holiday knitting: tremblant
Merry Christmas, everyone! It's a jolly day. We have (more) new snow outside, my house is full of people and presents and littered with wrapping paper and coffee cups. The kids are beside themselves with excitement at having Uncle Joe and Oma and Opa here. A gingerbread house has been baked and awaits assemblage and decorating. We've all eaten too many cookies. It's just as Christmas should be!
Best of all, as of the Solstice, I have a new sister-in-law! The wedding ceremony with family and flowers is on Monday in Minnesota, but she and my brother went to the Justice of the Peace on the 21st, so in the eyes of the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, they are officially married. MJ stayed here one night on the way to MN (where her family is gathering, and hence where the nuptials will be held), and before she left, I gave her her Christmas present:
Pattern: Tremblant, from the Winter 2010 Twist Collective
Yarn: Dale of Norway Heilo in dark red and white, from the stash
Comments: These mittens were so much fun to knit. You can see from the design that there is essentially no repetition in the pattern, so it was never boring! I knit them up in just a few days at the beginning of December. The only tedious part, actually, was picking out the provisional cast-on edge and sewing up the hem, a task I put off for several weeks after the rest of the knitting was finished. I became much more adept at two-handed knitting: holding the white yarn in my left hand, and the red yarn in my right.
Tried as I might, I could not keep the knitted fabric from puckering. It's just part of colorwork knitting, at least for me, especially in the sections with those long color changes. I think I need more practice. Fortunately, a soak in warm water and Eucalen made a huge difference!
Best of all, as of the Solstice, I have a new sister-in-law! The wedding ceremony with family and flowers is on Monday in Minnesota, but she and my brother went to the Justice of the Peace on the 21st, so in the eyes of the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, they are officially married. MJ stayed here one night on the way to MN (where her family is gathering, and hence where the nuptials will be held), and before she left, I gave her her Christmas present:
Pattern: Tremblant, from the Winter 2010 Twist Collective
Yarn: Dale of Norway Heilo in dark red and white, from the stash
Comments: These mittens were so much fun to knit. You can see from the design that there is essentially no repetition in the pattern, so it was never boring! I knit them up in just a few days at the beginning of December. The only tedious part, actually, was picking out the provisional cast-on edge and sewing up the hem, a task I put off for several weeks after the rest of the knitting was finished. I became much more adept at two-handed knitting: holding the white yarn in my left hand, and the red yarn in my right.
Tried as I might, I could not keep the knitted fabric from puckering. It's just part of colorwork knitting, at least for me, especially in the sections with those long color changes. I think I need more practice. Fortunately, a soak in warm water and Eucalen made a huge difference!
Comments
Sounds like a perfect holiday!