Some Knitting For Your Eeballs . . .

I present to you: John's Cobblestone

This is the first sweater I've made John, but certainly not my last. It was a joy to knit, despite the yarn (Paton's Decor in Rich Blue) being full of knots and otherwise inconsistent. I very much enjoyed the construction and the garter stitch, which was surprisingly satisfying to knit up. It will need some blocking, and potentially some lengthening, but we will see how it goes after it is properly shaped.

In a potentially vain attempt to thin my ever-growing and mutating stash, I made some mittens. I had bought a skein of Thrumming when I worked at Knitter's Bazaar and had not yet built up the courage to use it. I had also acquired a bag full of half-balls of Paton's Classic Merino Wool in all manner of variegates. I thought it might be fun to work up some colourful Newfie Mitts . . . and it was! They are ridiculously warm and I really like the eclectic look of them. Unfortunately (?) it is not cold enough at the moment to wear them. Hopefully this doesn't change!

Admittedly I bought some more yarn. This is the one (ONE, just one) skein that I purchased at Granville Island on my Vancouver Adventure. It's silk and it's hand-dyed and hand-spun and it's lovely. It's hiding out in a zippered baggie at the moment. I can't risk anything happening to it. One day it will become a kerchief. The most beautiful kerchief in all the land.

And this beauty is my latest monster. It's Ganomy Hat, by Elizabeth Zimmermann, and arguably my favourite hat I've made to date. It was super-fast to knit up and valiantly managed to use up every last scrap of one particular ball of Alsfoss Lopi that I had no clue what to do with.

The little star is from "Christmas-Fiddle-Faddle" by Zimmermann, and (I think) adorable.
This Lopi stuff I have never before had the honor of working with. I use "honor" lightly. It was like a Norwegian sheep stomped on my fingers before exploding in my face. My entire workspace was/is (depending on when one reads this post) covered in wiry bristles of yarn. My fingers are sore and dry. The hat looks awesome though, and isn't unpleasant to wear at all. It sure does make me feel like a gnome!