Sara sent me this yarn years ago when our gift war was in full swing. I’m still waiting for her new address (ahem) so I can personally keep the USPS in business.

The yarn is soft and the colour changes muted and yummy in dark colours that I love. Two things that meant I should only knit this in well lit areas. I did not.

The pattern is a mix of garter and stockinette lace. It’s beautiful. It requires some attention of this knitter. So when did I often work on it? Late at night in the dark light of the library (my Ott-esque light is in my office). On my morning commute. Two places that do not result in this knitter paying attention.

I knitted it on and off through the first half of 2010. Then it sat for reasons forgotten until I found it while cleaning during the nine days. I realized I wasn’t as far from my presumed end point — I knew I would knit fewer repeats than the pattern called for — so I put my nose to the needles and finished it off last week.

As I unpinned it I discovered a knitter error along the side borders near the top. The center of the border is stockinette with garter at the edge points and for the body of the shawl. At some point in the last few repeats I flipped around the right and wrong side of the work and came up with a new border design all my own. What is amusing is I never noticed the stitch counts being off or that the border fabric changed “right side”.

I probably didn’t notice because I was looking forward to seeing it go from blob to lace and I absolutely loved the reverse stockinette i-cord bind off.

Does it matter? No. The part that is of my own design is what’s hidden by a pin when I’m wearing it. The size is perfect and I found it quite comfortable to wear to work on Monday. I’ll try to get better photos one day, we’ve been having a wee bit of rain here and it’s too dark and dreary.

It’s an absolutely lovely pattern and I see myself knitting it again. I’m curious if next time I’ll pay more attention!

This shawl was designed to help Haiti after their devastating Earthquake, with a large portion of the pattern price being donated to Doctors without Borders. You can see how much as been donated on the Ravelry Pattern Page