Time vs. Speed

I have run straight, smack dab, face planted in fact, into the phenomenon of time vs. speed.  It is almost Christmas – less than two weeks away – and I am stunned by the speed with which this last year has passed!

My intentions for the year were good – blog regularly, design a few patterns, and knit every day.  Well, as the song says “two out of three, ain’t bad”!  LOL!

I am working on two new patterns for the New Year – Tulip Fields Forever, a lacy half-pi shaped shawl knit with Maryanne’s Socks.  This one is slated to be a KAL starting in Mid February.  The KAL will be called Dreaming of Spring.  And the Furrowed Skies Blanket Vest, knit with Buffalo Wool Co, Buffalo Skies DK.  I need one of those vests for myself!  Both are looking great and I will keep you updated.  Just finished – Makin’ Mittens.

I am now knitting Christmas Presents – and the push is on!  How about you?   Are you knitting gifts for Christmas?  If so, what?  There is still time – I mean – almost two weeks – that could be a pair of mittens, a hat, a scarf – maybe all three!  Where is the Magnum when you need it!  LOL!  A couple of Chunky hats are in my near future!

I am also baking this year – well I have added Christmas Cake, both light and dark to the list and what’s more I actually baked them!  Today I baked the walnut shortbread (my favorite), it is cooling on the racks; and we still need more regular shortbread – some one seems to be eating it!

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Decorating is next – looking forward to the house being ready for Christmas.  We bought the tree today, a noble fir.  It smells so good!

It isn’t raining right now – but it has for most of the last few weeks.  Today was the first day I had really walked!  We hadn’t done much real walking for the last two weekends – I missed it – I missed the pictures and the time outside.

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Today we went to Piper’s Lagoon.  I revelled in the wind, with just a touch of rain.  My ears and fingers were cold, but it was great!  We watched and admired a couple of Kayakers that braved the waves – it would have been hard work to stay upright and moving forward over that surf.

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There was no beach this morning – just waves rolling right up to the logs that lined the shore.

No pretty flowers, just interesting leaves and struggling weeds to photograph today!

Happy Planning, Knitting and Decorating

Lynette

 

Makin' Mittens

IMG_4116Mittens have a long and storied history.  Every cold culture has a  mitten story, has a mitten style and knows that mittens are important!  We, as knitters, know how much fun a mitten can be to knit.  Have you tried knitting a Thrummed mitten from Newfoundland; or some Twined knit mittens from Sweden; Or some Estonian Braids on a current mitten project for embellishment?  My favorite mittens to knit are the fair-isle style of mitten – thought any mitten with colourwork can tempt me.

Mittens keep your hands warm on cold days – “Warm hands, warm heart”.

Mittens can showcase a knitters skill – right where your eyes can see it!

Mittens take little material and fair-isle mittens use up scraps.

Mittens are perfect for honing a new skill before a big project!

Over the years there have been many books written on the subject of mittens.  They discuss the history and culture behind each style of mitten and there are always many pictures to illustrate the information.  I love to look at the pictures of the mittens and the people wearing them, because these books mostly show how little has changed.  My favorite pattern book is an older book, Knitting Fair Isle Mittens and Gloves, by Carol Rasmussen Noble.

A perfect example of the continuing importance of mittens would be the Red Canadian Mitten from the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver – those mittens became a nations symbol of solidarity behind “their” Athletes!

Luckily we no longer need to knit 50 pairs of mittens as wedding gifts – as in Estonia in the past.  But the skills and the patterns of that past still fascinate us today and we still knit the mittens and gloves with love in our hearts. Seasons Greetings

Here is my gift of warmth and love for the Christmas Season – the Making Mittens pattern – free from Dec 13th, 2015 to Jan 2, 2016.  Update – It is now Jan 3rd – here is the link to the pattern on Ravelry.  Makin’ Mittens is now $6.00.

Makin’ Mittens Pattern ← Click here for pattern

Makin’ Mittens came out of the Year of Making – a project by The Buffalo Wool Co, a year of colours in their Tracks sock yarn.  A colour a month for the full year – the orange sample uses 11 of those colours – but you can use any of the fingering; 4-ply; or sock yarns in your stash.

Happy Knitting

Lynette