Mohair Magic

I am so pleased to report that this was a very satisfying finished object!  It is a Prism Wrap made with Noro Silk Garden and Debbie Bliss Angel (held double).  It only used 2 skeins of each yarn, and was a great use of a muted (ie. blah) Noro colourway. Plus the kid mohair adds a light, airiness which feels delicious. It also lends it a soft aura that  is snuggly and pretty, without being wintry. The pattern is a no brainer, and the size comes out just right for spring warmth. Me likey - I'm glad I thought of it!  :-)

As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Project Round-Up!

I finished my Ombre Cowl! Love it, it's light, airy, and pretty. I'm soooooo into both ombres (colour gradations) and kid mohair (mohair but thin and not particularly itchy) right now. 

Over the weekend I started another prismy wrap. I'm going to keep at it until I get it right! I don't think I'll have to die trying, this one is looking great. I'm using Noro Silk Garden and Debbie Bliss Angel (holding the mohair double). This type of project makes especially good use of the more muted (dowdy) Noro colourways.

BTW, the Prism wrap is the greatest mindless knitting. Simple and effective. And it certainly moves along much faster when you use worsted weight yarn!

I finished the last prismy wrap, but am unsatisfied with my colour choices. The yarn choice worked well, the Berroco Remix can play either a lead or supporting role. 

Finally, we're working on a new project for the store, a little hoodie pattern called Arshile knit with Berroco Remix.  We've decreased our needle size, but it doesn't have anything to do with the pattern, Liane's tension on straight metal needles (they are her very favourite) is a bit looser than the suggested tension.  So far so good, I think it'll make a really cute year-round kid sweater.  

As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Prism in Progress

This one is a store project. It is a Prism Wrap (it's really a shawl, free pattern on Ravelry) made with worsted weight yarns: Noro Taiyo and Berroco Remix as a contrast colour. When i chose the colours I was sure the teal blue would make a great contrast with this interesting shade of Noro, but now I don't know. I think the cream or even the oatmeal colour might have worked better. Otherwise, it is working up really nice, and I think 2 skeins of each yarn will make it a really nice sized shawl. 

Everyone poo-poos this colourway of the Noro, but I think it has potential, I just have to figure out how to bring it out. Perhaps the purple needs to be omitted? 

As always, you can find us at knitomatic.com!

Ombre for Spring

Just a quick update! I've been busy, and most of the stuff I've been working on has been in bits and bobs, but here's one you might be interested in. It's an Ombre Cowl (free pattern on ravelry), made with 3 different shades of Debbie Bliss Angel kid mohair. But you see more than 3 colours in the picture above?  That is correct, the cowl is knit holding 2 strands of yarn together at the same time, and the fluffiness of the mohair blends the strands masterfully. 


Stripe 1: dark grey & dark gery
Stripe 2: dark grey & light grey
Stripe 3: light grey & light grey
Stripe 4: light grey & blue
Stripe 5: blue & blue


The cowl is light and airy and I think it will be lurvly on chilly, rainy spring days. I think I can finish it tonight, just in time for the thunder storm tomorrow morning! 


By the way,  Debbie Bliss Angel is currently on Sale 20% Off at Knit-O-Matic!

As always, you can find us at knitomatic.com!

Birthday Socks

Finally! I have a few minutes to share something finished. Actually, it's more like "Finally! I finished something!".

On display for your pleasure are my Boyfriend Socks. They are/were a birthday gift for my boyfriend. i made them with 2 skeins of leftover Regia 6-ply Design Line Kaffe Fassett and half a skein of the same yarn in a solid. The 6-ply is a bit thicker than a normal sock yarn, I knit it on 3mm needles, and the socks weren't really as big a commitment as they look. 

As always, you can find us at knitomatic.com!

Lil' Devil Helmet

My hats for Lucy are finally back on track!  After all the knitting drama with the Pussy Cat hats, I took a break and made little L something to match her red jacket. It started as a Lil' Devil Baby Hat, but I made modifications. I added some length at the back, and turned the ties into a strap (the straps are super cute, but they are a choking hazard) which attached with a snap (a great big one that little hands can't open). 

I made my mods on the fly, and while I wrote them down they got complicated and I don't think they are worth reproducing in their present state. I'll have to knit it up again in an easier way and write that up to share. 

 I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, and it was perfect for the project and felt great!  

Oh, BTW, the reason kiddo is modelling in her jammies is because she had just dropped a great big smelly log and it smelled soooooo bad that we (aka. my sister-in-law) had to change her out of her clothes before her afternoon nap. Seriously, it was nasty, seriously nasty. That kid should not eat chickpeas.  

As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Holiday Knitting Parade

I was going to try and get a picture of everyone in their holiday gifts this year but .... yeah, that didn't happen. They weren't going to be good pics anyway since the gift opening took place at night or at day break. 


My family celebrates both Channukah and Christmas, but I don't have it in me to make everyone two gifts. Everyone gets one handknit on the holiday of the religion they were born into. The exception I'm willing to make is my niece Lucy, who is presently very, very cute, and technically was also born into two faiths.  But mostly because she's cute and I luuuuuuv her. :-)


So lets start the parade .....

Irving

Let's lead with the best, shall we?  This is Irving, a cabled hat pattern by Jared Flood/Brooklyn Tweed, made for my new beau.  Meeting someone new right before the holidays is a tricky thing. You don't really know them well, you want to show them you are into them, but you can't overdo the gift or they'll feel pressured. It's a balancing act, and I've gotta say, I'm really glad I'm a knitter because it makes choosing a gift much easier. I went straight to BT, I knew he would have a man hat with some masculine but knitterly detail.  

I used Abuelita Merino Worsted and it turned out smashingly!  I made a few mods, especially since my yarn was thinner than the pattern, so if you want to do the same check my project notes on Ravelry. 

The hat fit, it was well received, and I have been updated that it is being well used (the new beau hails from outside of TO, where they get snow and weather and stuff). 

Cabled Neckwarmer

I am not pleased with how this pic came out, but I was very satisfied how this Cabled Neckwarmer did. I made it for my dad (the man who wants hand knits, but never wears them). It was a great gift knit, super fast and easy! I especially recommend for a last minute/running out of time gig. I used the Abuelita Mysterious Blend Chunky (why do they call it that?! It's no mystery, it is 95% Merino and 5% Silk) and it knit up beautifully!  BTW, the Mysterious softens up substantially after winding and loosening up with handling/knitting.  Anyway, dad seemed to like it, I have no idea if he'll ever use it, but mom can. 

Cabled Neckwarmer

I actually was really pleased with this one, it's a Cabled Neckwarmer for my sister-in-law, Katie. Katie is a casual, athletic dresser, and has a small, active child. I thought a close fitting neckwarmer would be the kind of think that would come in really handy this winter. The yarn is Abuelita Thick & Thin, held double and LURV it!  It is sooooooo soft!  I made up the pattern on the fly, I'll publish it for you soon. I think the gift was well received. I don't know if it is being used - you send them off into the world and hope for the best. 

Pussy Cat Ballaclava 2.0

I made this for Lucy, it was a follow-up to the first version that was too big. I've already blogged about the ongoing saga of the ill fitting pussy cat hats, read it here. Suffice it to say, this one came out WAY too small. I didn't even give it to her. BTW, loved this colour and really enjoyed knitting the Cascade 220 Superwash Sport, especially the heathered for some reason.

Pussy Cat Ballaclava 2.1

This is the third incarnation, which I did give to Lucy, and which still did not fit properly. It was well received, regardless.  I'm taking a short break from these, but I'll get back to version 3.0, possibly in red. 

Brother Hat

This one was simple pattern, it's called A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend, but I made it for my brother (as per my sister-in-law's suggestion). I used Malbrigo Rios, which was lovely, in the colour Paris Night, which was also lovely. My brother is a little colour blind, he has a hard time distinguishing blues from purples, so I figured a bluey-greyey-purpley colour would be perfect for him - it can be anything he wants it to be. Plus it's dark and neutral enough a colour to be ok for men. It was well received, it fits (most important part), and he uses it when walking the dog. 

Bulky Mobius Cowl

I made this Bulky Mobius Cowl for my mom. I hate the way it looks in the picture and off in general, but it looks amazing on! It is made with a combination of a yarn I bought in Italy in 1995 that she frogged from a garment I made for her ages ago, held with dark blue mohair (she put in a request for something scarfy with the mystery yarn). I made the cowl to perk up a winter coat she bought last year that is the dullest shade of navy blue I've ever seen. It was extremely well received, which was not surprising because my mom always wears my hand knits. 

As always, you can find us at knitomatic.com!

Quick Malabrigo Mitts

Silly me! I forgot to blog my Quick Mitts!  I made them because I thought they would be a great, fast little Holiday Gift, and also because I felt the Malabrigo Rasta would look great on hands. I was right on both counts. I wrote up the pattern and it's free, you can download it right HERE.

As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!