It’s where the heart is.
About a year ago, my husband and I spent a week in Germany. Little did we know what a magical experience it would be. It was the season for Germany’s Christmas Markets. Each market had its own theme – gnomes, angels, stars, and fairy tales. Here are some of the sights from Köln (Cologne).
You can see photos of the Christmas Markets in Düsseldorf here.
Remember the hand-spun I picked up in Philadelphia? I was eager to knit something with it. Since I only had 90 yards of it, I bought a complementary yarn to avoid running out.
This lovely teal is a 60% merino, 40% cotton blend from Juniper Moon Farm.
I searched all over Ravelry, Etsy and other sites for a slouchy hat pattern. It’s amazing how many hundreds of patterns are out there and how hard it is to pick just the right one. This is my inspiration hat. I didn’t realize until half-way through that I could have bought the pattern. Mine is improvised.
It turned out like a funky ’70s throwback! Here is Bear modeling it for us.
Now all I need is a drop in the thermostat and I’m set.
Some time ago, I started keeping all the yarn labels for my projects so that I could remember which yarn I used. Rather than stuffing them in a drawer, I wanted to organize them somehow. I found this simple journal and started stapling the yarn labels onto the pages.
On the margins, I jotted down the name of the project and the date. At some point, I started including a scrap of yarn with the label so that I could remember what the yarn looked and felt like. The sample on the left page below is what I used to make a pair of baby booties, including the pretty ribbon to tie them together. The sample on the right was a souvenir yarn from Romni Wools in Toronto. It’s patiently waiting for the right project.
The yarns below went into making a thick cabled scarf for my husband, a racy striped garter stitch scarf, a cabled hat and washcloths.
I started this knitting notebook long before it occurred to me to download an app or start a blog. Both of those are good memory joggers. I do keep my Vogue Knitting app updated but there’s nothing like being able to touch and feel the yarn between my fingers. Modern technology still can’t replace the tactile experience.
Do you keep yarn samples? How do you organize them?
The day is beautiful and mild. All the windows in the house are open to let in the fresh air. The smell of onions and celery sautéing in the kitchen hang in the air with the promise of feasting.
Outside, it’s quiet but every time the wind blows, the neighbor’s trees shake loose their acorns and they roll down our rooftop and land in the driveway with a plop! My husband shakes his head. He swept up all the acorns this morning.
He scooped them all up in a box for me. I think these can be used to dye wool…
We are so thankful …
for our family, both near and far
for our children
for honest work that sustains us
for the love that binds us
for the cease-fire
(not taking sides, just tired of seeing the bodies of dead children)
for the promise of tomorrow.
Wishing all who read this peace, love and joy.
My husband has a true appreciation for handmade items. So as I considered my knitting queue, I decided to make him a pair of fingerless hand warmers for the cool weather ahead. He has a wonderfully warm charcoal gray coat so I wanted yarn that would complement it. I found this hank at Nimblefingers, one of Houston’s local yarn stores.
Heritage Quatro by Cascade Yarns. Fiber content: 75% Merino Superwash, 25% Nylon. Yield: 437 yards, 100 grams.
For the pattern, I went to The Purl Bee and fixed on their Ribbed Hand Warmers. It is a nice gender-neutral pattern. As I started knitting, I noticed that the swatch was too flimsy and it didn’t seem like it would keep his hands warm. So I unravelled my knitting and doubled up the yarn. Much better.
Here is hand warmer #1 in progress.
Once the first one was all done, the second one went quickly.
I think he liked them.
Agujas 