Happy 2008!
Well, it's two full years since I started this blog. So crazy crazy much has happened in the past two years that I can hardly think of it all without my brain exploding.
For one, I've made and kept two resolutions in a row, now. In 2006 I resolved to keep a blog. Check. And then last year I made the whole stash resolution which I managed to keep, for an entire year. And yet I still have a ridiculous amount of yarn.
However, it's time to buy yarn. I just can't take it any more.
So I have two questions: What would you buy if your incredibly wonderful sister gave you a gift certificate for $50 at Yarnmarket? I'm thinking socks. I know. I know. I KNOW. I hate knitting socks. But I love wearing hand-knit socks. And I think they'd be great school-knitting projects. So which sock yarn might make me not hate knitting socks? Or do you have a better idea?
Second question. My husband wants a black sweater. Either another Seamless Hybrid or a Cobblestone. He wants it black. Solid black. Not a tweed, not charcoal. Black. Solid Black. So will a Cobblestone look horrid in a solid color? Will I lose everything if I don't use a tweed? and which black yarn should I use? He's extremely hard on sweaters. Elbows wear out in months. When he likes a sweater he wears it every single day until it expires. Think of him as a two year old. But large. I was thinking perhaps Blackberry Ridge?
And now I'll leave you with a few photos.
Here's our tree topper. I made Elizabeth Zimmermann's Christmas Fiddle Faddle stars using Malabrigo held double on size 13s. I made two stars and sewed them together, leaving an opening at the bottom. I stuffed the points with a little wool roving to make it puffy. This was our first tree and the squid decorated it with scraps of yarn and candy canes. She also put random balls of yarn under the tree in lieu of a tree skirt. All of this yarn love with utterly without prompting, by the way.
Then I made these slippers for my sister. I used the Little Turtle Knits felted moc pattern (no longer available) which I've owned for years and never tried.
I used Mosaic Moon's one-ply merino, which feels just like the Malabrigo I used for the star. I knit the womens size 8+ on 11s and felted them for 8 minutes and they felted so beautifully, but they shrank a LOT. They do perfectly fit my sister's 6.5 feet, luckily.
For one, I've made and kept two resolutions in a row, now. In 2006 I resolved to keep a blog. Check. And then last year I made the whole stash resolution which I managed to keep, for an entire year. And yet I still have a ridiculous amount of yarn.
However, it's time to buy yarn. I just can't take it any more.
So I have two questions: What would you buy if your incredibly wonderful sister gave you a gift certificate for $50 at Yarnmarket? I'm thinking socks. I know. I know. I KNOW. I hate knitting socks. But I love wearing hand-knit socks. And I think they'd be great school-knitting projects. So which sock yarn might make me not hate knitting socks? Or do you have a better idea?
Second question. My husband wants a black sweater. Either another Seamless Hybrid or a Cobblestone. He wants it black. Solid black. Not a tweed, not charcoal. Black. Solid Black. So will a Cobblestone look horrid in a solid color? Will I lose everything if I don't use a tweed? and which black yarn should I use? He's extremely hard on sweaters. Elbows wear out in months. When he likes a sweater he wears it every single day until it expires. Think of him as a two year old. But large. I was thinking perhaps Blackberry Ridge?
And now I'll leave you with a few photos.
Here's our tree topper. I made Elizabeth Zimmermann's Christmas Fiddle Faddle stars using Malabrigo held double on size 13s. I made two stars and sewed them together, leaving an opening at the bottom. I stuffed the points with a little wool roving to make it puffy. This was our first tree and the squid decorated it with scraps of yarn and candy canes. She also put random balls of yarn under the tree in lieu of a tree skirt. All of this yarn love with utterly without prompting, by the way. Then I made these slippers for my sister. I used the Little Turtle Knits felted moc pattern (no longer available) which I've owned for years and never tried.I used Mosaic Moon's one-ply merino, which feels just like the Malabrigo I used for the star. I knit the womens size 8+ on 11s and felted them for 8 minutes and they felted so beautifully, but they shrank a LOT. They do perfectly fit my sister's 6.5 feet, luckily.
posted by Marnie at 12:01 PM
19 Comments:
Love your projects! I reread and didn't see what yarn you used for those precious mittens. How kind of you to gift each child with such a precious gift.
Happy 2008!
:)
I love the star tree topper and slippers. Happy New Year!
I love your tree topper!
Happy new year :)
A black sweater? Try to talk him out of it! :) I knit a black scarf (the Irish Hiking Scarf pattern) for my husband a few months ago, and I was so glad when it was finished. I love the pattern, but solid black was such a difficult color to work with--it's so hard to SEE what you're doing while you're knitting. And interesting stitches (and cables) are really hard to see in black, so a lot of what makes the Cobblestone pullover, well, the Cobblestone pullover might be lost.
Congratulations on the Yarnmarket gift certificate, by the way. If you don't like sock knitting, don't buy sock yarn. Can you get something extravagant and luscious to knit something for yourself--a scarf, perhaps?
I suppose no one will be surprised when I suggest Peace Fleece. ;)
slippers came out darling!
great to see you posting
*smooch*
also love hand knit socks, also hate making them. funny, i just posted that somewhere. we need to find people to make us socks, dang it.
Buy your husband a black sweater. Really.
Happy New Year, friend!!!
Marnie, I made my cobblestone in a solid colour, but it was light. I do think that the black would obscure all of the subtle detail the garter stitch adds to the sweater. I do think, however, that I slim basic black sweater could be wonderful.
I love the star at the top of the tree!
Love the star tree topper, and all those adorable mittens. Please do share your formula for the mittens. They are too cute. Much easier than socks, too! Are they all wool? Bet that IS a happy bunch of preschoolers. We've had our share of illness, and also house "woes" (repairs, surprises, and then more repairs) this fall/Christmas. Sort of took some of the "joy" out of all the days leading up to Christmas here, but all is well now. We didn't get as much knitting done as we planned (two daughters and I are Knitters!) or wanted, but we are making up for lost time now. Wish I still had some diaper babies I could wrap up in your soakers! They look great--I'll keep my eyes open for babies I can gift those to! Happy New Year, and thanks for sharing.
Awesome slippers! I too love the tree topper star! (the mittens in the last post were great too!)
I made Cobblestone in solid gray, and it came out great. My boyfriend is similarly hard on knitted gear, maybe a mohair blend would add strength?
Those slippers are fabulous!
Happy new year to you as well! I have the same problem with my husband--anything at the elbows & toes wears out right away. I've been planning to make him a seamless hybrid & borrowing the seed-stitch elbow patch from Rowan's Jarrett--maybe that's the ticket for you, too?
I heart you EZ star! Now what I'm doing for my tree next year!
Use your gift certificate for Cobblestone and head over to Sonnyand Shear.com for some Smooshy sock yarn if you want to *love* sock knitting! :)
Sock yarn has so many uses--scarves (Chevron from LMKG), mittens or even hat if doubled and is usually so soft that it's great for wearing next to the skin. I got the same gift and am thinking of making myself a Silk Garden scarf. Mmmmmm...Noro. Jared seems to like Beaverslide and it's reasonably priced, so is Eco Wool from Cascade (don't know if it comes in black).
LOVE the slippers--must find pattern somehow.
Lovely photos! Happy New Year!
Just chiming in to comment on the Cobblestone idea. I made it out of Elann Sierra Aran, which is mostly solid (maybe the teeny-tiniest hint if a heathered effect), but I love the results. It's a great pattern, very flattering and a fun knit. You are welcome to check out my finished Cobblestone in Ravelry (my name there is chavahsdaughter). Good luck with the black sweater! Your tree topper is fantastic!!
May I suggest worsted weight socks! I'm finishing up a pair with Dream in Color Classy on size 2 needles. (I think three would be fine too) It's great to make socks with 48 st around instead of 60+.
hi there,
i know i am way late to the party here, but i am working (or trying to work on) the star fiddle faddle, but can't get the math to work out for me! i've been following the pattern: cast on 55 but i have 5 extra stitches for the first row, but if i only cast on 50 i am short for row 2...
grr.
any tips would be GREATLY appreciated.
thanks,
kate
Post a Comment
<< Home