What was in the boxes

This post comes to you from the airport, because I feel a little guilty leaving without showing you at least some of the things I knit this Christmas.  You were all so good about the stealth knitting over the past little while that I couldn’t wee making you wait any longer. This was the Christmas of the accessory.  I don’t know how it happened, how it got out of control, but it turned out that there was a shortage in the family, and so in addition to the 12 pairs of socks that I turned out in the year leading up to the holiday,  the family was after mittens and hats and no end of bits and pieces.  For assorted daughters and nieces, it was quick pairs of fingerless mitts. (We cannot have clothing that interferes with texting.)  Three pairs (following the first a few weeks ago) quickly came together.

manypairs 2014-12-29

Pattern: Super-bulky Fingerless mitts. Needles: 8mm,  Yarn – Ushya Suya. (I loved that yarn, by the way. Soft and bulky, but not heavy.  Great stuff.)

samhands 2014-12-29

Sam’s already pressed hers into service.   Next up, I knit my mum a pair of socks – and no sooner had I done it than she announced that what she really needed was mittens and a hat.  I took a deep breath, and bang.  A pair of Cloisoneé mittens:

cloisoneedone 2014-12-29

The cuffs are just her colours. Lime, mustard and wild pink. I had odds and ends of Cascade 220 around for the cuffs, and that’s Galway for the hands, though any of the standard worsted yarns will do.

Mum wanted a hat too, and that was harder. She likes them big, but not too big, and loose, but it shouldn’t fall off, and it shouldn’t squash your hair too much, and it shouldn’t be too phallic.  I searched and searched and searched, and finally settled on a great hat.

lingafront 2014-12-30

It’s Linga, and the yarn was leftover Waterlily from ages ago.

lingaback 2014-12-30

While I was knitting with that yarn I was reminded of how sad it is when great yarns get discontinued.  I miss that one.  That hat used up the very last of it in the stash, though it was a worthy cause, because Mum loves her new hat- the other day when she ran by the house she was wearing it, and she’s not the type to pretend.  If it was on her head, she likes it.

There’s more – but in three minutes they’re calling this flight, and we’re off.   See you tomorrow.