mostly hats: the gift knitting roundup report

For a son's girfriend, I asked if she'd like a hat, and if she had any preferences.  She requested silvery grey and black. She likes it a lot! It even got an "oh wow" from the fairly knit-jaded son himself.
Pattern: Eau Claire Hat by Melissa Schaschwary
Pompom: un-naturally black rabbit fur. All the  LYS sold out, as did online sources, what with furry pompoms all the rage. Luckily furry pompom key chains are a thing, too. After ordering one online and de-chaining, it worked out quite nicely. 
Notes: I love this pattern. Want one for myself. This was knit in Cascade 128, chosen for its color, softness and twist, and of course, weight. It was such a speedy knit, I swear it took me longer to secure the pompom than to knit it. I could have done one more repeat for a slightly slouchy hat but I was worried I'd run out of yarn. It fits great as is.

Two custom colorwork hats. These are a blast to knit. 
Pattern: Headford Hat from Drop Dead Easy Knits is a perfect blank template. Add stripes, or fair isle style graphics, or whatever stitches you want.   Well, yeah, of course I am biased, by being co-author of the book,  but I swear, it really is an ideal launchpad of a hat. And cute as a simple solid too.  I am predicting more of these in my knitting future.  Colorwork makes a knit fly for me. I guess I like the immediate gratification of seeing the picture form?
 Notes: the owly one is for my bro-in-law who likes a tight fitting beanie style, and requested something quirky or fun this year, when queried for his annual hat. It's in the mail now, crossing my fingers that he'll be happy. 

the snowflake one is for Yliana, my unofficial foster daughter who is 21 now and in her own apartment, an all around good egg, that one. She commented that snowflake motifs were appealing to her this winter, so I went with it, and I know she likes these colors.  It's actually  dark red and a light grey, but it reads as white. Color is so fascinating, isn't it?  This hat is slouchier in length from cuff to crown and knit at a slightly looser gauge than the owly hat. (and, yes, I did only shoot it with the jog showing? why??? I do not know!)
All of the motifs are from 150 Scandinavian Motifs by Mary Jane Mucklestone.  I page through this book all the time obsessively plotting more hats and yoked sweaters.  One of a few brilliant purchases I made toward the end of 2016.  (my electric teakettle is another, if you are wondering) (and my dozen remote control votive candles, hyggely as they are)

Azel Pullover and Big Wool Little Hat for Zoe-- adorable factor off the charts, right? Also - intense pink fluffiness off the charts. It's knit in Rowan Brushed Fleece, which is so light and fluffy,  to the point it barely holds its shape. The light fluffiness has made it a huge hit with Zoe, so no complaints from me. The design is  a rectangle folded over, a tube of mistake rib for the turtleneck and some buttons holding the sides closed below the arm, it actually doesn't have much shape, anyway.

Buttons from Pins and Needles in Princeton NJ. I don't think I could have found a better button for this one! They're mix and match flowers on the hearts. The design is for buttonholes along the edges but given that they aren't functionally necessary, and heart shaped buttons can slip out of bulky button holes easily, I skipped making buttonholes and just sewed them on through both edges.  
 
The whole shebang is a hit. Suits her, doesn't it?

There's one more hat, but it's in the mail and I'll wait to show it. Let's just say you'll be seeing a lot just like it between now and January 21st! My CraftActivism friend, the wonderful  Kat Coyle and the Little Knittery are making it happen!

POP UP ! wood print sale

I'm trying something new! A POP-UP sale of some of my photographs on wood.

I've been selling these as limited edition prints on wood by special order for a couple of years but I thought it'd be fun to share them online for one day for a few days.  Why not?

All the INFO and DETAILS are on the order page here. Except it is unlikely that you will receive them before Dec 24th.

At first I worried that printing photographs on maple would be gimmicky or look tacky--but with some careful choice of which images I use, I love them.  The wood is lovely and heavy, and there's a keyhole so they are ready for hanging. The grain shows through the lighter parts of the imagery--which is why the choice of photo is so important. The finish is a matte laminate so it goes with the modern natural vibe.
These are 6x6" square, and are 1/2" deep.  

And I'm going to make all this disappear soon! Kind of fun. Let me know what you think!
Order from link here, or you can email me with questions gale@gzucker.com .

Back tomorrow with the usual content :-)

november post 15: bulky knits, portillo please!

 **Hey there Boston area folks--I am teaching an iphoneography class at Craftworks Somerville on this Saturday 12/3 -and I just learned there are 3 seats left!  11 am- 1pm. Join us! Why make Just Average images?
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 I'm not done with the bulky knit love yet. Not even close.

 Portillo Cowl from Drop Dead Easy Knits. Of all the patterns in the book, this one is the drop dead easiest.  It is also my lone design contribution. Given the talents of my two co-authors, I kept it simple and left the amazingly stylish and beautiful yet easy-to-knit designs to Kirsten and Mary Lou. If you have the book, you know what I mean.
 Big squishy yarn + warm snuggliness +  contrast yarns that are fun to knit = excellent gift knitting. 
That's my formula.
The sample for the book is made with two skein of Malabrigo Rasta. I kept it graphic and crisp with two mostly solids but you can go WILD, check out their color card.   This is a pattern to use handpainted yarn, and variegated yarns. The stitch pattern breaks it up.

Personally, I wear it doubled over, like this.  
About choosing the yarn: one of the things we did with Drop Dead Easy Knits is keep it yarn shop friendly--meaning, that you can pretty easily find the yarn we used, in your local yarn shop.  Since every shop can't stock every yarn, we also added a page in the back where we list substitution yarns-- all also easy to find in yarn shops. And, we want to offer  economic alternatives.
What's that you say?  Yup, we kept thinking about your knitting budget.  My Portillo costs about $44.in beautiful hand dyed yarn, and its worth it--but not always in the yarn budget. Or maybe, like me,  it's in the budget for a special treat, but it's a stretch to spend that for multiple friend gift knitting.

Substitutes*! Any nice super bulky with 90 yards/skein or more  will be equally fab.  Or possibly even fabbier. Here's Rowan Brushed Fleece,** which has a bit more yardage ,  two balls will total about $27. US.  It's also amazingly cloud like and delicious to knit.

Or the higher contrast red and grey. Love.

Kirsten grabbed these four balls of ValleyYarns  SuperWash Super Bulky .  You only need two for a Portillo Cowl but we loved these colors together- so you could mix and match. And guess what? $ 9.49 /skein, which means your project clocks in at just under $20.  Winner-winner chicken dinner.  Also, check at the link,  a lot of color options. 

 A real life Portillo Cowl testimonial: I was visiting my BFFL Arline on a Friday a couple of weeks ago.  She hauled out these two balls of yarn in her favorite colors, purchased long ago for some unrequited project. (They are a discontinued Tahki Yarn, but that company has other excellent super bulky options). Arline rarely knits. I had to refresh her cast-on skills. Above is what her Portillo looked like by Friday evening.

Monday morning! (photo courtesy of the knitter ) And I know she didn't just stay home and knit all weekend. I rest my case.

As for me, I came home with some of that Rowan Brushed Fleece *** in the pinkest of fluffy fuschia hues. It is going to be an Azel Pullover for Zoe,  it qualifies as both a bulky and super fast knit= good gift knitting. I'm trying to keep it a  secret and surprise her for Hanukah. Shhhh, ok?  
PS are you following the MasonDixon Knitting GiftAlong on their Lounge site? 
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  * You might notice from this link to the Rowan page that suggested needle size is US 10 but this pattern is knit on US 15.  This is why the word suggested is so important. For the Portillo Cowl you want a nice drapey gauge and let it fluff up.  Fear not and go with the larger needles (and of course, the smart money is on doing a quick gauge swatch). 

** Many thanks to Kirsten Kapur and Beverly Army Williams for the yarn choosing and hand modeling The three of us were in Webs, where the options are mind-boggling. I don't know how they put up with shopping with me when there are so many oooh look squirrel choices  but I love them both for it. 

***this last link is to the discontinued Rowan Brushed Fleece colors at Webs.  You can knit a super duper economical Portillo Cowl. Just sayin'.

fr makers to makers: the gift idea list

Welcome if you've come over from other Makers to Makers Gift Lists that preceded me. Links at the end. Definitely go click on them- they beat me to many fab gift ideas.  Let's get down to business:

a skein of Dragonfly Fibers yarn in Admiral Benbow

For the Knitters & Knitters Who Stitch on Your List: Obviously a gift certificate to your LYS is always excellent, especially if you are lucky enough to have ones like Knit New Haven or The Yarnery in Minnesota or TheYarnSpot in Maryland in your backyard*. If you can't get there in person, I bet you can call over the phone, and get personal help. Or maybe, like me, your giftee admires indie yarn shops from afar, that she/he can't get to. Or, heaven forbid, you don't have a local yarn store? Why not gift someone with a virtual, yet tangible, visit?
Start with a project or tote bag from the shop of your choice, add  a couple of skeins ofyarn that's particular to the geography, toss in a notion that they'd never treat themselves to and presto changeo--excellent gift.  (Can I also say? Feel free to just take this and mail it to someone who wants to know what to get you. Right?)
A few suggestions for starters:

peeking into Fibre Space in Old Town Alexandria VA

- Fibre Space in Alexandria, VA/Washington DC metro area. Danielle does it up right. Get one of her Knitting Space Girl totes (mine is well-used). One of the delightful aspects of the shop is they have sections dedicated to local yarn companies. I'd recommend a couple of gorgeous skeins from the talented local folks at Dragonfly Fibers like the one up top on this post or others they carry.  Top it off with a pair of little fun scissors or measuring tape.

-Other side of the USA, other Washington - Tolt Yarn & Wool is on my list of LYS to visit, someday.  Until then, their holiday tote bag filled with - well, pretty much anything they sell, you can't go wrong there. Personally, I'd put in a copy of the new book they produced with Kathy Cadigan's black and white  photos, Farm to Needle, and  a Salish Toque Kit, keeping it regional and stylish.

- If your giftee is into sewing and knitting, you must order them a gift bag of goodies from Clementine in Rockland Maine. Leah's shop selection is a sewist's dream come true- flannels, knits, wools, cottons, the best notions, patterns from the indies, dry goods, trims, and when she mails things to you, they are lovingly packaged and wrapped just so. If you need an idea of what to buy, consider some of the projects on her Pinterest board and order the makings for someone crafty. (Or, make it yourself. Do you love the flannel blankets with pompom edging?) She's also the go-to purveyor of Starcroft Yarn, grown, spun and dyed by her mom, Jani Estell.  This yarn, in itself, is never ever a bad choice.

Yarn in a Box Club/Kits !
A few years back, I listed yarn CSA's and Sock Clubs to give as gifts. The Yarn and Fiber CSA's  have all but disappeared. Clubs come and go. Do not use my old lists as a resource,  I'll save you by not linking to them. But never fear, the Yarn Box Kits is here!

a little stack of items knit with Zen Yarn Garden yarns

The purveyors of stunningly dyed yarns, Zen Yarn Garden have a fabulous subscription Zen Knit Box, it's available in shawl boxes or as the blanket club. Or you could get one of each for your giftee.

Another gift series of yarn+pattern, with lots of customization options is YarnBox . Looks delish.

Buy Ready to Wear from an Indie Maker
I truly do not enjoy shopping in big stores,  I'm  better in neighborhood small shops and oooohh baby give me a souk or market with haggling and I am so there (seriously, you probably hate dickering but I totally dig it. Take me to Morocco with you and I'll show you my stuff).  The one kind of shopping I'll go for locally is Pop Up Shops or makers markets and craft shows...but sometimes the timing isn't right. Luckily, we've got online.
Two of my faves, that I shop at
 Peterson Sweater Company - Hand loomed fine gauge knits, beautifully crafted, and excellent fitting. (If you're local, Chelsea's got a pop up shop at The Haven Collective in New Haven CT this month, too).
 

Naturwrk shirts  I know, there are so many places for screened tshirts but these, I can personally testify,  are the very best. First off, they're illustrated and screened by hand in Nashville by an indie artist.  The quality is crazy good- soft, well made and they hold up. I'm on year 4 with mine and they haven't faded or stretched out or fallen apart at the seams.  I'm kind of loving his takeoff on the xmas sweater--and the tea towels (I already have that bee on a shirt, its a summer fave). Full disclsure, the artist behind this is a cousin, but that's just icing on the cake.

And I can't leave off
ex libris anonymous -  book journals--recycled books that are recycled/upcycled into bound blank paper journals.  I love mine so much I can't bring myself to write in them (I know, that's nuts). Shopping their etsy shop is a hoot- it's  fun to legit be judging a book by its cover ;-).

The Mason-Dixon Coloring Book - in case you've been under a rock and haven't witnessed the adult coloring book phenomena this year...now we have one we can call our own. Lots of peeks inside on their blog, and ample linkage to purchase, too. Brilliant!

All around genius with color and design,  Kristin Nicholas has  many great gifts you could give in her online shops, from books and cards ,to embroidery kits to her colorful pottery. Don't wait too long thinking about that last one, it's all going to get snapped up as she refills her etsy shop!

Craft Activism  --Lastly, my book with Joan Tapper, in which we are all about making for a reason--whether you're knitting a group blanket like Fussy Cuts , upcycling and repurposing T-shirts into fabulous dresses with instructions by crispina ffrench, or discovering the granny square for its modern contribution to the world of fashion..and beyond. For makers who enjoy all the media, not just yarn.

Happy gifting! For more ideas, go to some of my maker friends who also participated in this chain of gift ideas, they beat me to many I would have included!
Beverly Army Williams / Po Mo Go Lightly
Mary Lou Egan / Yarnerinas
Cal Patch/ Hodge Podge Farm

* Apologies to all the other wonderful LYS I left off- just included a smattering of those I am in contact with most regularly.

holiday greetings of all kinds

Happy Chanukah (or Hanukah, or Hannukah - you gotta love a holiday that can't be spelled wrong in English). The Festival of Lights is on, now.  We are the house that still has pumpkins on the front porch, and a hand traced turkey drawing on the front door. But step inside and it is full blown winter holiday time. It's hard to focus on All The Things, like work, and making gifts and seeing friends and playing with dreidls and exchanging gifts and lighting candles...and because this weekend we'll have a party, instead of getting up on the food prep,  I have decided to rehab and paint a tiny bathroom that's stuck in 1995. Back when stamping brass painted fish and stars all over the dark purpley-blue walls actually seemed -and looked -cool.  Anyway, come Sunday, I will fry lotsa latkes. We make up our annual per captita potato consumption all in one weekend. And it is oily and delicious.

what I am knitting this week. The L'Arbre hat on the right is finished. The indigo yarn on the left is on the needles, to be a shawl. Yes, I seem to be into that particular color--though the shawl  is a gift.

All the added activity makes my focus fragment into a zillion pieces. Yesterday, I gave myself an hour to choose words for a new years card I was designing. The imagery was no prob. Should words that take long? Yup. It took pretty much all day. I started out looking at other cards,  googling new years wishes and new years toasts and quotes on renewal and...after three many hours, there I was reading every single post on a really sappy Pinterest board. Note to self: in 2016, when you hear a thoughtful  quote, save it to use for your new years card.

Overthink much?? Probably should have gone with this:
Life is really simple but we insist on complicating it.- Confucius

Hope the rest of your week is uncomplicated! To help simplify your gift giving , you can follow this thread of Indie Gift Ideas, starting with my friend Beverly Army Williams at PoMoGo Lightly.
Wednesday (today) is Mary Lou Egan and Thursday will be  Cal Patch of Hodge Podge Farm.  I have Friday, come back and check it out!

and on we go...

I am sparing you a long, gushy, name-droppy* review of VogueKnitting Live in NY.   It was a joy to teach at it -and it was a joy to be an attendee. Amazing teachers, fun marketplace, and my fave: exhibits  in the lobbies of artists who work with yarn & fiber, including my friend Ruth Marshall. 
Meanwhile, me? I'm here & there, knitting.

exhibit a: the week ahead

phonecam shot of Shepherds Wool, click to see colors, ready to go!

Skeins with names that take me to another season. To make a Monster Cowl. Because new neckwear is so welcome in February.  I'm teaching & attending at Inspire, a photogapher's conference this week. My hope is for  a) lots of knitting time while I listen and b) get inspired.  I will likely be the lone knitter (or maybe the lone knitter-in-public).

exhibit b: this weekend

more phonecam : handspun and some yarn I impulse bought at Madison Wool

A new Kremlin. I misplaced my go-to winter hat. Bad timing, as it is a Hat-Required Month.  I recall putting this  fave hat somewhere about a week ago,  thinking "this isn't where I usually keep my hat but I can remember it here".... Um, no.  Although I whipped out my last Kremlin in 2012 with no problem, I am oddly confused by the pattern this time.

exhibit c1: gift knitting sent in January

 Valdai!  Before I sent it off to my sister, my neighbor Peg posed quickly.  Keep in mind it was less then 10 F (thats for Fahrenheit but it may as well be for Freakin') so no dawdling for Fancy Fotos.  As for the shawl, oh this was a fun one, and oh this Cirrus yarn is delicious to work with, 2 strands together. I used every last inch of the 4 skeins, shortening one of the ends. Sylishly assymetrical that way.  (Do not blame the pattern, blame me for not swatching, I am sure my gauge was looser than called for). My sister Marla loves it, I love being appreciated....

exhibit c2: when handknits are appreciated cont'd

 

Another gift, the hat for  bro-in-law LaMar. yes, that Lamar). Yes my sister Marla is married to LaMar, we call them LaMarLa. He endeared himself to me forever-even before this text- by reciting & reviewing every hat I've ever knit him, leading up to this gift.  He asked for something lighterweight, soft, with some slouch, and not too loudly colored because he wants to wear it at work.  I have to admit I struggled letting go of this one. It's Hissu, one of the charming  hats by this Finnish designer.   Road to China Light and stripes in handspun (thanks Archiknist) . More Road to China hats, definitely on the to-do list.

*reserving the right to do a long name droppy post soon....

gift ideas + book reviews + footnotes

Annotated. Because who doesn't have a few more words on the subject....
My fellow knitters & crafters! Unless you're casting on a chunky quick project*, or demonically speedy, it is time to put down the needles and step away.  Shift the focus.  A promise of the handmade, perhaps?
These three from PotterCraft. They do good books. **
So you're short a finished project?  A bookmarked page with a promise of the item in January is a loving gift.  Infinitely preferable to snarling at your dear ones "Don't even TALK to me, dinner, uh NO,  I NEED to get this done...."***
To help you along , here are reviews from my opinionated self:
 Bruce Weinstein**** totally nails it in his new book, Boyfriend Sweaters. He delivers  on his premise: rock solid designs for guys that anyone would want to wear.  Including straight non-metrosexual guys.  And you. And, um, me. All sized for, and modeled by, both genders. This is the rare knitting book that keeps disappearing in my house.  I've had "wouldja make me" requests from it, across 2 generations and two genders and their friends, ages 17-55. That's a pretty good road test right there. The sweater above was 1st choice from 3 people.***** I'm all over this one. Maybe I'll make it for Dave and then steal it sometimes.Here's another one. Win-win-win. Props to Jared Flood's photos, too, for the commerical yet natural catalog-ish appeal. 
I hate knitting fitted sleeves for myself but I really really want a Z sweater. The whole alphabet is charted. Love it

Warm Knits, Cool Gifts from Sally Melville and her daughter Caddy Melville Ledbetter also gets my thumbs up.  It has a broad range: baby knits, accessories, sweaters, xmas type things, cute kid knits, anafghan. A keeper, but I have to admit, it's been here most of the year, and I haven't knit anything from it.

Then I offered Giuliana , who appreciates my knits in the most endearing way, a sweater of her choosing****** I pointed her at my shelf of knititng magazines and stack of books.

She chose this Center-Paneled Vest / Sweater , which I'd totally overlooked. Oversized, interesting front hem shape with shirt tail in back, nice drapey neck, and knit in worsted weight but with a center panel of fingering weight yarn. What a fun way to incorporate a skein of something too special for socks, right? I'm looking forward to casting on for it. 
I kind of love it as a vest, too. Extra snaps to the book for the Flatter & Fit comment boxes along the way.

Next category: handknit dolls & toys. Love 'em. Almost never make'em. When my fabulous niece Ariana joined me at Rhinebeck this year, the one thing she wanted most was to cast on for stuffed animals, her fave kind of knit. So, I have the perfect gift for her:

A Kuku Doll kit. (This is Bella).  When Lisa , of The Creative Warehouse had me teach last month, she brought a bunch of her dolls as subjects. They are adorable, and come in every ethnic mix imaginable. If you have a multiracial family like mine, you perhaps have spent some fruitless hours looking for sweet non-caucasian dollies?  Lisa and a partner  have a very cool social initiative business, with the knitted/felted dolls available for purchase, or as kits & patterns to make them yourself.  Read more about the Dolly-Mamas here.
Then, there is this new book

Knitted Farm Animals by Sarah Keen
There's a lot to like inside. The animals are not twee, in fact some are downright soulful.
 
If I were a good granny, I'd be knitting this for Zoe. She loves her some sheep. (Me? Responsible? M-a-a-a-ay be). Instead, the book'll go to Ariana as well, and she can be a good cousin.******* In case you're wondering if I've slacked off the gift knitting, compared to other years, the answer is, sort of. Details when all done and delivered. I'll show you what I'm knitting today though. It'll be done later, I'm sure.I't's that reversible variation of Fishermans Rib stitch again, related to the Decibella pattern. This is a smaller, dialed down, more subdued cowl. I'm  thinking of it as Sottobella. Pattern soon.
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* A few chunky cowl projects you can whip out between now and 12/25:  Decibella, WhamBam, PuffDaddy,  Bulky Mobius Cowl...those are just a few, add yr faves in the comments, please! (yes I am on a cowl bender, thankyouverymuch)

** My last book with PotterCraft, Craft Activism  still makes an awesome gift for anyone who appreciates handmade. (Just saying).  They sent me the books above, for review.

***Not that I've done that myself...in the last 2 weeks.

****Bruce Weinstein has also published several cookbooks, and shares his homemade nosh at his book signings. Whatta guy.

*****Unfortunately, I had to trot out the "nuh-uh. not knitting sweaters for anyone on size 4US needles" clause..

******As long as the pattern called for size 7US or larger needles. See above.

*******Is this offloading guilt? Maybe. Works for me. What's your strategy?

gifting on the 1 trick pony

I had this notion I'd do a series of posts with good gifting ideas all month. Not because I 'm a gifted gifter. But because I get a lot of books sent here for review that you should know about, and I meet a lot of very interesting artists and designers. Who you should also know about.I'll get to them....
. Meanwhile I am just a bit obsessed by Decibella, (more about my pattern in the last post.)  Put together a super quick knit that lets you play with colors, and throw gas on that fire in the form of my dear friend &  knitting hero Kay of Mason Dixon Knitting . She not only cranked a beautiful Decibella herself one night this week (scroll down in that link to view it and read her eloquent description of why the stitch entertains) but has engaged me in  tweaking-the-design alt yarn convos that have utterly blotted out any other gift knitting or blogging ideas. One track mind and all that! Decibellas for all this year! So, tata and toodle-ooo I am off to my LYS to get me a couple of skeins of Malabrigo Rasta, or maybe Peruvia Quick or Misti Alpaca Chunky...all nice substitute for the Cascade Magnum shown here. 
Let me suggest a do-not-miss new book you might want to gift yourself (or another knitter) with: Cast On, Bind Off: 211 Ways to Begin and End Your Knitting By Cap Sease

Yes you read that right, 211. The book is fabulous. It's a MUST HAVE. You may not recognize Cap's name, but you have been knitting her designs from Green Mountain Spinnery for years. The books is spiral bound, so it behaves itself while you reference a well-organized collection of bind offs, cast ons and edges, with clear color photos, and easy-to-follow illustrations of hands executing the steps in each manueuver. It's super useful  for BO's and CO's you may not use often, or that  solve a problem or add a little something extra. Her breadth is mind-boggling.  It is just right for looking up an icord cast on or bind off...which comes  in handy....when you knit a Decibella. (see what I mean? neigh!) 

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Disclaimer:  I shot the author's photo of Cast On, Bind Off, and received a gift of the book. I wouldn't say anything here that wasn't 100% honest in my reviews, though. This book is an essential for your knitting library.

another wednesday, another wip

Does it seem like I keep on showing new projects, but you never see anything finished? This month I have an excuse: gift knitting.  So this week for wip it Wednesday, a loop scarf, in green, as requested by my niece. (I don't think she reads here but just in case: Ariana? Look away!)

  

I'm making the pattern up, inspired by  scarves I've seen knit in changing stitches and weights so that when they're wrapped around your neck, it looks like you have two scarves on, with lots of texture. Kind of like this one. But mine's bulkier, and handknit.

 

Here's a less cluttered view. I started with a skein of Peruvia Quick .  I knit it up in Mistake Rib, an old favorite,  over 23 stitches on size US13 needles. It yielded about 30" of nice cushy warmth. Quick, just like it says on the label.

 

I continued with a skein of Peruvia,  a worsted weight single in the same color, over the same 23 stitches. But now in an  open  Lattice stitch (um, maybe its Reversing Lattice? Or maybe I have been calling it by the wrong name? I can't find it online to link to. It's easy though. ), on size 10 1/2 US needles.

 

Better view of the lacy work section, which is still cushy and squooshy but much less dense than the first section. The plan is to knit 30" of this and then close the loop. Whatd'you think? Will it work? I'm counting on it having lots of .....presence ..when it's done. 

Many more wips linked here for wip Wednesday.

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Speaking of presents and handmade: do you love this piece? I saw it at Goods & Curiousities Shop  at The Griswold Inn in Essex CT.  I'll be there this weekend for a special event showcasing handmade, Sunday December 11th, 11-4, in a showroom with knitwear designer Ann Weaver of WeaverKnits. I'll be chatting about Craft Activism at 11 and 3, and we'll both have all kinds of goodies to show & tell and sell. Stop by! More info on the Craft Activism blog.