Sick knitting

There are certain times when I know I can count on my knitting to get me through. Waiting in line or at a doctors office, travelling by car or plane and when I'm sick and have some actual down time on my hands.  My cold started on Sunday with a fever and chills, I thought I had the flu for sure! Luckily, that went away after the first day and it turned into a regular upper respiratory infection. So to me, that says quality knitting time!

Just before Christmas I started knitting a hat for my hubby. Believe it or not, I think it's the first thing I've knitted for him. I found this great pattern on Ravelry called the Jacques Cousteau Hat.  It's a beautful, ribbed hat with this really cool decrease pattern on top.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jacques-cousteau-hat
I'm not sure if it was my cold or the boring knit 3, purl 2 rib, but I still haven't finished the hat!  I've finally finished the 8" of ribbing and am about halfway through the decreasing. It seems like it will never end!  But, I am determined to finish it today. I already have my next project's yarn sitting on the table staring at me, yarn wound, pattern printed and needles at the ready.
This is what's coming up next...

It's the Nantasket sweater from Berroco's website (free!!!) It's only in kid's sizes but maybe they'll add an adult version some point.  It's knitted with Vintage Chunky and I'm going to use the same green color.
I'll post a picture of my Jacques Cousteau hat as soon as it's finished (tonight!!!!).

A few words not related to knitting.  As you all know, we had a huge blizzard over the weekend. The sidewalks and parking in Marblehead are awful!  A few minutes ago, a man that I had never seen before stopped his car, got out his shovel and cleared the sidewalk all the way down past my store to the corner of Washington and Essex Street.  On his way back up the street he shovelled away the messy slush on the street just off the curb in front of my store (which all ends up inside).  I opened the door and thanked him.  We chatted for a minute and when I was about to go inside I said thank you again. He said "Thank you for coming out to say thank you to me".   The power of those 2 little words really amazes me.

Happy New Year everyone and as always, Happy Knitting!!!

3 knitting days until Christmas!

4 days to Christmas! What can we knit and have it ready in time?  Many of you travel to visit family and a plane or car ride can result in some quick results!  I always look forward to plane trips because of the uninterrupted knitting time I gain! 2 hours before the flight in the airport, however many hours in the air, layovers, knit, knit, knit! I love it!!!  But, seeing as my family is local, I have to schedule my holiday knitting into my regular day.  No worries! With all the fun, quick knits available, finishing projects in time is no problem. 

This cowl is a 2-3 day project, tops!!  I literally wear this every day, and I'm knitting one now in black. I intend to have one in every color!  A cowl keeps you as warm as a scarf but there aren't any ends or fringe to snag on things.  If you've ever seen me wind my scarf into the ball winder at the store you will know exactly what I'm talking about. It's not a pretty sight.

The cowl is wrapped around twice. When unwrapped it hangs to about my waist.  Come on by the store to get some yarn and I'll give you the pattern for free!

I hope you all will take some time in the coming week to take a break and sit down with your knitting. It's a busy time of year and it's amazing what a little knitting time can do for our shopping crazed brains!

Happy Holidays and happy knitting!!!

Quick Knit #3

One week until Christmas!!! This month passed so quickly it's a blur. But believe it or not, with projects like this one that I finished in less than 24 hours, there is still time to knit gifts for Christmas!

This hat is by far one of my favorites. I made one for my sister last year and she wears it all the time and absolutely loves it! She might get another one for Christmas (no definite answer on that in case she reads this!). 

The top of the hat is a wonder to behold and the self striping Noro Kureyon yarn adds just enough color interest but not enough to take away from the pattern itself.  You can find the free pattern here
http://filambulle.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-noro-hat-free-form-recipe.html
I think it has been translated from French so some of the wording is a bit funny, but ultimately the pattern works out great. Laurie and I have both made several of them so feel free to come into the store if you have any questions.  I just got a shipment of Kureyon in last week so I have 6 new colors to choose from!

Just a few details if you make the hat.  I used a size 16" size 9 circular needle and double points. It fits my somewhat large head perfectly. If you wanted to make it smaller I would recommend using a smaller needle rather than taking stitches off the pattern.

My next quick knit post will be for a cowl that I wrote the pattern for, knit and have been wearing every day this week! Now I'm making myself one in black. This one might take about 2 days.

Happy Knitting!

Quick Knit #2

My goal when I started writing my blog yesterday was to knit one project per day until Christmas so knitters could see that there was still time to get gifts done. It turned out that my second quick knit took almost 2 days instead of 1. It turned out great though so I'm still happy with the project and definitely consider it a quick knit.

This knitted hat is perfect for the men in your life. Husband, boyfriend, brother, etc... I used less than one skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in a subdued blue/grey color. I followed the pattern exactly except that I did the ribbing for about 6" instead of 5 1/2".  I don't think it would have fit if I had stopped at 5 1/2".  You can find the free pattern here 
 http://stephanieknits.blogspot.com/2007/03/keeping-boyfriends-ears-warm-since-2006.html

Tonight I'm going to start on another hat that is one of my absolute favorites! Laurie found the pattern and added beads which is beautiful but definitely slows me down on the project. I find that the self striping yarn and the easy, repetitive lace pattern is enough to make it fabulous.  Pictures tomorrow!!
Happy knitting!

My first blog entry!

I've been thinking about starting a blog for some time now. Even my son has a blog! I guess it seems like a great way to be in daily contact with people who want to stay updated with goings on in the store.  I'll post regularly, especially when I have new classes, yarns or other events to share.

My entries over the next week will be all about quick knits. And when I say quick I mean 1 or 2 days of knitting and you're done! 

I started yesterday with a chunky seed stitch scarf. I used 2 skeins of Comfort Chunky from Berroco and doubled it up on a size 15 needle. 15 stitches all in seed stitch and by the end of the day I was done!  I'd say it took about 5-6 hours of interrupted knitting to complete it.  With projects like this one, you could knit gifts for your whole family between now and Christmas!

This morning I cast on for a men's ribbed cap in Ultra Alpaca. So far it's looking great! I'll post pictures tomorrow and update you on tomorrow's project!