I've got several Christmas gifts underway beginning with Evie's new cardigan. Last year I never finished her Solstice/Christmas sweater and made a hat instead, so this year I'm determined to get it done. After three false starts I finally have it going smoothly and, unlike last year, I'm loving the yarn, so I should be good to get it done. I also have some plans to use the remaining leftover yarn from Briton's sweater to make her some legwarmers for school. At some point. Hopefully before it warms up again.
I ordered this yarn for a hat for Briton but when it came it looked a little on the purple side instead of the brown I was hoping for, so instead I think I'll get started on a pair of these for me. I saw a woman wearing leather spats instead of boots and thought is was such a great idea. Haven't decided if I'll use that pattern or skip the cabling and go it alone or not. TBD.
I'm still puttering away on these socks. The yarn is angora and cashmere so it's nice and soft to work with, but the lace pattern is complicated and only repeats every 18 lines so I have to constantly look at the pattern, which limits when and where I can work on them. But they are coming along.
Up until a few months ago, I was the kind of knitter who only bought yarn with a project in mind. I didn't really have a stash of yarn with no intended purpose unless it was given to me. And then, well, something happened. I think it was finding the recycled yarn on etsy, dirt cheap prices, beautiful yarns, I couldn't resist. Suddenly I have yarn that I'll use for something, I'm just not sure what. This lovely little pile is one of those stash items. It's 100% cashmere so it has to be used for something beautiful that needs oh so soft yarn. I've thought about splitting it up into a few projects but I'm kinda thinking that I'll probably never have enough cashmere to knit a whole sweater again. I had almost decided on this one, but then I found Abigail from my beloved Quince and Co. Can't Decide.....
For my subway knitting these days I'm working on learning some new stitches by making washcloths. Since they are flat, small and repetitive, I don't have to look at a patterns once I have the general gist down. I started with twined knitting which was kind of a pain but produced such a nice thick knit that I might have to try it out for some winter mittens. You knit with two different balls of yarn and wrap them around each other between each stitch. Which can make a big tangle if you aren't careful, but it looks cool in the end.
Now I'm working on a raspberry stitch washcloth. They are both made from cotton yarn that I picked up in Vermont (again, with no real plans for what I might use them for). I think I might venture into crochet for the next one.I've also got another Eliza Doll in the works, but this one is not for my girl (or my boy). Instead I'm knitting a sample for Living Crafts Magazine where the pattern will be published soon (yay!). It means that I have to take the pattern down from Ravelry and my blog, but as soon as the printed version comes out, I'll link back to it. If you are in desperate need of the pattern, however, please shoot me an email and I'll get it to you ;). I'm kinda excited to have my first officially published knitting pattern out there!
What's in your workbasket these days?