Hockey Fans

I had to share this with you. Valda sent me an email with this awesome picture of her Jolly Wee Elves. Oh my goodness. Take a look at the two on the right. Hockey fans should recognize these.

Just thought I would send you a picture/attachment of the elves which I am busy knitting.  Seven of them are going, with a gift each, to family members in west Hamilton, two of the elves are hockey fans so are wearing hockey shirts!  I now have an order from my daughter to knit another hockey fan plus she has shown them all to her friend who now wants four, two for her and two for her mom.  Also I'm knitting for us (daughter and grandson) so I am busy!

These elves give me pleasure, just wanted to let you know.  

We were emailing back and forth and I asked if I could share her elves on the blog. Valda sent this.

That would be fine...I'd be pleased.  I'm 84 years young...four years ago I had heart surgery, suffered a stroke after surgery which left me paralized on my left side.  However; I do get around thanks to my walker and I'm now a great-grandmother.  Life goes on...even though knitting my little elves plays havoc with my hands I do enjoy the outcome.  These days because of COVID, knitting has given me a reason to get up in the morning as I like to create something...so yes, please include my elves in your next blog. 

Sometimes a little background is nice to hear.  I'm the customer that switched from using the double pointed needles to knitting back and forth...started with a circular needle then changed to a pair of 2.75 mm needles but I do use two double pointed needles to complete the I-cord top knot.  The 2.75mm needles are slightly shorter in length than a regular needle and I find them very comfortable to use...it's whatever works for us.

Thank you Valda for sharing. I was inspired by her story and how knitting is helping her through these crazy times. 

Valda knit the Elves with a Woolstok bundle and some extra full skeins of Woolstok.

Sarah has a brand new sweater. It is gorgeous. It looks so cozy and warm. 

PetiteKnit September sweater. My first time doing Brioche stitch and I loved it!!! I think the 4th size for an over sized look. A couple stitches I didn’t do quite right but thank goodness it just shows on the wrong side lol!!!

The sweater is knit with Biches & Buches Le Petit Silk & Mohair triple stranded and you can purchase the pattern on Ravelry.

You’d think it was really heavy and hot but 3 strands of mohair still keeps quite a light feel

The September Sweater is worked from the top down in brioche stitch. First the back is worked back and forth while stitches are cast on for the neck and increases are worked at either side of the work. Then stitches are picked up for the shoulders, which are worked separately and then joined for the front. Once the front and back of the yoke have been finished, they are joined at the underarm for the body, which is worked in the round on a circular needle. After this, stitches are picked up and knitted around the armholes and the sleeves are worked in the round on a short circular needle. At the end, stitches are picked up and knitted along the neck edge, and a rib edge is worked. This rib is folded over and sewn down on the inside of the sweater. This makes the September Sweater completely free of finishing, apart from the sewing down of the folded neck edge.

Knit a swatch before beginning the project to check if the recommended needle size gives you the correct gauge. Brioche stitch can be hard to measure, as it is very stretchy, so take care to measure several times, most importantly after blocking.

Churchmouse Yarns has a new pattern for a very simple hat that you can download on their website.

“Instant gratification.”

Warm weather seems to be a long way off. Mornings are frosty, the wind is chilly, the cold is nipping at our nose and ears… Well, we can take care of that! This basic beanie in a bulky wool will be on your head in—if not a few hours—a few nights of knitting. It’s a free pattern, so all you need to do is pick a color and then decide what sort of brim you’d like—the casual, rolled edge featured here? Or maybe a short band of ribbing? Up to you!

For a hat both warm and quick, we love Rowan Big Wool. It’s a woolly mammoth of a yarn at two and a half stitches to the inch (there’s the quick) and 100% merino wool (there’s the warm). We’ve chosen a mellow palette of colors—calm neutrals and a pretty bright.

We have fun new colours of Big Wool for winter. 

The new Mindful needles from Knitter’s Pride arrived today.

I didn’t have time to take them out of the box and look at them. That will be tomorrow’s job.

On my way home from work I dropped some yarn at Diana’s house - she is going to knit me another Birds of a Feather. This time we are going bright.

It is two skeins of Soul Single and one skein of Soul Mohair in the colour Pink Panther.

It’s time to get ready for The Amazing Race and The Masked Singer. I might make it to the toe shaping on my sock tonight.