Friday, December 4, 2020, Issue 177: It is three weeks until Christmas!

• Posted on 4 December 2020
• By Susan Wong-Tsang
• Posted in December 2020, Gift Knitting, KAL, knit-along, sweater weather
• 0

Can you believe it? It is less than three weeks until Christmas and even though Christmas will be very different this year, gifts are still very important!

Lise finished her Turtle Dove II sweater by Espace Tricot! This is one of those wonderful patterns that many of you have knit more than once! My Turtle Dove II is off the blocking mats and I love it. I’m not usually a fan of turtle necks as I find them constricting, but this one is so light and stretchy I don’t mind it at all. I made a modified size 3: first, I reduced the number of raglan increases to minimize the batwing effect, but then adjusted the number of stitches added in the body and sleeves to compensate; and second, I lengthened both the body and sleeves. I steam blocked as suggested, so that was a quick and easy task compared to wet blocking.

I recently had a big restock of Drops Air! Some of it I put into Turtle Dove II Kits but a big chunk of it, I left available to purchase un-kitted! Remember though that even if you buy it in the Kit, you can use it to knit whatever you like - the cost per ball of yarn is the same.

The Turtle Dove II Kits are available in these colours but Drops Air is also available in more colours!

These are all of the colours that I carry in Drops Air! Use beautiful, lightweight yarn to knit the original Turtle Dove or Turtle Dove II, Ranunculus by Midori Hirose, the Felix Pullover by Amy Christoffers or the Magnolia Chunky Cardigan by Camilla Vad to name a few suggestions!

Hats are great gift knitting projects! Embers Hat by Tin Can Knits is a perfect project for playing with colour and using up those bits of leftover yarn! The pattern includes sizes from newborn up to an adult large! This

Embers is designed to be knit using fingering weight yarn for a gauge of 24 sts & 32 rounds = 4” inches in stockinette using 3.75 mm (US 5) needles or as required to get gauge. 2.75 mm (US 2) needles are used for the ribbing.

The contrast colour yarn can be made up of one or many colours. You can knit with a single strand of CC, or for extra ‘pop’ you can:

• hold the CC yarn doubled (we used this method for the samples) - this requires double the yardage.
• use DK weight yarn held singly.
• hold a strand of mohair lace held alongside the sock weight CC for an extra fluffy halo.

Suggested yarns are Istex Einband, Garnstudio Drops Flora or if you want to use a sport weight yarn, try Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Weight. You can of course use any leftover fingering weight yarn too or hold your yarn double with Drops Kid Silk!

Want to make a matching set? The Embers Sweater by Tin Can Knits uses the same textured colourwork technique as the Embers Hat!

Berroco has been publishing Minutia since 2007! This is the Minutia 2020 mini sweaters for decorating your holiday tree! Grab some stash yarn and get making!

If you haven’t jumped on the Gnome bandwagon yet, look at knittleywinks on Ravelry’s Here We Gnome Again by Sarah Schira! Aren't they awesome? Gorgeous twisted stitch cables trace elegant patterns all over the hat and body. Just like Never Not Gnoming, there are a number of tricks to keep the sewing to a minimum.

I am working on my second Gnome KAL! Sorry but I am not going to post any spoilers!

The ADVENTure Gnome by Sarah Schira MKAL started in December 1st! Did you cast yours on?

WIP's and FO's

On my needles is Stripes! by Andrea Mowry! I am mostly using Lichen and Lace Rustic Heather Sport leftover from my Sirius by Camilla Vad. Since I am a loose knitter, my needles are smaller than the suggested needles. I used 2.75 (US 2) needles for my ribbing and for my main needle, I am using 3.25 mm (US 3) needles.

This is the Koigu ADVENT 2020 Kit from Koigu that I using in Mica. I am using Ancient Arts Revival A Midnight Clear as my main colour. The KAL does not need to be started and finished before Christmas. You can but kits HERE. I only have Ammolite and Mica Kits in stock. The other colourways can be special ordered.

I cast on my ADVENTuresome Wrap by Ambah O’Brien with a Koigu ADVENT Kit! Oops! I see a dropped stitch in the photo that I didn’t see until now!

KNIT GROUP AND GALLERY

The current Knit-Alongs are the Any Sweater / Shawl KAL and the Knit Your Project: the everlasting knit-along to encourage and support you to knit is running from October 1 to December 31, 2020.

Don’t forget to post a pic to the finished object (FO) thread whenever you finish a project during the Knit-Along so that you will be included in the next draw! We will also add the option of posting your finished project to Instagram using the #sue2knitskal so that I can find them!

Lise finished this test knit back in October! Pattern is Helen Joyce Top by Taiga Hilliard Designs that was released on December 2nd. Yarn is Berroco Remix Light.

Lise (Mattedcat) received a special request for a new hat in purple! How she knit this is on her Ravelry project page.

Angie (@knittinggrapevines) finished her Pebble Tunic by Joji Locatelli just in time to make the November 30th deadline for the Joji Fall KAL 2020. She knit it using Berroco Vintage DK.

Angie (@knittinggrapevines) loves the socks she finished! Favorite Socks by Kristin Lehrer knit using Wicked Stockings by Timber Yarns Twin Socks.

Veronica (@xovee.knits) knit her new little one this sweet bonnet and jumpsuit! I can't wait for her to write up her pattern!

Two of Annie (@kollar.annie)’s kids enjoying hats she knit them. Lorah Hat by Ambah O'Brien and Tweedy Mountains by Twin Stitches Designs.

Patti (@patnelann) finished her 4th (maybe last?) Choose Love Shawl by ForestCityKG knit using Malabrigo Arroyo. shown with a Shawl Cuff from Knox Mountain Knit Co.

Patti (@patnelann) knit this The Obsidian Sweater by Heidi May of the Velvet Acorn!

Karen finished a new pair of plain socks knit using Greenwood Tree by Brandi of @thegreenbuttonjar!

Jan finished her Mountain Mist sweater by Tin Can Knits knit using Cascade 220 Heather’s!

Jan also finished three hats! The top two are the Myra hat by Knox Mountain Knit Co knit using Bergere de France Chinaillon. The bottom one is Larch Hat also by Knox Mountain knit Co knit using leftovers from her Mountain Mist sweater!

Liz finished finished all of these! The striped cardigan is Pacific Coast by Gabrielle Danskknit and the other three are Gramps by Tin Can Knits.

SHOP UPDATE

More ChiaoGoo needles and sets arrived today and some Estelle Colourbraid that has been backordered since spring!

It came to my attention that I didn’t have very much in Christmas colours so some Estelle Worsted arrived including a re-stock of the Ragg colour ways!

I sold out my first order of Outlander Knitting and ordered a few more...Also, don't forget the Saltwater series of books from the Island of Newfoundland - any one of the three would make a wonderful Christmas gift!

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I have slowly been adding all of the colour swatches to the website so that ordering is easier. Please note that you still need to use the colours below the drop down list to make your choices.

The Loyalty program is also now accessible from the website! If you were already signed up, you only need to confirm your phone number that is attached to your account. If you use a different phone number, a new Loyalty account will be set up.

VIRTUAL SOCIAL KNITTING

Virtual social knitting using the Zoom app! It has been a great way to knit together through social distancing! Join in with us either Tuesday afternoon from 2 - 4 pm or Thursday nights from 7 - 9 pm. We are continuing to hold our Zoom meetings each week until we can meet again in person. Clicking on the link will take you to our Zoom meeting.

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
 
Meeting ID: 407820804

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