Quick Shave

Sweater shavers are not just for sweaters.

My Irish Cowboy neckwarmer was worn constantly this winter. It's cozy, warm, fits in my pocket when I'm inside, and so very handy. The Merino and Cashmere blend is extremely soft, but it does rather pill.

Thankfully, a couple of years ago, I picked up a sweater shaver, so I brought it out today and:

Good as new.

Sure, the surface will get a few more pills again in future, but I tend to find that they're never as bad as the first batch. I do recommend giving some of your knits a go-over, particularly if they've gotten pilly enough for you to avoid wearing them!

Irish Cowboy

Presenting my latest pattern, Irish Cowboy:

I had some leftover cashmere. This, of course, was no hardship. The perfect thing to knit in order to best appreciate the luck of having leftover cashmere, it seemed, was some sort of cozy neck-warmer, ideally with gorgeous cables. 

Even better, it should finish up in a shape that effectively keeps the neck warm while wearing a v-necked jacket. This was done by working a flat piece with a cable trim extension on one side, then seaming the cast-end to the side near the cast-on end.

The resulting bandana-like piece reminded me of the lads from my Gaelic Football team that have moved to Alberta from Ireland. It made me think of the enjoyment the lads take in trying out local customs, particularly when they prepare to go “Stampeding” at the legendary Calgary Stampede Rodeo nearby and don a new uniform of Western-yoked snap shirts. If they want to wear their duds into the fall though, they'll definitely want to also wear the Irish Cowboy to keep warm!

Pattern has both written and charted directions, and is knit with 2 balls of Knit Picks Capra. 

Now on sale:

Now Available in Cashmere: Ruched Legwarmers

 Introducing my Ruched Legwarmers, brought to you by Knit Picks!


These lovely, soft, Ruched Legwarmers evoke the cozy rusticity of sturdy wool blankets and boot socks, but provide the warmth and luxurious feel of cashmere with Knit Picks Capra. The ruching provides a textural twist to 1980s-style legwarmers by enhancing a slouchy appearance while retaining the structure for a comfortable fit without falling down.

If it seems a little extravagant to wear cashmere in legwarmer form, let me tell you that I have wool socks that are scratchy even through leggings, so cashmere against tights is a nice thing. Also, it doesn't take very much of the cashmere, so it's not so extravagant as all that. In fact, if you're going for the large size, you could probably add extra stripes of cream instead of springing for the fourth ball of burnished, but then again, who wouldn't want leftover cashmere?

 I knit these while watching old episodes of The A-Team, so I have the theme song in my head right now (the show is every bit as good as I remembered from when I first watched it).

I'm thinking these are somewhere between Mr. T's bright orange socks, early 80s legwarmers, and late 80s slouch socks, only more luxurious than possible for any of those. Knit in the round, and available in small, medium, and large (pictured in medium), the pattern can be purchased for $1.99 USD here at Knit Picks.

These are a quick, cozy knit, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

In Which I do not Actually Start a New Year's Project

 Ever since my first New Year's as a knitter, I have started a new project just for myself as the first thing I knit (even if just a few rows) in the New Year.

Apparently, not this year. I tried. Really, I did. I even swatched, then stopped when I realized I did not own the correct size of needles to try the next size down. I gave up, at least for the moment.

I also inventoried my knitting needles, which was well overdue (particularly after both my grandmother and my husband's grandmother had given me a few sets of needles from their collections sometime last year). I still can't believe I was missing 3.5 mm DPNs, but there you have it. I thought I was also missing 3.5 mm circulars, but I found them during the inventory, and went shopping for the DPNs, so all is now well with the needle collection.

It turns out that the idea of starting another project was actually way too stressful for the joy of starting another project to win me over. I stopped then and there, and went back to finishing up samples for designs that I have been preparing for publication.

One was just finished the other day, and the other should be finished in pretty short order as well. I thought I'd tease you with a couple of photos while you're waiting.