More Gift Knits for Christmas 2013

In a recent post, I wrote about "A Couple of (Process) Gift Knits".  Before Christmas day arrived, I actually came up with one more of these.

FO Photo "Ruby Beret", November 2009

I created my "Ruby Beret" back in 2009.  On Christmas day 2013, I gifted it to our niece C.  I like to give knitted gifts whenever I am able.  I know that not everyone needs or expects one every year.  And (please forgive me) there are some people who really do not understand the value of a hand-knit gift, who also really do not ever deserve one.  But regardless, I do like to give knitted gifts to a slightly wider audience, every now and then.  So, for example, one year I gave each of my two sisters and my brother's wife a cowl.  And one year I gifted all of my (five) nieces with a hat or scarf.  This year, because one of my husband's brothers asked for a knitted gift...  in my own head it became only fair to give both of the others on my husband's much smaller side of the family (niece C and another brother-in-law) a knitted gift.

Shifting back to the point of that "Process Knit Gifts" thing, how about that tubular cast on?  It was my first.

I wrote about the cast on and included this photo in an older blog post, "A Book I Recommend".  The beret pattern is "Vine and Leaf Beret" by Angela Hahn.  It appeared on the cover of Vogue Knitting Fall 2009.  I enjoyed the process of knitting this hat, and I was happy to experience my first tubular cast on.

There also were two very quick knits this Christmas.  I would call them both "product" knits in that the knitting was all about producing quick gifts, and not about experiencing a new technique or a unique yarn.  Each of these knits took only two days.  The first is a simple cap for the younger of my husband's brothers.  No pattern.  I just made it up.

 
The yarn used is Bartlettyarns Fisherman's-3 ply that I had on hand, knit at a gauge of 13 stitches in 4 inches.  I got the idea to go bulky from the following project which also took only two days to knit, at a gauge of 10 stitches in 4 inches.

My very knit-worthy daughter loved this gift.  The pattern is "Cullen Cowl" by Pam Allen, the yarn Quince & Co. Puffin in the color 'clay'.  It was fun to knit, so easy and quick!

There are actually two more gifts that linger on in an IOU kind of way... But it's OK...  One is for my son, and he knows about it, and he can't really use it until the spring...  The other, well, I still owe my husband a pair of socks (Remember this sad thing?)...  But I'm thinking that he can wait...  How long do I have until Father's Day?
 

A Couple of (Process) Gift Knits

As I have written before, see here and here, I do not really do a lot of Christmas knitting.

I simply do a whole lot of knitting all through the year... and then just a small amount of last minute Christmas knitting with an even smaller amount of success (see above links).

This year has been no exception.  There will be two gifts that just happened to be knit because each offered up a new knitting experience.  I would call both of these knits "Process Knits".

Within the knitting community the terms "Process Knitter" and "Project Knitter" are bantered about.  The idea is that you are either process-oriented in your knitting.  (You love to knit for the experience of the knitting, and do not care if the results are useful or attractive.  You never swatch and would never rip out anything.)  Or, you are product-oriented.  (You knit because you love to make beautiful and useful objects, and you would totally re-knit anything not to your liking.)

I am of the opinion that each of us who knit fall somewhere within the scale -- most are not completely one or the other.

The first gift will go to Mr K's brother.  He is, by far, not someone for whom I would normally knit anything.  But over the last year, he has asked, not once (during his Easter visit), but twice (on Thanksgiving day), for a hand knit anything for Christmas.  Because I had completely forgotten the Easter request, and because I have been busy meeting design deadlines and dreaming of what to knit for the quick last minute gifts for those that I do normally knit for, that Thanksgiving request really threw me.

At first, I thought, why not make a hat like this one that I made for Mr K back in, I think, 2008?

   
The pattern is Turn a Square by Jared Flood.  The yarns are Cascade 220 and Noro Kureyon.  (I cannot tell color numbers or yard used, as it was made quite long ago.)  When I located the pattern in its print form, I also located my printed pages of the modifications that Jared Flood blogged about for the Cap Karma Hat by Smariek.

This reminded me that I actually made a modified Cap Karma around the same time as my Turn a Square from some leftover yarn of my mother's.

The yarn is Brown Sheep Co's Lamb's Pride worsted in the color blueblood red.  When I finished this hat, I offer it up to all who lived in this house at the time... when no one claimed it, it went into a mud room drawer with all the odds and ends mittens, hats, ski goggles and such... to my knowledge, it has never been worn. 

I hand-washed the hat.  It is a little tall and a bit bright, but I am going to give it to my brother-in-law.  He did say anything.  (I'll let you know if he likes it.)

That hat is truly a "process" knit.  I only decided to knit it because I saw the modifications on Jared's brooklyntweed blog, and I wanted the experience of working them.

I will be gifting my sister, who loves everything that I have ever knit for her, another "process" knit.  This one is totally 2013.  Back in January I was in New York for Vogue Knitting Live.  I had always wanted to try working with stainless steel yarn, and one of the venders at the market was Habu Textiles who are known for their unique tactile yarns including several that include metal.  It was a great opportunity to see the yarns in person.  I have already shared my Hakusa scarf here.  It was finished this summer, after which I made a smaller one that I named Hasuka Junior which I will keep for myself.

The 'materials' for the shawl/scarf were Habu Textiles A-20/21 1/20 silk stainless steel (69% silk, 31% stainless steel) and N-75 2/48 Fine Merino (%100 merino).

I just wrote a note to my sister about the project and tucked it in the box under the scarf.  (I'll let you know if she likes it.)

I consider both of the Hasukas to be "process" knits.  They were made because I wanted the experience of working with a truly metallic yarn.  (Honestly, except for the first few rows, where there was not much to hold onto, and the metallic yarn was used singularly, it was not very different than any other knitting.)  What is cool, though, is that the edging is so very "scrunchable".

If you are also preparing for the upcoming holidays, I hope that you are able to go about it with a light and happy heart... no worries, please!  
   

Just one of many...

traditions...

When I was young, my dear mother liked to burn bayberry candles on Christmas Eve.  She told me that it was good luck to let them burn all the way down.

I recently learned that this tradition has colonial American roots and that there is a poem, with some variations, that usually ends... "a bayberry candle burned to the socket, will bring joy to the heart and gold to the pocket."
 

This year, we burned our candles for Christmas Eve dinner and then through the night.  My daughter was up late watching them burn.  She gave me 'permission' to use her Instagram photo.
  

 

All that was left in the morning was a bit of blackened wick in each holder.  I think that we are in luck.

Wishing for the same light, love, and luck, to you and yours!

Midweek Meditation

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”

                                      ~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

I greatly enjoyed the Saturday matinee performance of A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC this past weekend.  I sat in the second row and loved all the actors, young and old, the costumes (so beautiful), and the singing of a great many Christmas Carols!  Fantastic!  

I wish that I could share an image from the performance, but of course that cannot be.  My photo is of the legendary Presidential Box.

From the program: "Ford’s Theatre celebrates the legacy of President Abraham Lincoln and explores the American experience through theatre and education. A working theatre, historical monument, world-class museum and learning center, Ford’s Theatre is the premier destination in Washington, D.C., to explore and celebrate Lincoln’s ideals and leadership principles: courage, integrity, tolerance, equality and creative expression."

I do find it interesting that Lincoln and Dickens were contemporaries, having lived their lives during the same period of time.  Also from the program, "Dickens's and Lincoln's lives were woven by common threads: family hardship resulting in tough labor during childhood and a desire to treat all people fairly and charitably...This holiday season, and at all times, let us remember both Scrooge's lesson learned and Lincoln's legacy, which call us to live and act 'with malice toward none; with charity for all.'" 

The Hats of Christmas 2011

I had four hats here in my home that I knew that I would probably never wear.  I wanted to gift them for Christmas, but I did not know who would like them.  My eventual plan was to show them to my youngest sister and her two daughters when they came to visit from Vermont.  (The girls are older now, and this is the first time we had the pleasure of their company for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.)  I had other presents to give them, so the hats were "something extra".

My sister loved the entrelac cap that I made for a class sample last winter.

My younger niece tried on the first #77 Dream Hat (a photo is in my last post, so I will not add one here) and said that she would like it.  I offered to make her older sister a new #77 Dream Hat.  I showed her the four color choices of Wool Clasica that I have, and she selected the pewter, which was one of my prize skeins.

I will be making this hat as soon as possible.  (Perhaps my niece will take it with her on her semester abroad in Copenhagen.)   I am sooo fortunate to be working on yet another super secret design project!  But after its January 5 due date, I will cast-on.  I think that hats are the fastest and most fun kind of knitting that there is.  I am happy for them being worn in Vermont!  And maybe in Denmark!

Christmas Day

"One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day.  Don't clean it up too quickly."    ~Andy Rooney

Christmas Knitting?

I do not really do "Christmas Knitting".  I always have entirely too much to do this time of year to add that to my list.  I like to enjoy my knitting time.  I do not like having knitting deadlines.  I save them for design projects that have due dates, and knitting for teaching, when necessary.

I must paraphrase here (I could not find the exact quote) from Jared Flood's Brooklyn Tweed blog post of a couple, or more, Christmases ago.  In that remembered post, he said that he does not really do Christmas knitting -- he just looks around at what he already has made, and decides who to give it to.

Not everyone on my gift list needs or expects a hand knitted gift (every year).  And several would not appreciate one anyway (on any year).

I do plan to give my aunt the original pair of my original TATU socks.  I do not think that she reads my blog, so here is a photo.

You probably saw these socks before.  A photo of one is on the cover of my original TATU Sock pattern.  My aunt knit her very first pair of socks this year for her son-in-law.  She will like and appreciate these.

The scarf, made from my Both Sides Now pattern, will go to my niece.  The moebius cowls, both knit as samples for a not yet released pattern, will go to a sister and a sister-in-law.  Not one of these ladies have previously received a hand knit gift (from me).  I do hope that they like them.

The hats have me wondering...Who?  I like to knit hats.  I find them to be fast and fun to knit.  But I am not a hat wearing person.  I only wear them when I go snow-skiing or snow-shoveling or for walking the dog when it is really cold out.  I have four hats that I could give.  Here are two. And I am still pondering...Who?

Happy Christmas Knitting!  Happy Christmas Gifting!

Midweek Meditation

"Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgivness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect."
 ~  Oren Arnold