Friday, December 30, 2022, Issue 277: Happy Friday....Tomorrow is New Year's Eve!!

• Posted on 29 December 2022
• By Susan Wong-Tsang
• Posted in December 2022, Happy New Year, KAL, knit-along, year end
• 0

I can't believe that another year is drawing to a close! With the weather being wild over this holiday season, I hope you were all able to slow down, reflect and enjoy time with your family and friends.

Unlike other parts of Ontario and Canada, we haven't had a huge amount of snow that is staying put but it has been cold!

Gro Hat by Fiber Tales will keep your head nice and toasty on cold winter days - especially when knit in a plump woollen spun yarn. It’s a quick and fun knit using only about 1 skein of dk weight yarn.

The hat is worked bottom up with a nice ribbed brim and a beautiful plant motif. The top of the hat is shaped by elegant centered double decreases. The pattern has both written instructions and chart.

Gauge
19 sts x 33 rnds = 10 x 10 cm / 4 x 4”
on 4 mm / US6 needles in st st

Needle size
3.5 mm (US 4)
4.0 mm (US 6_
Small circular and DPNs

Measurements (measured flat)
25 cm - to fit a head circumference of 54-58 cm
4-8 cm of negative ease

Suggested Yarns: Kelbourne Woolens Scout, Garnstudio Drops Air. I have enough leftover from my Lonely Forest Socks project of The Fibre Co. Amble and Drops Kid Silk for me to cast this one on...

So I bought another pattern…Drawing Sweater by Tomomi Yoshimoto came out in November but I finally bought it last night! This is the sweater Purlificknitter knit as an unofficial tester!

This is totally different with the non-repeating motif but it caught my eye from the time I first saw it on Instagram!

This pattern has separate text data and chart data, which should be downloaded separately.

Sizes
M (LL)
chest: 105 (118) cm / 41.25 (46.5)”

Yarn：
Sport weight yarn, MC1: 110 (130) m / 120 (142) yds
MC2: 625 (755) m / 683 (825) yds
CC: 390 (460) m / 426 (503) yds
The sample uses 2 colors of MC. If you want to knit with one color, please combine the yardage of MC1 and MC2.

Needles：
US4 (3.5mm) 40cm～100cm/15.75” ～40” circular needle for ribbing
US6 (4.00mm) 60～100cm/23.5” ～40” circular needle for body and sleeves
If you do not use magic loops, you will need US4(3.5mm) and US6(4.00mm) DPNs for sleeves.

Gauge (After blocking):
Using US6 (4.00mm), 21 sts X 30 rows =10 cm (4”) in Stockinette stitch

FOs and WIPs

I moved right along with my Pressed Flowers Cardigan by Amy Christoffers.

Monday night I had the front bands including the buttons knit and the sleeves started…But and it was a very big but, I started to feel very concerned that when I was picking up the stitches for the sleeves I had only the number of stitches for size 1 and not size 2! What did I do was running though my head?

I had been relying on doing the number of repeats based on Amy's photos and it hit me that I only had 11 rows of flowers. Amy had 12! I was short by the 16 rows of a row of flowers. No wonder, the size seemed shorter when I tried it on with my partial sleeve and although it fit, it wasn't the measurements I wanted.

It took a bit of time but it wasn’t too bad considering I had already sewn in my ends but I removed the buttons, front bands and shoulder seams. The left and right fronts are now fixed and I have the back to fix next. Whew, it is much better to persevere and frog back and it really could have been avoided if I had taken my tape measure, measured and paid more attention!

KNIT GROUP AND GALLERY

The Caitlin Hunter (Boyland Knitworks) KAL and the Knit Any Project: our everlasting knit-along to encourage and support you to knit finishes on December 31st. The deadline for both KALs is December 31st so please remember to send me your photos or post!

Post your finished project to Instagram using the #sue2knitskal or #sue2knitscaitlinhunterkal so that I can find and see them!

Kay (@kayrobbins) finished her fabulous Twists and Turns: Westknits MKAL 2022 shawl.

Linda (lmcnorton) finished her fabulous Orbits by Rachel Illsley!

Debbie (debbiegodfrey) finished her Stratified by Tif Neilan from her book Worsted - Knitwear Collection by Aimée Gille of La Bien Aimée using a mix of her hand spun

Here is the back view.

Debbie (@love.knit.spin.weave) finished a second pair of Nalu Mitts by Leila Raven.

Jen’s mom Judy finished this beautiful crescent shaped Auburn Wave by Mam’zelle Flo.

Jen (zjewell) knit this pair of men’s size 10 Back to Basics: Socks (DK) by Melinda Measor for her husband!

Karen (kmae64) finished her Lonely Forest Socks by Caitlin Hunter that she knit for the #sue2knitscaitlinhunterkal using The Fibre Co. Amble held double with Drops Kid Silk.

Handmadestudio11 finished her Misurina by Caitlin Hunter for the #sue2knitscaitlinhunterkal

Kim knit this sweet Christmas Angel Tree Topper by Angela Turner.

Aly works at the library and wanted a set of props to go with The Mitten by Jan Brett. This is what Sandi (sandima) knit. Her Ravelry project page includes links to all the patterns she used.

Sandi finished her December Gnome for Sarah's Year of Gnomes KAL she participated in! She knit one every month (plus some extra). This one is Gnome-Made Gifts by Sarah Schira.

I’m not sure I would have come across this if Sandi hadn’t shared their project page with our Thursday Knit Night group! It is from lyntterl2’s Gnome Chess Set Kings project page! Wow! I’m in awe!

SHOP UPDATE

Tomorrow is the last day of the Boxing Week Sale! Treat yourself! Don't miss out!

All yarn, weaving yarn and kits are on SALE at 15% OFF including sale and clearance yarn from December 26 until December 31, 2022. No code needed. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Minimum order of $20 to get the discount.

Register and take this Colourwork Cowl Class - Quiet Thicket by Stephanie Lotven class - learn and practice stranded colourwork and make this beautiful shawl-shaped, wearable and fun to knit cowl! This class starts soon so don’t miss out! We need 2 more to run the class!

Saturdays, January 7, 14, 21, 28 and February 4 - 1 to 3 pm

Register for this upcoming Colourwork and Steeking Class! This jolly tea cosy features a carousel of Shetland sheep and offers a small sampler of many of my favourite hand-knitting techniques: stranded colourwork, steeks, vikkel braids, corrugated ribbing, i-cord and centred double decreases. Practice on your teapot before trying these things out on a sweater!

Saturdays, February 11, 25, and March 4 – 10 am to 12 pm

Check out the other upcoming Classes!

Happy New Year, Happy Friday, Happy Knitting, Crocheting and Crafting! Keep calm and keep on knitting and making!