Ugly sweater cookie cutters

Posted on November 30, 2019 by knitigatingcircumstances

I saw this in a cooking store the other day and it really made me laugh (and not for the intended reason, I suspect).

This is a cookie cutter kit. Apparently, the ugly bit comes from how you decorate the cookies. The kit contains four pieces, two of which are EXACTLY THE SAME. (And another with a barely noticeable neckline variation.) I think this is hilarious. And it raises interesting questions, like: Why is the vest there? And why not three vests as well? And furthermore, how do you parse this?

Emma said: “They should have made one with four arms, and another where one arm was twice as long as the other!” Emma, there is a career in marketing in your future!

Sparkling in the Southwest

Posted on November 28, 2019 by knitigatingcircumstances

Doug and I spent last week in Tucson. My 85-year-old step-father, Stuart, was celebrating a second bar mitzvah, 72 years after the first one. It was moving and fun and gave me a chance to see my folks and step-siblings and their families. We also got to visit old haunts (Doug and I lived in Tucson in the late 1980s) and to see many old friends. Doug taught a guest lecture at the U of A. We communed with the desert scenery, and soaked up some sunshine. We ate some really great Mexican food. I knitted for a total of about 15 minutes in 10 days. Sigh. But I did manage to take a few photos of my latest cardigan.

Despite having a few issues, mainly me worrying about the fit and making a lot of stupid mistakes with the edging, the cardigan turned out perfectly.

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The pattern is Sparkling by Sus Gepard. I have blogged about it quite a bit (you can see the posts, in reverse order, here). I knitted it exactly to instructions. The only modifications being that I picked up considerably more stitches around the front edging than the pattern asked for.

I bought the yarn and pattern last January in Copenhagen and then waited some time before casting on. The stitch pattern is intuitive and quick and the cardigan itself knits up easily. I fretted quite a bit about the slope of the armhole decreases, but they turned out just right. I’m not sure why that is; perhaps its been a while since I knit a sweater in pieces?

Here are a few photos from our visit. The Mission at San Xavier del Bac:

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The bar mitzvah boy:

photo by Ben Weissman

My step-sisters, Jocelyn and Alison, and me:

photo by Ben Weissman

Cactus:

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My Mom and me:

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A hummingbird at the Desert Museum:

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Sunset through the windshield, with the mountains in the background:

Bisbee Royale:

Good times, great food; Doug, Marylou, Kelly, and Stuart at Elvira’s in Tubac. This is seriously good Mexican food. Go there if you have the chance.

We went from Tucson to Vancouver, where it is considerably colder. I have switched from tee shirts to down coat, hat, cowl, and gloves. I’ll post again when we are back home.

Jinxed

Posted on November 12, 2019 by knitigatingcircumstances

Today, I wore my new cardigan for the first time. I finished sewing in the buttons just yesterday. I have not even had a chance to photograph it yet. And this happened:

I am so mad!

Maybe this cardigan is jinxed.

I have been using a backpack since I sprained my ankle, at first because of the cane, and then because it balanced the weight. I was pulling the backpack up over my shoulders and the buckle caught on the back of the cardigan. Argh!

This is remarkably similar to another recent sweater disaster, this time to my Acer cardigan:

In this case, I was rushing to an important meeting and trying to juggle a heavy briefcase and a shoulder bag. The sweater got caught on the straps of my bag and I gave it a bit of a tug to free it, and rip! Even worse, I didn’t notice it until after the meeting.

Doug says that the solution is for me to have a besotted young man who wants to carry my books for me. I think this is unlikely.

I am feeling a bit down. Perhaps a glass of wine and The Good Place will help?

Warm hands, warm heart

Posted on November 10, 2019 by knitigatingcircumstances

This time every year I write a post to showcase patterns for mittens, mitts, and gloves. This weekend it has been cold and blustery and definitely feels like winter is in the air. It’s a good time to be wearing (and knitting) warm, wooly mittens. Here is my roundup of eight great patterns that will keep your hands warm and stylish.

Oak Hollow by Dianna Walla

Dianna released this pattern last week, and I love the way it makes you think of beautiful, crisp fall days, and trees burnished in gold. It’s a really lovely pattern and I must admit that I have already been rummaging through my stash to try to find just the right shade of gold to knit up these beauties.

Prairie Star Gloves by Outi Cater

I’ve yet to knit a pair of gloves, but this design is enough to tempt me. The pattern is published in issue 143 of The Knitter magazine. The Ravelry project page states that: “The stitch pattern echoes the designs of traditional 19th century American patchwork quilts.” I love that she gets such a rich pattern with just four shades.

Jimi Hendrix by Lotta Lundin

I love these mittens. The reverse side is cool too (with peace signs). Doug saw Jimi live on September 7, 1968 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. Somewhere there are photos of Doug and friends from that concert. We saw Nigel Kennedy do a 40th anniversary tribute to Jimi at Ronny Scotts in September 2010 (Jimi played at Ronnie Scotts on the night he died). I wish I’d had a chance to see Jimi live, but I can wear the mitts as a consolation prize.

Hafgufa Mittens by Heather Desserud

This pattern is actually from 2018, but published in mid-December, after I did last year’s mitten round-up. I think these are so cute, with the giant krakens lurking beneath the waves and the unsuspecting Viking ships sailing above. I think Heather has made such a clever and whimsical design. “Hafgufa” is apparently an Icelandic name for an ancient sea monster.

Skog Mitts by Claire Walls

Sometimes simple is best. I really like the simple but elegant pattern and shape of these mitts. This pattern is from Making Magazine Issue 8/ FOREST. They would knit up really fast in DK yarn and be a great weekend project. I can imagine a pair to match every coat.

Lakrits Mittens by Emilia Jensen

I have a thing for black and white geometrical designs (there are quite a few in these mitten posts). I love this bold design and how it pops out at you. I also love the bright colours at the cuffs. There is a matching hat, too, with a fantastic crown so be sure to check it out.

Brackthaw Mittens by Faye Kennington

I think these are completely lovely mittens. They remind me so much of the Pacific Northwest, and long walks through the snow-covered forest. The designer lives in a remote corner of Vancouver Island, and she has really captured that part of the world with this design. Stay with me while I go turn on the fireplace and get some hot chocolate….

Chardon Mittens by Virginia Sattler-Reimer

Virginia has been turning out some lovely mitten and hat patterns the past few years. I love the colours in this – three shades of purple and three of green really make the pattern pop. I think it would also look good in greys and yellows. There is a matching hat as well, so you can keep your hands and your ears warm, and look great at the same time.

That’s all for this round-up, but if you want to go back and look at previous years’ mitten posts, you can find them here (not in order):

Here’s wishing you a happy weekend, good knitting, and warm hands.

Knitigating Circumstances

Because knitting is excuse enough

Monthly Archives: November 2019

Ugly sweater cookie cutters

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Sparkling in the Southwest

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Jinxed

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Warm hands, warm heart

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