bad blogger . . .

Posted on Posted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

oooh, so sorry for disappearing all week—between traveling and having houseguests—my dear nephew james and our niece-in-law diana came to visit—we’ve been hibernating a bit to enjoy the post-holiday week. we’ve filled it with nice, late breakfasts, sharing pictures of their wedding and honeymoon, and movie marathons. i think between home and the cineplex, we saw six movies in the last three days, haha.

now they are on their way home and i can catch you up on the knitting i have and have not been doing.

poor mister knitspot kinda got the shaft when it came to christmas knits this year. most everyone else got something handmade under the tree, but not david—what’s up with that?? especially since he’s gotten a new handknit sweater every year for the last decade or so.

ugh, i didn’t even get a hat made, that’s how hectic and behind i’ve been all this year. now that the holiday is past and all the gift knitting is done, however, i’m trying to make up for the lack of cozy manly presents.

i figure i can approach the endeavor with more focus and thoughtfulness than usual if i devote this post-holiday period to things for him.

first up is this wonderfully soft and slouchy hat i knit from shalimar honey worsted, a delicious machine wash australian wool yarn that totally does NOT feel like superwash. it’s really lovely stuff.

here—take a closer look

mmmmm.
i have no idea which colorway that is; it wasn’t marked and i can’t seem to match it to any of the pictured swatches. i do love it though and it goes with a lot of mister knitspot’s outerwear. his hat used about two-thirds of my available yarn; i don’t think there’s enough to knit a pair of mitts for him from the remainder, but i might be able to get a small pair out of it (or at least one prototype that would help me figure the yardage for other sizes).

the hat looks adorable on him and as luck would have it, when we went to see the girl with the dragon tattoo last night, the costuming included many examples of similar hats throughout, so he knows he’s right on the forward edge of the very chic, slouchy hat wave.

(and omg, i never thought i’d say it, but the david fincher version of that film is even better than the original—WAY better than i ever dreamed it would be. the clothing alone will knock your socks off. heck, the opening credits had me.)

i am also going to get back to work on this sweater i started for david just before christmas in this beautiful woolen rabbit sporty kashmir, in colorway enchanted forest. kim’s recovering from back surgery right now, so she hasn’t got this yarn on her website yet, but i know she’ll have it up soon.

i started it pretty late—probably too late to get it done for christmas anyway, but THEN the whole project was waylaid when i discovered that last year’s christmas sweater—the rené i knit in handspun BFL??—had somehow gotten felted between last spring and this fall.

when i saw it a couple weeks ago, i was so heartsick about it that i just couldn’t get myself to knit on this year’s christmas sweater—even though i was using superwash and no way could it get felted. i just couldn’t make myself do it.

now i’ve gotten over that and am ready to go back to the new sweater project with renewed interest. (i have, however, told david not to wear the felted one in my sight until i’ve had a chance to try and recover its original shape; it’s too pathetic! and yes, i’ve undone felting before; i may be able to do it again . . . we shall see.)

it’s another remake of a sweater i knit for him years ago in a soft, charcoal gray yarn that, unfortunately, did not wear very well. the old one is just horrible looking but he continues to wear it. i would show you a photo but i can’t seem to find the offending garment anywhere—he’s probably hidden it away, knowing i’m on the warpath after it, haha.

it’s a very simple knit/purl fabric—very subtle, the way guys like it. unlike the original, which had no other ornamentation, i will probably add some simple, narrow cables at the side seams and armholes to better stabilize the fabric (the original, which was knit in the round, lost its shape somewhat and i’d prefer to avoid that). they will also add interest to the front of the cardigan version, which i plan to include in the pattern (much like the rené sweater).

i’ve also gotten back to this little shawlette i’m knitting in hazel knits divine. i put it aside when i got to the point where i needed to do some calculations and now that i’ve had some time to work that out, i can proceed. this is a custom color i dyed during my visit to wendee’s studio, but it’s REALLY close to colorway arroyo, in a delicious blend of spice colors and brown.

just wait til you see the hem pattern on this one—it’s going to be gorgeous.

and ooops, i have to go get my hair cut now, so i’ve gotta run, but i’ll be back soon—happy new year!

35 thoughts on “bad blogger . . .

  1. Love your knitting & your comments on Girl With A Dragon Tattoo are spot on! I too was surprised that I liked it better than the Swedish verson. Those opening credits were perfect & Daniel Craig was delicious.

  2. Glad to have you back – I was starting to worry – thinking maybe I should check the hospitals (haha)

    I, too, loved the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo & I was positive they’d never make one as good as the Swedish version. What a surprise!! Maybe I’ll try another Hollywood movie some time.

    I’m working on the Hellebores hat now & also have 1 wristlet done. This pattern is a pleasure to work on. The yarn is really nice too & is locally dyed (hooray).

  3. Yeah, pls share the unfelting! Even if it doesn’t work in this instance, I just can’t imagine and so I need to know!

  4. Welcome back from a hope-it-was-restful break, Anne! Sounds like it was a happy time, indeed…with the exception of the very sad felting of the stunning BFL sweater. Ditto – I am most curious about your “undoing felting” process -please share!

  5. Oh Anne, I feel your pain with the felting. I do hope you can manage to remedy it a bit. How on earth could that have happened? Happy New Year to you and David.

  6. Happy New Year, and my fingers are crossed that you have success with your unfelting. The first socks I ver made were made out of a bamboo and wool blend; this lovely sock yarn felted on my son’s feet, and I’ve never quite gotten ovr it…that particular yarn company will have to go through life without another purchase from me. 🙂

    Warm wishes to you both for a quiet and relaxing end to a hectic year, and many joys in the one to come.

  7. I envy Mister Knitspot his slouchy hat! Hat making seems to be very big in the handcrafts, and while I’m sure I don’t have a big head (I think) I do have a massive amount of tight curly hair that laughs at any attempt to put a hat on it. A commercial XL hat literally sits on my hair, and my attempts thus far at customizing has resulted in a lot of variations on the rasta look… some people want to fit into their jeans for their next year’s resolution, well I want to wear a cute hat!

  8. Oh, please – enlighten us on the un-felting process!

    I can’t wait to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo… I promised myself I’d read it first. We have a copy, and my husband read it and loved it – but I’m starting to feel my resolve to read first eroding…

  9. what lovely yarns, and those colors… by the way, Anne, I feel an urge to knit another big, complicated, triangular shawl… Do you plan to think about one in the future?

  10. No need to apologize for taking the time to enjoy your family and friends this holiday season. I’m glad that you did so and I wish you a happy and healthy 2012 (and your mother, too – how are her knees doing?).

    Please add my name to the list of others who are interested in learning how you unfelted an item. I’d be grateful for any information you might share. Thanks!

  11. Hi Anne! Just wanted to wish you and David a Merry Christmas (late) and a Happy New Year (early). We’re hunkered down here enjoying our post-holiday days off as well … back to work on Monday, though! Anyway, I’m going to check out the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on your recommendation. I wasn’t even considering it — after the La Femme Nikita remake scarred me for life!

  12. Even bloggers get a Christmas break. Your time with relatives sounds delightful. Like another reader, I’d lovee to know about “unfelting”. have a wonderful new year and I hope to see you at some great knitting event during 2012. jo

  13. I confess of a horried felting incident – a tediously-knit Meg Swansen Fair Isle vest with a mazillion colors. Trust me it was beautiful, and trust me, I am now tempted to cut it up and make a dog coat out of it! Could I really “unfelt” it? Or is your magical process more of a remedy for something that is only “fulled”?

  14. Im not sure what colorway that is Anne, Im wondering if Kristi dyed it speical for you. I will email and ask her 🙂 The hat looks wonderful and love seeing your neighbor lights every year!

  15. Oh, I hope you can unfelt David’s Rene. That would have made me heart sick too.

    Beautiful project in the works. Love that Shalimar yarn you made David’s hat out of. Loved *all* of the yarn.

    Wishing you and David a very Happy New Year’s. Hugs to you both.

  16. UNfelting something? that sounds like magic – please please share your secrets! i wish i had the nerve to see Dragon Tattoo in the theaters, i’m too much of a wimp. happy happy new year!

  17. Love David’s new hat! You’ll be sharing the pattern I trust?

    The only felting I ever did was totally inadvertent – having been assured that front loading washers didn’t felt I threw a yummy Malabrigo scarf in for just a few minutes to get it soaked enough to block and … YOW.

    Sigh. Happily the cat likes “his” new blanket.

    But would dearly love to know how the “unfelting” process works.

  18. Oh, a felted Rene? How terrible! If you can reclaim it you really are a magician, Anne!

    Glad to hear about Dragon Tattoo. I was boycotting the American version as I loved the books and the original Swedish movie. I will check it out now.

    Hope you’re having fun catching up on knitting for you now!
    Happy New Year to you and David!

  19. Here’s another request for a tutorial on “de-felting” handknits. (I don’t suppose every felted sweater can be saved, but I’d like to give my wool/silk cabled beauty another chance. . .)

    Happy New Year to you and Mr. Knitspot!

  20. I have heard nothing but good tings about the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and hearing that there are fun slouchy hats makes me want to see it even more. 🙂

  21. Happy new year Anne!!!! Wishing you and David every happiness in 2012, and all things warm and woolly and delicious. HUGS! xoxo

  22. I see you as a knitting celeb, so I always get a bit giddy when you answer a comment 🙂 Happy New Year to you and your Mister!

  23. Hi, Anne. Just wanted to pop in and wish you and David a Happy 2012. I enjoy your blog so much–you keep me inspired!
    I made the Fartlek hat for my daughter for Christmas. I used Plymouth Yarn’s baby llam glow. It came out great–the pattern was so easy to follow and the yarn was ultimately yummy. My favorite thing to give for Christmas–I get to knit it and she gets to wear it! Thanks again, Pam

  24. You realize we now require a post explaining how to unfelt…doesn’t it require salt or something? I seem to recall reading about how to do that years ago. I’m sorry that lovely sweater felted. Do you think it was carrying on with the washing machine when no one was looking?

  25. I also drooled over all the great knits in the movie The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I loved the shawl collared cardigans that Daniel Craig wore, too. Maybe you could do some knitspot versions????

  26. So I’m sitting here knitting with Shalimar Honey worsted in Merlin’s Beard and it is having the same effect overall as the hat you did for your DH. I’m guessing Kristi might have gotten a too dark blue on the skein you got, but it’s almost certainly the Merlin’s Beard colorway.

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