Tea cozy

I just knit this wonderful tea cozy in emerald green.  I got the basic idea from this pattern here :
http://www.castoncastoff.co.uk/blog/2006/04/10/time-for-tea/.  I used less stitches since my teapot is smaller and changed the binding off a bit. It is just so cute!  I am certainly going to knit some for my shop with added embellishments.  I have all kinds of wonderful ideas already.

Ideas for spring/summer scarves

Since spring and summer are coming right around the corner I have wanted to knit scarves with lace patterns and so I have turned to my collection of knitting books.  Right now the book that's been giving me the most ideas is from the Harmony Guides Series : Lace & Eyelets.  It is filled with wonderful lace patterns that my fingers are itching to knit.  My only complaint is this book has no charts for the patterns yet mentions it would be very useful to know how to read charts.  I prefer working with charts so I take the time to transcribe them.  Reading K2, P2 yo K2tog etc drives me batty after a while.

Expect to see many new lace scarf photos over the next couple of weeks then.

Sage cabled fingerless mitts

I can now put up a photo of the sage cabled fingerless mitts that I knit for D since she received them yesterday.  I can report she loves them very much. I guess they will be much appreciated to work in her cold office. I am glad she loves them; they were fun and easy to make and the colour is absolutely gorgeous.

Etsy Teasury and blog post

Yesterday was the day for my knitted creations.  My emerald green scarf is featured in the Emerald With Envy Treasury on Etsy ( thanks rubescent! ) and my Burgundy, Olive and Orange scarf is featured on the blog I heart Vegan Accessories ( thanks Shannon! )  The Treasury will expire Saturday, February 20th. 

The book that created my obsession

 

This is the book that created my obsession for knitting.  It belongs to my mother but she has not seen it in the last 20 years and knows she won't ever see it again. :) I would spend hours knitting the various stitch patterns from it.  When I first started knitting the Internet did not exist and this became my bible for instructions.  I like the fact that pictures show how to knit the various techniques and not drawings.  It is written in French and at the back is a glossary of terms in French, English, German, Spanish and Swedish. The glossary came in very handy when I first started knitting with patterns since most of those I found where English only.

Even though I now have over 25 books this is one book I always return to on a regular basis.  I love the simple layout and easy instructions.  

Fingerless mittens

Sunday I tried my hand at knitting fingerless mittens with the magic loop method and it was super easy.  This is what it looked like on the circular needle.  You can find different videos showing how the technique is done; I especially like the one shown on KnittingHelp.  Just go down to the section "Small Diameter Circular Knitting" and you will find the Magic Loop video.

This is the finished product.  I only have one hand knit since I showed it on a forum and already have an order to knit a pair so finishing mine can wait.  I especially love the Bernat Satin yarn I used for the project. It will go great with the fringe scarf I made for myself.

 

I brought it to work to show some people who also love to knit and I was telling the receptionist how I have lots of ideas to knit  some of these with different stitch pattern; cables being one of them.  Here I was enthusing about the different cables and lace patterns when she looked at me and asked,"You really love knitting don't you?  Here you are all excited about what you want to knit.  I just knit for practical purposes but not you."  Yes, I really do love knitting this much and I get excited just looking at stitch pattern books.