December 7

Today I finished up a knitting job I was given. This toddler coat comes from the Debbie Bliss pattern book One. The yarn is Debbie Bliss cashmerino Aran weight in a beautiful raspberry color. It was lots of fun to knit up, but I don't think I will use this yarn again as there were so many knots in the yarn. I think there are much better yarns out there that I would be happier with. But all the same I think it came out great and I hope the grandmother who commissioned it will love it too.

December 4

Well, with Christmas knitting in full swing I thought I would stop and knit an ornament. One of the lists that I'm on called Knitbabyspurprise, which can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/knitbabysurprise/ will offer an ornament pattern each week until Christmas. This little hat is the first in the series. I used some left over Lopi Lite in red. I really like the way Lopi yarns felt. This little guy was felted by hand in the sink. The pattern calls for you to cast on 30 and go from there. I'm sure you can get the pattern from the archives of the list after joining. We like to work on Elizabeth Zimmermann or Meg Swansen patterns. Thus the name. Baby Surprise is a jacket designed by EZ. If you have never made one of these jackets you must give it a try. Its knit in one piece, when you are finished knitting you sew up one seam at the top of the shoulder plan to make an adult sized one this next year.

Dec 1

Well, I finished my Hurry Up Sweater from Elizabeth Zimmermann's book Knitter's Almanac. As you can see, it came out beautifully. And yes it does work up really quick. I think all together It took me about 3 to 3 and half days to knit up. I did make the body of the sweater a bit longer than I wanted but it will work. The ribbing is two rounds of purls on both the bottom and the cuffs. I don't think it worked as well on the bottom as the cuff, so I think it will roll some. I may take the bottom off and change the bottom later. I do like both the color and the yarn. I usually don't use synthetic yarns, but this one worked well. By the way, its Lion brand Woolease Thick and Quick, the color is claret. The great thing is I had to use 3 different dye lots and they seem to blend well. Now that I stopped to make myself a sweater I heading back to Christmas knitting. I have a few things to get finished up by the end of the year so I best get busy.