The Cold Weather Impetus

Cold weather brings out the serious knitter in me. When I start gathering up my woolen goods to put on myself you know it is cold outside. The interesting thing is I usually knit cold weather protection for other people as gifts. With that said, I own very little knitwear of my own that is for outdoor wear. So for now I rely on polar fleece items I have collected over the years.

This next year I will be working hard to correct that deficit. If you are a knitter or a friend of a knitter you need, at least, the following items for your own wear: soft, warm scarf; hat or wimple for head covering; fingerless handwarmers with mittens to cover; a cowl that can be worn indoors all day if you want to; felted slippers to wear when you come in out of the cold to relax; and a comfy, oversized sweater to lounge in.

Can anyone think of anything else? If you want a giggle, read the comment on A Sign of BRR where it mentions a sheepdog. I laughed heartily when I read it, I could just picture that scene in a movie. There is fodder for someone.

I hope everyone is staying warm and preparing for a wonderful holiday season!

Other Finished Items

I have other finished items ready for gifting. The most complex ones are the Spiraluscious pattern in cowl and handwarmers. I had to borrow some hands to demo the handwarmers because they don't look like much just laying on a blocking board. I hope they are well-liked where they are going.

Happy gift knitting to all!

A Sign of BRR

I have the smartest cat on the planet. He knows when cold weather has descended and makes every effort to have warm places to curl up in.

This is his favorite spot in the bedroom, atop my tallboy dresser. Currently his nest is made up of two pairs of sweatpants, a polar fleece blanket and a skirt that I wear over my pjs in the evening while I watch TV and a pair of polar fleece lounge pjs that need to go to the laundry but I cannot bring myself to disassemble the nest just yet.

Usually in the morning he joins me in the living room on his other fleece and wool nest but today he deemed it too cold to come out of his nest except to eat his breakfast and get a drink of water. He was all cozied down by the time I went to work. I expect he will be there all day. Who says animals are dumb?

I hope everyone is staying warm and happy!

FO - Go Flight

The gray visored beanie has met its recipient and is getting ready for some fun travel adventures.

It looks great, is light, warm and ultimately packable. A good choice for the jetsetter in your life.

Look for the pattern here at Ravelry.

I hope everyone is having fun finding the best holiday gifts for the folks on your lists!

Finished Object: Buttoned Shawl

I just put the finishing touches on the Buttoned Shawl that I knit for the shop sample for a class in January. It was inspired by one of the customers store bought wrap that she wants to learn how to knit. I knit it in stockinette with some garter edges and crocheted edging to try to control the roll that is common with stockinette.


It is knit with Red Heart Fleck in Claret (something carried in the shop) and the very fun buttons can be bought there as well. If I make another one I will doing it in a textured stitch and will be offering those options to my students in January. The pattern is like a blank canvas for using different stitch patterns. It will be fun to see the finished items that other create.

I hope everyone is finding fun ways to express their creative selves!

FO - Spiral Bit O' Fun

IMG_3246, originally uploaded by anniemaude.

Finally finished and ready to go to its secret recipient. I hope she really likes these items. Currently they are still drying in my laundry closet where Little Loopy is keeping them company.

The pattern, Spiraluscious by Anne Hanson, was fun to knit, well-written and had both line-by-line and chart instructions.

I am on to the next immediate projects which are the visor beanie hats for more secret gifts. Those should go quickly. And I plan to decorate them with buttons like I did the gray one.

I hope everyone is making progress on all their holiday projects!

December Days to Celebrate

So many fun days to celebrate, only 31 days to do it in. Welcome to December Days to Celebrate. Let's begin:

In December we can celebrate Read A New Book all month long.

December 1st brings us Eat A Red Apple Day followed by Wear Brown Shoes Day on December 4th and Walt Disney's birthday - December 5th, he was born in Chicago in 1901.

Take a moment to thank a veteran as we remember Pearl Harbor on December 7th.

Next up is National Brownie Day on December 8th and Hanukkah begins at sunset on December 11th.

Poinsettia Day is celebrated on December 12th, watch for all those rich red flowers as well as the new designer colors.


Did you know that the first miniature golf course was opened in 1929 on December 14th? Fore!

National Cupcake Day is celebrated on December 15th. If you are anywhere near Cupcake Jones in Portland, Oregon, stop in and sample their delicious offereings. I had the opportunity while I was there for Sock Summit to see what all the fuss was about and their cupcakes are awesome.

Beethoven celebrates a birthday on December 16th and he should get musical cakes for all his hard work making good music.

The Wright Brothers get a day to celebrate for their first flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17th. You can get goofy on December 18th with Wear A Plunger on Your Head Day. And the First Day of Winter and Bah! Humbug Day share a day to celebrate on December 21st.



National Eggnog Day is slated for December 24th and Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. Kwanzaa begins on December 26th.

Chocolate is celebrated nationally on December 28th and the bowling ball was invented on December 29th back in 1862. Break out the champagne and celebrate the end of the month and the end of the year with New Year's Eve on December 31st.

I hope everyone has found something to celebrate this month. See you next year!