Yet another hat....

....finished another quick hat. This simple rolled brim knits up quickly but will be warm. I used a superwash/nylon fingering weight sock yarn doubled and knit at about 5 1/2 sts/inch. 

This one will grace the head of a young miss as she heads outdoors in this snowy cold Canadian winter.

We've gone back into the deep freeze here in Eastern Ontario. The temps plunged to -31 with windchill factors making it seem closer to -40. 

Brrr...so important to keep bundled up if you need to be outside. Otherwise, indoors is safest. That's where the littles and I are today. The playroom has south facing windows and is sunny & cozy.

I'm even getting a few rows of knitting in.

Keep warm & keep knitting! Wool is warm!

Sunday morning....

....Papa Bear has been called out this morning to plow yet more snow. And the girls are having a lazy morning, leaving me to spend mine in bliss. :)

Listening to a cozy mystery from Audible

While listening, I'm knitting on a hat for a young girl. Using hand-painted fingering weight superwash/nylon doubled. And knitting it at approx 5 1/2sts/inch. I'm going to a rolled brim to create a fun, simple hat. 

I finished two more hats this week, both are sized for ladies. One is a simple cuffed hat, knit in a hand/dyed worsted weight wool. The turned up brim means that ears will be nice & warm against the blustery winds of winter.

And the other is an ear flap hat. I found this pattern on Ravelry. Norwegian Star Earflap Hat by Tiennie at http://tiennie.com

I knit this one with a double strand of fingering weight wool and a gauge of approximately 5sts/inch. It was requested by a teacher that wants to wear it while on yard duty. I hope it helps keep her warm!

Enjoy your day - it's snowing here and after a bit of tidying, I've got the day to devote to knitting. 

Projects.....

.....finished.....

A hat & mitten set as my part of a trade over the holidays . I hand-dyed a pure wool with two slightly different shades of pinks. 

and the eleventh owl hat!

This pattern is from Repeat Crafter Me and is easy to follow. All my girls, granddaughters and nieces have one.

....and unfinished. On the needles are...

socks. These are being knit with 2 ply wool from Cottage Craft. I don't think they are in business now - they were based in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Shopping the stash!

.....and....

....mittens. These are for my Dad and will be a late Christmas gift. The pattern is Sawtooth - a Nova Scotia pattern and a nod to his former home province. I'm using pure wool in a worsted weight and will be adding leather palms and thumbs for grip. 

It's Friday night and I've got some uninterrupted knitting time. 

Enjoy and keep knitting !

Knitting by candlelight....

The hydro is out in our community for whatever reason. So I'm waiting it out by knitting by candlelight, just like our great grandmothers did . Not as easy as the books make it sound. :)

First bin....

This is just one of my many bins & bags of yarn in my stash. :)

An emptying out shows a lot of wanna-be projects.

I see a hat, a couple of shawlettes, three pair of socks, a pair of fingerless mitts, and odds & sods for stripes and colour patterns. 

I also see a pattern for some toddler hats that I would like to do. And at the very bottom of the bin was the blunt wool needle that I've been looking for the last two days. :)

Follow along as I work through these delightful projects .

Project progress...

This hat and mitt set is my part of a trade. In return I received a beautiful shirt, a bar of handcrafted soap and a lovely CD. I received my part of the trade on Christmas Eve day. Lisa is patiently waiting for me to finish the knitting.

A couple of hours knitting will finish the set. I'll wash and block them and then get them popped into the mail.

Happy Knitting!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2014!

Like many people, the new year feels like a new beginning to me. A time for resolutions - ones that I never seem able to keep. :)
I also always feel inspired to start new projects - but like many knitters , I still have projects left to finish. Lol!
So this year I'm hoping to start taking control of my crafting life. Unlike many knitters, instead of feeling inspired by an enormous stash, I feel overwhelmed. I've tried to convince myself that having a large stash  of wool available to use is a good thing, but truthfully it's not. Not for me. So I am on a mission to work my way through it, buying only what I need to finish a project. Hopefully as the stash dwindles and I'm free to start buying for specific projects, I will still feel inspired.
Time will tell :)
To start the reduction - I'm spinning up this bag of wool/mohair from Wellington Fibres. Can't remember if it's the 50/50 or the 60/40. Either way, it's going to be enjoyable to spin as it drafts so smoothly. The finished yarns will either go into my market bin or become a project on my needles. Follow along.