Knitting Kninja

As I’ve mentioned a few times, I usually start my Christmas knitting during the summer, and this year, I utterly failed to do that, so it’s been a real scramble.  However.

When I sat down in October and made a list of Christmas projects I wanted to have done, there were seventeen projects on that list.  I’ve finished 14 as of right now, and have two more on the needles, so it’s looking pretty good.  I’d still like to actually start in the summer next year, though.

Above is a hat for Gabriel’s stocking – Turn a Square, from Brooklyn Tweed.  You may recognize the yarn – my Malabrigo Rich Chocolate, which has had a long and productive life.  The first half skein was from a swap of Malabrigo leftovers with Darling Floy, and then I bought the second skein when I ran out of yarn putting a border on Grandpa’s Hemlock Ring Blanket.  Then I used the leftovers from that to design the Tamarind Cowl, but I ran out of yarn just before it was done, so I ran back down to the yarn store and picked up another skein.  I had most of a skein of Malabrigo then, so that became Pauline.  And then there was a decent sized hunk of that left over, and now I’ve finally run out of brown Malabrigo in making this little hat for Gabriel, who really does need a new winter hat for the walk to school.

The other yarns are some leftover Lamb’s Pride from Orata and more leftover Malabrigo from Darling Floy.  This pattern is a nifty one – simple, perfect for using up leftovers, and very cute.  And of course, well written.  All Brooklyn Tweed patterns seem to be.  I altered it a wee bit to make it fit my small-headed nine year old.  I cast on 88 stitches, and rather than increasing when I changed needles, I just left it alone.  This worked out well in terms of fitting my kid’s head, as well as I can tell from trying it on myself and the other children, and it used up exactly the amount of brown yarn I had, so that’s good.  A couple of the squares at the end are slightly wonky, but that was because I was trying to knit as fast as I could and I sacrificed perfection to a deadline.

Next up: Mocassin socks for my grandfather.  I’d originally planned on making these long and socklike, but with the deadline looming, I changed my plans and I’m making slipper socks.

Slippers are good, right?  More Christmas-y pictures soon.

Last year, without solicitation, I made a list of good gifts for knitters.  This year, I actually have an excuse to go pretend shopping make a similar list, because my husband’s been asking me to make such a list for a while so that he can bookmark it and refer back to it when he needs a present for me.  Look, honey!  I am actually remembering to make the list!

Since so many folks are financially constrained this year, I’m keeping the list limited to yarns and accessories that cost $30 or less.  I also figured I’d make it easier than last year by dividing the list into categories.  So here is a comprehensive list of stuff that I a knitter might like.

Yarn

• Beaverslide 2-ply Fisherman Weight ($8.75-$9.95)
• Dream in Color Smooshy ($21.00)
• Fleece Artist Suri Blue ($19.00)
• Garthenor Organic Pure Wool Bluefaced Leicester 4 Ply ($14.00)
• Habu Textiles Super Fine Merino ($6.55)
• Jamieson’s Shetland 2 ply Spindrift ($5.60)
• Madelinetosh Hand Dyed Sock ($26)
• Malabrigo Sock ($18.25)
• Peace Fleece Worsted ($8.50)
• Rowan Felted Tweed ($8.95)
• Shibui Knits Merino Kid ($19.50)
• Spritely Goods Semi-Solid Superwash Merino ($24.00)
• Starbugs Knits Etoile Sock (on sale for $12 through Jan. 1st)

Needles

• Addi Lace Needles ($13.50-$15.95)
• Knit Picks Options (cables and needles) ($3.99 -$7.99)
• Lantern Moon Needles ($23.00-$32.00)

Needle Cases/Bags

• Coyote Craft Tuck and Roll Organizers ($19.50-$23.50)
• Rohmer Boxes ($24.00-$25.00)
• Schrodinger Cubes ($25.00-$35.00)
• WhistlepeaWorks Knit Notions Organizers ($22.00-$26.00)

Patterns and Kits

• Blue Sky Alpacas Cabled Cowl Pattern ($4.00)
• Blue Sky Alpacas Little Fish Kit ($24.90)
• Bowerbird Knits Francie Sock Pattern ($6.50)
• CoCo Knits Malabrigo Loafers Pattern ($7.50)
• Cosmicpluto Just Enough Ruffles Pattern ($3.50)
• Feather and Fan Prickle Pattern ($5.00)
• Hansi Singh Horned Owl Pattern ($6.00)
• Morehouse Farm Baby Alligator Knit Kit ($16.50)
• My Fashionable Life Cherry Pattern ($7.00)
• Pepperknit Tapestry Cowl Pattern ($5.00)
• Pick Up Sticks Bell Hat Kit ($25.00)
• ShibuiKnits Ivy Socks Pattern ($8.00)
• Sublevi Ivel Pattern ($7.50)
• Ysolda Coraline Pattern ($5.89 at current exchange rate)

Books

• A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns ($30.00)
• Berroco: Norah Gaughan Volume 1 ($14.80)
• Boutique Knits: 20+ Must-Have Accessories ($14.93)
• Classic Elite Make it Modern ($14.95)
• Mary Thomas’s Book of Knitting Patterns ($10.17)
• Thrown Together ($26.95)
• Vintage Knits ($16.50)

I hope this list is helpful to someone (other than Mr. Kninja)!   Happy holidays!

Here are some of the more interesting recent search engine terms that have brought folks to Knitting Kninja.

• men who like to wear frilly aprons

• do people still knit or is it to old fashioned

• “does not like frippery”

• “the beauty in you” +prose

• pot calling the kettle black

• yielded up to

• i need one last download of k-ninja please

• purple (Note: 44 people have found my blog using this one word. I don’t get it.)

• who knitted bill cosby’s sweaters

• chimp intarsia

• fignering

• toddler, child, spoke with a british accent

• rivalry knit patterns

• let me have knitted

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Although I am aware that I have a yarn problem, I tend not to think of myself as having a stash when compared to many other knitters of my acquaintance. I read many knitting blogs, and when I do, I often see people say things like, “I already have eight sweaters worth of yarn, so I can’t really justify this purchase,” and my black little heart swells with envy.

“Eight sweaters,” I think. “Wow.”

Recently, though, in addition to taking stock of my starteritis problem (What problem?) I started looking over the stash, and I noticed something. Namely, I have one. I have got a lot of yarn. This was driven home when I looked over my burgeoning queue on Ravelry. I have enough yarn for four of the sweaters on my list in addition to the sweaters that I’m already working on. Beyond that, I have yarn for a shawl and random balls of leftover yarn aplenty.

Much of this yarn has been acquired so gradually that I didn’t even notice it happening. I found a great deal on Rowanspun tweed, for example, and bought a big bag, figuring, (correctly, I must say) that one can never have too much fingering weight tweed. My yarn budget has never been huge, so most of the stash has crept up on me in increments. $13 one month, $20 two months later, and boom – I have a big old pile of wool.

I’m not at the point where I’m hiding stash in creative spaces…no, wait, I am. There’s my yarn cabinet, but it’s never been ideal. So there’s also yarn under the bed and yarn in the closet on my shelves. Ye gods, people, I think I may have a problem. I’m probably only weeks away from my predicted end of slinking down some dark alley and begging a shady fellow in a really beautifully cabled coat for a hit of alpaca.

OK, so let’s take stock. Or rather, let’s choose not to take stock. Let’s take stock only of what seems manageable. The stash has actually been coming in very handy as the holidays approach. Like so many families this year, our belts are tightened to the point of cutting off circulation. There are a lot of seemingly useless half balls of yarn that have made a new appearance as something small and wonderful to be given to a friend or relative. And I know I have many hours of pleasant knitting ahead of me as I move out of the holiday rush, what with all the wool I’m accumulated.

So, it’s good, right?  Yeah, it’s good.  Especially with the aforementioned belt tightening.  I mean, I won’t be able to buy yarn for a while, so it’s good to have a personal stock on hand.  And the possibility of pretty new clothes, too.

The four sweaters for which I have yarn, by the way, should you be interested, are the Footlights Cardigan, Cherry, Global Warming, and Le Lapin Noir.  All lightweight spring and summer sweaters, to be sure, but sweaters nonetheless.