Queued

I owe you guys a FO post... I finished a hat recently, but I need to take photos, so stay tuned to (tomorrow?) for those.

I've happened upon some lovely new things for my queue, recently. Some have come from the new Recommendations feature on Ravelry. If you go to http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/recommended, custom patterns will pop up for you! I'm sure most of you have already found this, and I don't tend to look at mine so often, but perhaps I should. I tend to rely more on my Ravelry friend network to expose me to greatness.

Cookie A. has won me over with Slide, a geometric sock pattern. I normally don't look twice at sock patterns, opting to knit plain socks as infrequently as possible, but these really catch me. At $6.50, the price seems steep (I've bought whole cardigan patterns for that amount!), but I find myself looking through the finished projects quite happily.

Fantome cowl, by Anne Kuo Lukito, is a gorgeous cowl project that has so much potential for color exploration. Unlike the plethora of traditional cowls on Ravelry, this has great graphic panels and looks like something I might pick up at Nordstrom. A pretty, giftable little thing.

Finally, I'm utterly in love with SC.1. Alison Brookbanks has managed to make a sweater similar to the things I'm always knitting for myself, but unique enough to be worth the effort. Imagine knitting this in a neutral and putting super neon camis under it. Love love love:

We're almost halfway through February! Get some lovely wool wash and balm in my giveaway!
- YX

Hand knitting

What happened to my week? I can't believe it's already Sunday...

I happened upon this Lifehacker post that shows a method for knitting without needles:

I find it interesting... My biggest needles are a whopping size US 50, which I've used once or twice on those lovely, bulky cowls that are quick gifts. Although I don't think this kind of knitting is generally something I'd be interested in playing with too much, it would be effective for making a bath mat with some cotton rope or old towel strips.

It also reminds me somewhat of finger knitting:

For me, this kind of stuff is so fun to teach kids. I remember being at Girl Scout camp as a kid, making quick friendship bracelets by using the finger crochet method:

Have you guys ever tried any of these "hand knitting" methods? Do you think they have the potential to do more than just basic items?

- YX

Something pretty: Audhumbla

I happened upon this lovely FO the other day: Audhumbla by Ravelry user Mjin:

The pattern calls for aran weight yarn and size 8 needles. There's something about thicker-weight shawls that makes me go all aquiver...

Sporting some beautiful fair isle work, the pattern only had 4 completed projects, each of which show different color schemes. This black and white scheme by Mjin is such a standout, with the halo of the white alpaca blanketing the black, softening the pattern. Love.

The edging is beautiful, too! She knits beautifully! The border is knitted-on after the square is completed-- I'd love to know her secret for picking up those edge stitches.

Such a gorgeous and wearable piece! Thank you for sharing it with us, Mjin!

-YX

February Giveaway

Hey there, yarn fans! In honor of February, our shortest month, I'm giving away some travel-sized products from Aquae Sulis, a knit-related soap shop!

Included in the giveaway are a knitter's balm, which has a really nice lavender scent, and some wool wash:

The set is perfectly sized for your knit bag! In addition, I've included two 50g skeins of Malabrigo Lace in Apple Green and Pearl Ten- they're adorably little and would make a great pair of striped fingerless mitts or a hat:

In order to win this month, go to the Aquae Sulis website and look around, then come back here and post your favorite product! Don't forget to leave your contact info so I can message you when you win!

Happy February! I'll draw a winner at the end of the month!

- YX

January Winner

Alright! Time to see who won January's custom skein giveaway!

Congrats to entry #41, Purplefrog5! I hope you enjoy your yarn!

For those who entered and didn't win, thank you for participating, and no worries! I have another great giveaway coming up in just a few minutes...

- YX