My knitting fever continues unabated, so it was a knitted Christmas this year. All recipients now have their presents, so I can post photos of what’s come off my needles.
This scarf is knit with Interlacements hand-dyed ribbon, and Crystal Palace Waikiki left over from my weaving days. The pattern is “Misti Chunky Ribs and Ruffles,” by Nancy Kleiber, without the ruffles.
Here’s “Misti Ribs and Ruffles” again, this time out of Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Chunky.
I read every easy mitten pattern I could download for free on Ravelry to understand basic mitten construction, and then made a pattern up out of the many I had read, while I was knitting these mittens. The yarn is hand-dyed super wash merino fingering from The Fibre Studio.
Another pair of made-up mittens, this time out of Berroco Borealis.
And here’s what I knit for me:
The pattern is “Sundry” and is available on Ravelry. It’s knit with two colors of hand-dyed Araucania Huasco.
There’s a new sweater on my knitting needles, and a shawl, a hat, and more socks waiting for a vacancy to open up in the knitting basket. The lace shawl I started in August remains a work-in-progress, but I finished the body of it today. Now there’s just two knitted-on borders to complete. All I have to do is learn what a “knitted on border” is, and how to do one!
Heart To Harp 
Beautiful work. I want so badly to knit but the ability completely eludes me. It’s that damn purl stitch. I just can’t do it for some stupid reason.
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Thank you! The sundry scarf is knit completely with garter, that is, all knit stitches. Not a purl in sight! I am working on another scarf that is also all knit stitches. I hate purling as well. I just finished a sweater (no pictures yet) that because it was knit in the round, was all knit stitches. So don’t let purling keep you away from trying knitting. There’s lots of beautiful things you can do with nary a purl stitch.
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Oh my I had no idea! Thank you.
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There are several things, in hindsight, to which I wish I’d paid more attention to when my mom was alive: how she perfected her pie crust, and her knitting! These are just lovely!!
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Thank you, Lisa. I wasn’t able to learn to knit from my mother, either. I am delighted to finally be doing something that seemed impossible to master!
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I love the mittens in the purple colour! How lovely! I knitted all my presents in 2012 but ran out of time, so everyone got phone cases except my dad who was lucky and got a scarf!
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I don’t know if there will be another knitted Christmas quite like this one – I mean, how many mittens does one person need – but it sure was fun doing it this year.
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Hey Janet. You are so creatively handy and in such a nice way. What lucky recipients! Soothing color choices. I like them very much.
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Thanks, Nancy. I get totally seduced by yarn textures and colors. So much gorgeous yarn, so little time!
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Your knitting is very stylish with well selected colors. I love especially mittens. In Finland they are classic and popular. Every grandma makes them to their relatives.
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Thanks, Matti. My friend who got the purple mittens has very small hands. She said it is the first time ever that she had mittens or gloves that fit perfectly. It made me happy to know my knitting made her so happy.
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You are an inspiration to me! I loved the mittens. Thank you for sharing always. Suzanne
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Everything is just wonderful!! Isn’t it fun to knit gifts for loved ones? š
I especially love those green mittens! Gorgeous!
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Thanks, C.B.! I enjoyed being able to think of the person I was making each gift for, and knit in love and well wishes with the yarn.
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Great gifts, Janet! š
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Thanks, Calee. I enjoyed making them, and being able to personalize each one for my friends.
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Lovely! You are very much inspiring me to work on my own knitting and learn new things. I really love your mittens.
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Thank you, gingertea! It seems that there is always something new to learn in both knitting and music, which is one of the reasons I like them both.
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Lovely gifts, Janet!Th e yarns and colours selections are intriguing in the patterns you used (and made)!
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Thanks, Cheryl! I’m lucky to have access to beautiful yarns at my favorite yarn shop.
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Love your projects and especially the color and texture of the ribbon scarf. Also is the last pic of the piece you knit for yourself a shrug? I wasn’t able to tell from the photo. Very very pretty. Can’t believe you designed your own mitten pattern. You are really becoming quite the knitter. You have advanced a lot in such a short timespan. Love seeing what you’re up to.
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Thanks for the knitting complements, Nanci! The “Sundry” is a cross between a scarf and a shawl. It has two long edges that come to a point so that it can be tied like a scarf, and an asymmetrical triangle section that can be draped like a shawl. I always have trouble wearing scarfs, but this one works for me. The mitten was more like following a recipe – all the patterns had certain similar “ingredients” that I blended together – a lot like the way I cook, actually!
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