Merry Christmas

Whatever it is you celebrate or do today, I hope you have a wonderful time doing it!

Christmas Crafting, Part the First: Dona Nativitatis Amicis

Ok. So I just logged onto Ravelry, and 181 people are either knitting themselves a Citron or have finished one already. 181. One woman even knit it twice! I cannot believe this. Thanks (and a big welcome!) to those who came by this here blog for the first time after seeing the Citron pattern last week and said hello. Blogger doesn't always show me the email addresses of commenters, so I couldn't respond to everyone individually. But, hi! I'm so happy you're here!

So let's get on with some Christmas crafting, shall we? The following were recently given to and unwrapped by their recipients, so they are safe to share...



Pattern: Odessa Hat, by Grumperina
Yarn: KnitPicks Swish DK, 1 skein of Grey
Needles: US 4 and 6 circs
Start to Finish: November 11-12, 2009
Notes: Fun and FAST. I love how the spirals grow out of the ribbing at the brim.



Pattern: Republic Hat by Nicole Reeves
Yarn: Louet Riverstone Chunky, some leftovers of Charcoal that equaled about a skein
Needles: US 10 circs
Start to Finish: November 27-December 1, 2009
Notes: Another quick one and I love the big ol' button.



Pattern: Sort of based on the Republic Hat
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, 1 skein of white
Needles: 7mm circs
Start to Finish: November 8-9, 2009
Notes: The brim is seed stitch, and the hat is a little shallow because I ran out of yarn. I like hats like this sometimes, though. The buttons are from a little pouch from Anthropologie that contained a coupon good for the month of my birthday. They looked so cute and I loved the colors so much that I had to put them on something.



Pattern: Friends of the Forest Mitts, by Katrin Silvius
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, 1 skein of red
Needles: US1 dpns
Start to Finish: October 8-November 6, 2009
Notes: I love these mitts! The length is great and the lace and nupp pattern was just enough to keep things interesting. The pattern has an option to create a convertible mitten-top. Had I enough yarn, I would have because it looks extremely adorable. Oh, I did change the top of the mitts to be twisted rib instead of picot...but just because I got lazy.

There's much more where that came from...this year even family pets got knitted gifts. But for now I really need to put away the computer, the blogs, and the knitting needles and get packing. I'm quite proud of my crafting productivity this year, but the crafting will unfortunately not get me to my in-laws' house.

Patternum Gratis (et honos magnus mihi): Citron Shawl

The new Knitty is up and...wait a sec...that's me!



I feel so, so honored to be a part of Knitty's 30th issue and, honestly, I keep checking the site to make sure I didn't just dream it. (I swear I'm not saying this just because I'm in it but...) This is a particularly fabulous issue of Knitty with some great sweaters and hats. And these Ailbe mittens? I need some right now. Go check it out!

Res Completa: Holiday Sweater

It started in June. I saw Philigry's Amanda Sweater (based on a turtleneck worn by Cameron Diaz in The Holiday), fell in love, and immediately added it to my mental queue.

Then, at the end of October, Philigry's lovely sweater was featured in a Modification Monday segment over at Knitted Bliss. I still loved it. But I had so much stuff to knit! Especially with Christmas coming up.

Whatever. A week and a half later (after an encouraging/enabling note from Philigry herself) I had my yarn from Webs, and soon after that, I cast on. Just in time to wear home for Thanksgiving.



Pattern: Improvised top-down raglan
Yarn: Cascade 220, 4 skeins of Natural (8010)
Needles: US6 circs
Start to Finish: November 16-24, 2009

Notes: This sweater is a simple top-down raglan, with the cowl knitted on at the end. Loving the look of the neckline on Francis Revisited, I calculated the length of the cast-on edge and did mine the same. I did a few calculations beforehand to make sure I ended up with the bust and arm measurements I wanted and a raglan depth of 8 inches. I decreased 2 inches for the waist, then increased another 2 for the almost-to-the-hip hem.

If I hadn't been on a hard deadline (I was determined to wear this thing the night before Thanksgiving), I may have redone the sleeves. I thought I was giving them a little bit of positive ease, but I was wrong. I guess I have been working out more lately...(and by "working out" I mean "eating")...



I also may have redone the cuffs. Because buttons were going to go down there, I wanted to overlap the cuffs to make them look like they were actually buttoned. So, when I got to the ribbing, I started working them flat, and increased 4 stitches before I bound off. Because they're a little tight, they also get a little gappy when I bend my elbows. I think I will sew the two pieces together, now that I think about it.

For the cowl, I picked up stitches all the way around the cast-on collar edge and worked in reverse stockinette (turned the sweater inside out and knit it that way) for several inches. I thought about doing something at the edge of the cowl so it wouldn't curl, but decided I liked the curly look.



I LOVE this sweater. LOVE. I live in turtlenecks this time of year and am excited to have a winter white wardrobe item for this holiday season. Thanks so much to Philigry for this wonderful idea and to Julie at Knitted Bliss for reminding me about it!

Patternum Gratis: Candlestick Baby Sweater

At long last I've sized and finalized this pattern, which I started writing two and a half years ago! Named after Candlestick Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants during my childhood, this little cotton baby sweater is modeled after men's raglan-sleeved baseball t-shirts. As with my other free patterns, Candlestick has not been tech edited, though the greatest amount of care was given in writing and proof reading it! If you have any questions whatsoever or encounter any errors, please do not hesitate to email or pm me on Ravelry.



Pattern: Candlestick (click here if you don't have a Ravelry account)
Sizes: 3 months (6 mos, 12 mos, 18 mos, 2 years, 4 years)
Finished Measurements: 16.75 (17.5, 18.75, 19.5, 21.25, 23.5)” finished chest measurement
Yarn Requirements: MC: 2 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3) skeins: 158 (165, 175, 184, 203, 222) yards in Natural White; CC: 1 (2, 2, 2, 2, 2) skeins: 93 (100, 104, 110, 120, 126) yards in Orange
Needles: US 6 (4mm) 16” circular needle and same size preferred needles for working a small piece in the round (or size needed to get gauge)
Gauge: 21 stitches x 28 rows = 4” in Stockinette stitch

More info: The body and sleeves are worked in the round until the raglan decreases begin, at which point they are worked flat. Pattern employs short rows to shape the collar, basic increasing and decreasing, seaming, working in the round, and a little bit of grafting.