Seasons Geetings 2008!

Bring on the cold! Bring on the ice!
Go buy some wool, no matter the price.
Dust off your needles & sharpen your skates
Winter is coming... Don't be late!

Best wishes for a healthy, happy, and safe Holiday Season!!

(Photo from Lion Brand Yarns e-cards)

(Starbucks) RED & my HAND (knits)

Yes, I've been to Starbucks lately... with my reusable, hand knit & felted, non-seasonal Starbucks-colored cup cozy. (Free pattern from http://www.knitpicks.com/)

So I was in Starbucks last night for my weekly fix of knitting in public with the Arlington, MA Knitters and a few things caught my eye:

Firstly, the legs of the display tables were completely wrapped in a red cable-knit fabric (tho' probably machine knit). WHO in their right mind decided to design a giant knit "leg" warmer for all the tables? What will happen to all these lovely "sweaters-sans-arms" after the holiday season passes?? Simply cut a pair of holes, sew in some arms and donate them! It was flattering, as a knitter of course, to see that Starbucks has embraced all the knitting groups who have chosen the coffee haven for their weekly knitting groups.

This brings me to my second observation: If you look closely at the seasonal Starbucks "( )RED" cups, you'll see a faint knit fabric in the background of the design. Did the same inspired designer slap a sweater on a scanner and, voila, the background layer for a Photoshop file called "StarbucksHolidayCup2008"? Even some of the employees hadn't noticed. It must take a knitter to recognize knitting.

Thirdly, the retail ceramic holiday mugs have a knitting design on them! Not sure if I want to wash in hot, soapy water; they might shrink and hold less coffee. Gasp!

Fourthly, lots of knit ornaments hanging up on display. A-ha, I finally see the holiday theme brewing (pun intended.)

Why do I tell you all this? Because I believe that if Starbucks genuinely embraced all the knitting that happens within its walls, they would improve the lighting so we could all knit socks on US size 1 needles with black yarn. LOL

Remember the photo above, taken in front of the ( ) RED poster with my cell phone camera? Didja think it was a little dark? Better lighting, at least near the in-store poster, would have improved my chances of capturing a reasonable image. But, I'll be back at Starbucks next Tuesday night -- with my knitting, my reusable cup cozy, AND a better camera.

**A New LYS: Sheep Skate in Dedham, MA!**

There's a new LYS in town... Sheep Skate in Dedham, MA. I met the owner Eileen after replying to a Craig's List ad for a Knitting Instructor. Needless to say, I got the job.

Today was my first class. And after a mere 90 minutes, I had transformed three adorable young daughters-of-knitters into knitters of their own! Even they were amazed at how easy it is to learn knitting from anyone who is NOT your mother!

They left the store with smiles on their faces (and stitches on their needles). They learned how to make a slip knot, cast on & knit. In three weeks, they will have completed their very first project... a cell phone/ipod cover.

Please check out the new LYS webpage via my link on the right sidebar. --> And if you visit the shop, tell Eileen that you saw her store on my blog. Thanks!

Multidirectional Scarf & Hat

After making several Multidirectional Diagonal Scarves, http://douma.net/Karen/knitting/Accessory-Scarves/Multidirectional_Diagonal_Scarf.htm I decided to create a hat to match. I wanted the hat to have the same look & feel of the scarf, with garter stitch triangles alternating directions. Since I had conveniently purchased enough of the beautiful Ironstone yarn for both a scarf AND a hat, only the challenge stood between me & a matching set...

For the hat, I knit two shorter, wider scarves and simply sewed them together! I used a smaller needle size for a smaller, tighter knit and increased the first triangle until it's side was half the height that I wanted my hat to be (allowing for a fold-up brim). I knit the length of the two hat "scarves" until they fit snugly around my forehead.

To finish the hat, lay the two scarves side-by-side, sew up the long sides with an overhand stitch. Then make a tube by sewing up the ends with the same overhand stitch. Finally, gather every other stitch around the perimeter of one end of the tube and pull closed tightly to close up the top of the hat.