hoegaarden

if you’re like me, right about now you’ve been smacked upside the head with the realization that the holidays are literally just around the corner. with thanksgiving so late in the month, we’ve been lulled into a false security about our knitted gift lists; it’s dawning on us that we need to explore some options that are more quickly completed.

enter the small project—the knitter’s life ring. mind you, despite their size, we still want them to represent our most thoughtful knitted intentions—they should look classy and fit attractively and most of all, be fun and quick to knit.

and if by chance one or two of them become addictive (i.e., as in “potato chip projects”)—well, those are nothing short of gold for the knitter up against a deadline. we love us a pattern that’s fun to knit by the dozen; there’s always another stocking to fill or a dear person who deserves a special thank you. the hoegaarden collection of accessories is a perfect example

(i remember how last october when we did this photo shoot, jude here fell in love with this cowl and did not want to take it off—fortunately, grandma debby is an excellent knitter and whipped one up for him as a christmas surprise).

the pattern includes instructions for all three pieces—mitts, headband, and cowl—sized for children and adults alike. plenty of inspiration there for stocking stuffers with a little extra something (there is also a pattern for the hat and scarf you see in the background, coming in the next post).

don’t let the rich textures fool you into thinking these pieces are difficult to knit—no way; they wouldn’t have made it into my pre-holiday gift parade otherwise. these are really quick, trust me (or, ask our FIFC clubhouse group what they think)

it’s a wonderful gift idea for a family—just knit up a whole bunch in different sizes and divvy them up; they can mix, match, beg, borrow, and steal among themselves.

if you’re wondering what these would look like in a more neutral color, we’ve knit a luscious sample in our confection worsted, but you could also use stone soup DK, breakfast blend DK, or kent DK, all with equally handsome results.

shown above, the medium size headband and large cowl and mitts in studio june andrea mae DK, a full-bodied merino 5-ply with wonderful softness and sheen. the color was our club-exclusinve, belgian wheat, but the wheat or the tiger’s eye listings in jill’s shop look to be great substitutes.

below, sarah wears the large cowl knit in bare naked wools confection, color nougat

to purchase pattern or view complete pattern information, please click here to visit the pattern page in the knitspot pattern shop. or purchase the pattern in our ravelry pattern shop.

hoegaarden is also included in the FIFC 2012 eBook collection—14 terrific accessory patterns, each one multi-sized and suitable for gifting or keeping; many will have universal appeal for women, men, and children alike. purchase the eBook collection from the knitspot club website or in our ravelry pattern shop (it takes a few seconds to view).

another fun thing to do—click here to view the hoegaarden project pages to see more examples of this design knit by club members and photographed on a variety of people and in alternate yarns. or better yet, join the us in our swingin’ FIFC clubhouse or knitspot mother ship for a KAL!

a big round of applause for my friends lincoln, jude, roxie, april, and simon for a spectacular fall photo shoot of these designs.

we had SO, so much fun roaming the farm with the kids to visit their secret play spots and romping around in the leaves

we were all drunk with laughing by the end.

and the results speak for themselves. i hope i can work with them again soon!

our clubs are so much fun and so dear to us; we really enjoy putting together wonderful packages to surprise you with each month. at the moment, we are getting ready to launch general signups for our 2014 bare naked knitspot club—a celebration of the wilder side of the fiber world in all its natural (undyed) glory.

we scour the globe to find interesting yarns and the fiber story behind them, beautifully photographed and fully researched. each yarn selection is paired with a design that shows its character off to best advantage and sometimes we throw in a cool goodie for fun.

all of this delivered right to your door, six times per year—what could be better? if that sounds fun to you, mark you calendar for friday, november 29 and come join the flock!

(if you are a current member of FIFC 2013, signups are open to you now at a special discount through november 28 only; please click here to renew your membership)