My maternal grand mother, who always had a baby jacket or bonnet in the works, taught me to crochet when I was 4 and to knit a few months later. I loved it and I haven't stopped since.
So, what are this season's knits? A whole lot! There are always the usual winter necessities (it gets cold in Quebec), this year I made my daughter the gorgeous "rugged mountain" mittens, scarf and cap from Lisa Naskrent at crochetgarden.com in 100% natural New-Zealand wool. I modified the scarf to make it reversible but not quite as thick. I also changed the cap's crown, I started with front post treble crochet right at the start, I feel it flows into the pattern a lot better. Sadly, I don't have any pictures, my daughter left before I could take any... But I still have some FO's to show for january:
I made two beanies inspired by "Three tams" in different colors, with matching cowls that were improvised on the needles. Then... I felted them! They're thick and cosy and soooo warm! It's like going outside with a blanket around your head, neck and ears, which is great at -30℃. The blue and white set is knit with Galway worsted and New Zealand wool. The red and olive set was made with Galway worsted (olive) and Manos del Uruguay Maxima.
Sorry about the crappy pictures, I should never take them at night!
Sorry about the crappy pictures, I should never take them at night!
I also knit a Harry Potter scarf for my son's girlfriend. It's over 8 feet long and 8 inches wide. That can seem like miles of stockinette stripes knit in the round and can be very boring very fast. That's what most people complained about on Ravelry. Not to worry, that's a job for one of my trusty knitting machines: my old SK120 to be more precise! In a little over 2 hours the scarf was finished! Now, all that's left to do is to block it and attach the fringe. Very satisfying!
Machine knitting is a lot of fun, those machines are are the ultimate toy! They're a lot easier to learn to use than you might think and the instant gratification is quite addictive! They can't do everything a hand knitter can do, but they can do things a hand knitter cannot do, would find boring or would never ever even attempt to do. They're a very nice addition to my knitting addiction! O.K. I admit they do have a few problems. For one thing they're noisy, and they're also not very portable, so I can't just throw them in my knitting bag and go!
Machine knitting is a lot of fun, those machines are are the ultimate toy! They're a lot easier to learn to use than you might think and the instant gratification is quite addictive! They can't do everything a hand knitter can do, but they can do things a hand knitter cannot do, would find boring or would never ever even attempt to do. They're a very nice addition to my knitting addiction! O.K. I admit they do have a few problems. For one thing they're noisy, and they're also not very portable, so I can't just throw them in my knitting bag and go!
I also have a fairisle cardigan going on (and on...) that I'm kinda making up as I go and beautiful red alpaca that thinks it might want to become an "Owls" sweater, but in cardigan version (menopause brings certain restrictions)... It just hasn't quite decided yet...
