New Year's Eve Knitting Thoughts

 Last weekend's knitting frenzy left me with sore hands and wrists and strained forearms.  I know better...I do know better but I made the choice to push on through the knitting to finish the project.  While I feel personally responsible for averting a predicted blizzard (grandiose much?) by providing the cowl and hood that would make shoveling less gruesome, I am also having to put a pause on some projects.  That is okay.

Today I am saving my knitting time for my 4:00 PM knitting group ZOOM.  Are there projects I itch to work on...yes...but I am also taking some time to figure out a few plans for the time when those projects are done.   

In the quiet of the last day of the year, I am also thinking about what I have learned to do differently this year.

Magic loop!  I thought this was a technique I would never do.   Now, after using magic loop frequently, I am a convert.  I admit what sold me is not having to dig through more needles to adjust needle size for the project.  Less time hunting equals more time knitting.

Another technique I picked up on Instagram is similar to magic loop.   This involves pulling out the excess needle length and making a loop....and moving the loop as needed.     It is also handy in not forcing a hunt through all my needles for the right length or having to move the knitting from needle to needle.

Instagram knitters have taught me a lot besides that one technique this year.  Seeing what other knitters do opens up so many new ideas for me.   I won't try them all but have really loved the ones I have adopted.   What a world we live in now.

The old pre-social media and pre-internet knitting days were so different.   Books, magazines, and other knitters - groups at yarn stores and knitting buddies - provided a similar way to learn if a knitter, as I was, was lucky enough to have access.

While Ravelry has waned in popularity, I am still a frequent user.   So many times I have looked at the patterns, bought them, read them, to puzzle out how something was done...   One of my daily joys is seeing what projects have been posted and what other people are knitting.   Ravelry has been a source of inspiration as well as information.

What continues to excite me...and carries me into 2026...is knowing how much there is to learn.  I have been knitting steadily for 52 years.   I am still delighted with exposure to new ideas, using new yarns, and meeting other knitters.   

Don't get me started on what I learn on YouTube!

The Whistler and Thoughts on Swatching

 After the hat that did not turn out as expected, I am a lot more thoughtful about swatching.   I don't like surprises, which are usually not great, when it comes to my knitting.  Truthfully, I really just don't like surprises.

For the Whistler, not only did I swatch, but a laundered the swatches.  I am very glad I did as the swatches told me a lot about what the yarn would do.....and I ended up with a project that both I..and the recipient.. liked.

At the end of last winter, one of my friends who has to shovel a lot was talking about what would make being out in the cold and flying wet snow easier.   Ravelry had a solution.   The Whistler Hood not only had a cowl that would tuck well into a coat...but a turtleneck to keep the wind from blowing down one's neck.  The best part was that the hood could be cinched in with a cord.   The Artic Chill, the hooded cowl I made before that did not have that advantage.  

Wool and Company had the yarn specified, Rauma Vams, in a great red heather, so I bought it...and put it aside.   

The weatherfolk predicted that we would have some hideous winter weather this week.   So, Christmas Day I got to swatching...and Friday I got to knitting.    

The swatch relaxed a lot more than I thought it would when I laundered it.  I went down a needle size and swatched again...and got gauge.

As I progressed through each stage of this project, I steam blocked the yarn.  It made a huge difference in the finished project.   The stitches were easier to pick up when I needed to do that.   Steaming the ribbing for the cord casing made sewing the casing down much easier...and easier to make look neat.  I even steamed the icord...which evened it out.

To thread the icord through the casing I used an old style stitch holder which worked great....and finally has given me a use for those holders I have not wanted to move along.

As I was steaming the parts of the hood, I kept thinking of all the things Mrs. Gaspar, my 4-H sewing teaching taught me.   I think she would be pleased, wherever she is, to know that I remember those lessons...and remember them fondly.

Christmas Stockings

 Christmas stockings are such a joy to knit.   I have a large collection of patterns.....and draw inspiration from those patterns as well as from charted stitches.   After all, this is just a giant sock (I just knit them - I don't have to fill them.) that needs to be sturdy.

As new family members arrive, I like to make them their own stocking.  The three stocking to the right in the above picture belong to my aunt's granddaughters.    

They are all from Annie's Woolen's kits which I highly recommend.  While the yarn is on the rustic side, no one will be wearing these and it is much more important that they last.

I still have the felt and sequins stocking one of my grandmother's made for me.  It does not come out anymore.   The memories of seeing that stocking hanging from the mantel on the morning of St. Nick's day still linger.....I want a new generation to have that same joy.

Highland Lux Yarn Leftovers Hat

This yarn was in a clearance section on WEBS….I was intrigued and bought several colors.    The first had that I made was a test knit for a very skilled Finnish Designer – Annina Juuti – called the Lovi Hat.  This hat turned out beautifully.   The mohair content gave a beautiful fabric.   Then I did a several Two by Two hats.   The came out fairly nicely.   The last one though…it stretched a bit more than I was happy with during blocking.    

As I was oh so not pleased with that stretch, I decided to experiment.   What would a 1x1 rib at a tighter gauge do with this yarn?

After doing a gauge swatch in 1 x 1 rib and looking at some other patterns, I came up with a plan.   As I wanted to do a striped hat to make best use of the leftovers from other projects, I decided to graph out the hat.   Knitbird is software, now free, that I have used a long time.  It is a bit clunky but much better than Excel for me.

I graphed out the hat with the stripe repetition where I wanted it. And set out to do the hat.

As I am always interested in trying ways to do things better, I also did a little research on jogless jog techniques.   This time, I chose a technique explained very well by Roxanne Richardson.

Following the YouTube gleaned advice from those who know more than me …the many who know more than me….I measured the hat and took the gauge before and after blocking.   Both the row gauge and the stitch gauge  did change as the yarn relaxed during blocking.

 Materials

Hi Koo Highland Lux Yarn (90% Wool 10% Mohair, 273yds (250m)/100g (3.53oz), Worsted)

Partial balls left over from other projects in Charcoal, Ocean, Bark, and Mist.  Each ball was half or less in size. 

Size 3 US Needles

Tapestry needle

Scissors

Gauge

Pre-blocking:  7 stitches and 7 rows/inch.

Post-blocinkg:  6 stitches and 8 rows/inch

Finished Size

Pre-blocking:  17 stitches and 7 rows/inch.

Post-blocking:  6 stitches and 8 rows/inch

Instructions

Cast on 108 stitches in Charcoal.   Work 1 x 1 Rib for 18 rounds.

Stripe Sequence

On the first row of each stripe, knit.  On the subsequent rows, work K1, P1 ribbing.

Mist:   5 Rows

Ocean: 3 Rows

Mist 5 Rows:

Charcoal 3 rows

Repeat this sequence until the hat measures six inches.    This works out to six stripes total with the last stripe of the sequence being Ocean.  

Crown Decreases

Work the decreases as follows while continuing the stripe sequences.

Row 1:  *Work sixteen stitches, k2 tog*

Row 2:   Work row in pattern to the two stitches knit together in the previous round, knit those stitches.

Row 3:  *Work fifteen stitches, k2 tog*

Row 4:   Work row in pattern to the two stitches knit together in the previous round, knit those stitches.

The final decrease row in this pattern will be done as *Work two stitches, k2 tog*.  At this point, there will be 18 stitches left.   

Next row:  *K2 tog*   9 stitches

Next row:  *K2 tog*   K1

Finishing

Cut yarn with about 16 inches left to finish.  Run the yarn through the stitches, pull tight and fasten off.

Sew in ends and block.

I will admit that I am unsure if the end of the decreasing in 100% accurate…but..it will work.

The latest magic blanket......

 Yesterday I put the most recent Magic Blanket through the laundry.    

This version was done on 6 mm (US 10) needles.  I used the usual 90 stitches with the 10 x 10 stitch rib repeat.

This version used only two of the five balls that I had purchased.

I really liked the fabric this time and will probably start my swatching process for for future blankets with this size needle.   The post-laundry drape was still what I wanted.  It is all good.

Do I swatch every time I do one of these blankets?   Yes.  Yes I do.

Why?

I want to make sure that I am getting the drape that will give the blanket its magic.....Emily calls it a hug.  She also says that her blanket is so special that she does not put snot on it.   What praise could be higher?