Harriet's Tam

As you may recall, I am an avid fan of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. One of my favorite programs is from the late '80s, the Dorothy L. Sayers mystery series set in England circa 1930. In the  *Have His Carcase* episode, the heroine, mystery novelist Harriet Vane, comes across a body on the beach while on a walking tour of England's west country. The body is about to be washed away by the tide. Harriet and the body are miles from a telephone, town and other people. Before the body is lost, quick thinking Harriet quickly collects some evidence and snaps a few pictures to prove what she found. Who is this unidentified victim and who is his  murderer? How does Miss Vane become a suspect in this mystery? You will have to read the book or watch the film to find out.

Harriet Vane's no-nonsense style and adventurous spirit are the inspiration behind my newest pattern: Harriet's Tam.  It is a classic beret with no-nonsense features. Worked in the round from the bottom up, this tam features a garter stitch rim and stockinette stitch body with swirl of decreases on the crown. On top, is a small loop created with an i-cord.

Harriet's Tam is available in two sizes: women's small/medium and women's large/extra large. The one in the photographs is the larger size (to accommodate my 22.5" head). Depending on the size of head, the smaller size may fit a child too. The smaller size fits both my mother and my daughter! There is plenty of stretch in this rim and it should easily fit up to 2" larger than the finished circumference measurements.

My tam was knit using Rowan Felted Tweed DK. This design was screaming to be knit up in an English tweedy yarn. After all, my inspiring protagonist was hiking in the English countryside. The beauty of this yarn is that although it is soft and quite warm, it is also light weight.  I'd love to see this hat made in a denser heavier yarn such as a Donegal tweed or even knit in a tonal dyed yarn like Madelinetosh Tosh DK?

This tam will be a staple in your hand-knit collection - one that you will reach for again and again, never going out of style.

Playing with Yarn

I am a stay-at-home-mom. Therefore, I have ample opportunity to play all day long with my kiddos: building towers out of blocks, coloring with crayons, racing cars through the dinning room, dressing dolls, reading books, creating forts... you get the picture.  But when the kids are down for a nap, I get some much needed me-time. And how do I spend that time? Well, after pouring a cup of hot tea and wasting way too much time on Facebook and email, I then pull out my knitting basket and play with yarn.

The inspiration for my latest pattern, Colorblock Mittens, came about when I dumped a big bag of partial skeins of bulky weight yarn onto my bed. The majority of my stash is made up of partial skeins of this and that. Some yarns are easy to use up, others not so much. There are many beautiful patterns on Ravelry for using up extra sock yarn like The Bee Keeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits. And Susan B. Anderson has an enormous amount of darling toys to help you de-stash some of those worsted weight skeins (I am in love with her latest doll trio: Mary, Millie and Morgan). The trouble was that I had a few too many partial skeins of bulky weight yarn (namely, Quince and Co.'s Puffin). That got me thinking...

And here is what I came up with...

The Colorblock Mittens pattern actually includes TWO patterns: one for full mittens with three blocks of color and one for fingerless mitts with two blocks of color. It comes in a full range of sizes from children's medium (think kindergartener) to men's small. Originally I had intended to write this pattern only for adults, but then Emma caught me knitting with hot pink and that led to this...

So now Emma and I have matching mother-daughter mittens. I think my heart just skipped a beat!

 

I am really looking forward to seeing all sorts of different color combinations and yarn choices for these mittens. The women's small mittens used about 28 yards of each of the three colors (Chanterelle, Winesap, Sorbet). Emma's mittens, which were children's medium, used about 17 yards each of the same three colors. If you don't have quite enough yarn to make the mittens, then try the fingerless mitts.

Knit in Storm and Peacoat.

Can you see the steam coming from the mug? It was piping hot. I swear if I were not wearing these mitts I would have burned my hands.

 

Well there you have it. If you ask me (and of course I am biased), but I think $3.95 is a pretty good deal for two patterns. So get knitting!

Staring at Colors

It's amazing how long one can stare at a pattern, stalk all the Ravelry projects, play with a shopping cart on Mr.Yarn and STILL not be able to make a decision. Of course, I am describing my current knitting dilemma. Here are the facts:

The Project: You Zig. I Zag. by Kate Burge and Rachel Price

 

The Yarn: The pattern calls for hand-spun and hand-dyed worsted weight yarn. I'd like to make it in Malabrigo Worsted in colors as close to the picture as possible. I have the rug in this picture, so I think the gray/gold would look fabulous.

The Colors: Help! Which color combination would you choose? 

Simply Taupe

Amber

Pearl

Frank Ochre

Winifred

With just a few days left before the big day, have you finished all of your holiday shopping and Christmas knitting? My last knitted gift was shipped off just a couple of days ago to my mother. This holiday season, I knit 4 Christmas gifts, 2 baby gifts, 1 stocking and 2 new patterns. All in all, not too bad.

I can remember my first Christmas, after I had taken up knitting, I felt the need to knit everyone gifts. That first year, I made 7 scarves. My father caught me finishing his late on Christmas Eve... and this was before I knew about blocking. Luckily, this year there will be no true last-minute knitted gifts. Sigh (of relief)...

However, if you find yourself in need of a true quick knit... as in one that can be finished in the time it takes to watch 2 Christmas movies... well, then... here you go...

Meet Winifred.

The Winifred Cowl is the perfect marriage of structure and squish. This large cowl features a wide rib stitch pattern knit in the ever-squishy Puffin yarn.

It is knit in the round from the bottom up with a larger base and subtle gradual decreases, working up to a smaller top collar. The top half of the cowl is worked flat and features 3 buttons, which provide greater ease in putting on the cowl and greater flexibility in how the cowl can be worn.

I really don't mind having my picture taken, I'm not one to hide from the camera at the party, but I do feel a bit silly being the model. However, the day my friend, Sara, took the pictures it was freezing cold and very windy. We did the shoot in about 10 minutes so I didn't have time to feel silly.

I can honest and truly attest to the effectiveness of this cowl. It really is incredibly warm and cozy. After this speed session we quickly headed over to Starbucks and warmed up with holiday lattes for about 2 hours.

So how will you wear your Winifred Cowl? 

Super Fast Knitted Gift Ideas

As promised, here is a list of super fast patterns that knit up really quickly. And when I say super fast... I mean you can make it in a few hours (after you've had your cup of strong coffee).  Ready, set, go!

For children:

Pugsy by Andrea Sanchez

Circlet by Dani Sunshine

Stars or Stripes Mittens by Odessa Reichel

Little Bobble Scarf by Meg Roke

For her:

Sporting Beret by Meg Roke

Cullin Cowl by Pam Allen

Women's Hand/Wrist Warmers by Joelle Hoverson

 

Jeannie by Meg Roke (remember, it comes in an adult size too!)

For him:

Chunkeanie by Woolly Wormhead

Turn A Square by Jared Flood

Nicholas by Jane Richmond

Fingerless Mitts by Bruce Weinstein

For anyone:

Argyle Ornaments by Anne Berk

Yarn Ball Bookmarkers

Cable Vision Wreath by Hilary Hunt

Braided Mug Cozy by Sarah Alderson

Want some more ideas? Check out Joelle Hoverson's smash hit books: Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. Here is a list of books with even more great quick-knit gift ideas:

Gifted
Closely Knit
Holiday Knits
Weekend Knitting
Handknit Holidays
60 Quick Knits

Happy knitting!

Holiday Shopping for Knitters

In May, I wrote a post about gift ideas for knitters (you can read more about it here). However, since Christmas is quickly approaching (and I apologize for not getting this up before Chanukah) , I thought I'd share a few more ideas, just in case you are still searching for that perfect gift.

Aranware Pitcher

Yarnball Chocolates

Sweater Weather Pot

Cable Print Flannel Bedding

Knitted Glass Art

High Fiber Tote Bag

Knitting Macbook Decal

Phil Basin Soakworthy Tub

Gleener Fuzz Remover

The Yarn Whisperer by Clara Parkes

Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting by Ann Hood

Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith

Green Gable Knits by Joanna Johnson

The Rhinebeck Sweater by Ysolda Teague (and more)

Tomorrow I'll post about some great super-fast-last-minute-knitted-gifts.

In the mean time, happy shopping!!!