End of year round-up 2021

Posted on December 31, 2021 by knitigatingcircumstances

This has been a strange year. I have lacked focus this year, working super hard at the day job and then not having the head space for much else. I know I am not alone in this regard. I traditionally write a post at the end of each year, showcasing all of the knitting projects that I finished during the year. It will be an easy task this time: I finished only four projects. One is a hat, and the other three are garments which conveniently lack full-length sleeves.

I started the year with the beautiful Ursula Waistcoat which I knitted for Doug (blogged here). I liked everything about this one; it was fun to knit and it looks great on him:

Then I knitted two short sleeve tees for myself. The linen Tin Roof (blogged here), which has an interesting construction and allowed me to use up some stash yarn and play with colours:

And the Dyemonds tee (blogged here), which was a bit out of my colour comfort zone, but which turned out to be pretty striking:

I finished that one in mid-July and didn’t finish another project until last week, when I knitted the Upper West hat (blogged here):

That’s not too much to show for the year, but we all know that finished projects are not what it’s all about. Knitting is a great creative resource and a mental health booster, even in those years when I do it more sporadically. This also hides the fact that I have two sweaters close to finishing. I had finished most of Myrtle, before putting it aside to knit Caravay for Emma. I am pulling out all of the stops to try to finish that one while I am here in Vancouver. If I succeed, I will start off the 2022 knitting year with a bang.

I am happy to put 2021 to bed. It was a very difficult year. But things must be looking up. I am surrounded by my fabulous family, the best back-up support system anyone can have:

The sun is shining, the air is crisp and clear, good times are on the horizon. Be well, keep safe, and best wishes for the New Year from me and the whole Knitigating Circumstances team.

It’s freezing in Vancouver

Posted on December 29, 2021 by knitigatingcircumstances

Vancouver has hit its coldest temperature in half a century, rounding off a year of weather extremes. We missed the heat and the floods but arrived in time for the big freeze. Go us! It is also peak Covid, and so we must brave the cold in order to socialise. It is fun, but very, very cold. Here we are a few days after arriving, at Spanish Banks with Doug’s sister Vivian:

And meeting up with friends for some exercise and frozen feet:

The photo above was taken by my friend, June Hunter, who writes an excellent blog. She is a fantastic artist and chronicler of urban nature; if you are at all interested in birds, she would be right up your alley and you should check her out.

Doug and Leah and I drove down to Deep Cove, to the spot where we were married 30 years ago. Every time we return to Vancouver, we take a photo there. It was so cold, that we hopped out of the car, Leah snapped some photos of us, and we hopped back in. Despite this, Doug refused to wear a coat. Why? Because he was wearing a sweater I knitted for him and he wanted it to show in the photo. How can you not love a guy like that?

We have done lots of “Covid things”: like having a visit through a window, by phone, with Doug’s Uncle Ed and Aunt Marcie.

Or sitting in the car for a very, very, long time for a drive-through Covid testing site:

This took over 5 hours, and at the end, they told us the guidelines had changed, and they handed us lateral flow tests. Luckily, we all tested negative.

Covid is everywhere and unavoidable, however. Emma’s boyfriend, Justin, tested positive and has had to isolate, missing Christmas. Our niece, Lydia, got sick on Christmas Eve. We drove over there with a lateral flow test on Christmas Day so she could get tested before dinner. I wrote to my mom: “If it’s positive, we will drive back home and have tacos. If it’s negative, we will have a turkey dinner with the family.” Spoiler: the turkey was delicious!

We opened presents:

We looked for the most outrageous display of Christmas lights (Vancouverites take this to extremes):

We ate too much. My brother-in-law, Dennis, made a fantastic Christmas turkey, and then the next day made turkey mole enchiladas. Leah baked Stollen (German Christmas cake) and made chocolates. My sister, Romi, sent me an entire box full of gluten-free cookies and treats from Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton, NY! OMG, what a fantastic present!

We hung out with family, and took two wicked pub quizzes designed by my nephew Dylan, and by Leah. We all stayed in Emma’s one-bedroom apartment, testing the bounds of family cheer. Emma and Doug played God of War and slew dragons. Leah translated Christmas Carols into Ancient Egyptian. I did some knitting (but not as much as I wished due to shoulder issues).

We took lots of cold walks in the woods and along the beaches:

Leah took the above photo, just a few blocks from Emma’s apartment. Here is another that Emma took today:

Isn’t it gorgeous? See the two tiny figures on the right in the above photo? That’s Doug and me, walking on the beach. I love it! It may be cold, but the sun is shining in a very un-Vancouver winter display.

I even have some knitting activity to report! I knit a hat for Justin for Christmas. He hasn’t unwrapped it yet, as he is still isolating (boo hoo), but Emma gave it a test spin so I could take photos. This was down at Cate’s Park in Deep Cove on the 27th, when it was -14 degrees. By the water, in the wind, that is really, really cold. Emma said the hat was warm.

The pattern is the Upper West Hat by Thea Coleman. It is a really lovely pattern and fun to knit. I used De Rurum Natura Gilliat worsted weight wool in Nuit, and a size US7 needle.

It makes a knitter happy to see people enjoying their hats.

Here is Emma and me having fun in the biting wind:

The best thing of all is that we still have two weeks left, before we head home! I’ll be back in two days with my annual year-end knitting post.

A Christmas 2021 Recipe: Take a cup of stress, add a spoonful of joy and a pinch of good cheer; stir vigorously

Posted on December 25, 2021 by knitigatingcircumstances

We have made it to Vancouver for Christmas with the girls. It was a bit touch and go for a while. Work was crazy right up till the bitter end, international travel was complicated (to say the least), and Omicron raged. I have been trying to write a post for weeks, but to tell you the truth, I am knackered. But we are here, we are extremely grateful to be able to spend the holidays with the girls and to see other family and friends (albeit while in the very cold and rainy outdoors), and to end the year with a week or two of respite.

A Christmas Eve selfie:

Yesterday, I saw the First Dog on the Moon cartoon in the Guardian and it summed up this year perfectly:

Best wishes to all over this holiday period.

My Mitten post for 2021

Posted on December 5, 2021 by knitigatingcircumstances

It’s time for my annual post showcasing my favourite mitt and mitten patterns for the year.

Welsh Triads Collection by Sarah Monroe

These seven gorgeous mitten patterns are based on characters found in the Malbigoni, prose literature written in the 12th and 13th centuries in Middle Welsh. Having a daughter who is obsessed with early medieval Welsh history, these called out to me right away. I would also not be surprised if I am persuaded to knit one or more of these. I find them absolutely stunning.

Flora by Wenche Roald

I love this pattern; they are so cheerful. I can picture any young woman from a fairy tale wearing these while out taking a basket of goodies to grandma or gathering wood for the fire. I warn you: the pattern is written in Norwegian. But what experienced knitter couldn’t have a little fun and learn something new by reading a pattern in a different language? And if you already speak Norwegian, then you are ahead of the game!

Gran by Kajsa Vuorela Fredriksson

I love this simple but effective graphic design of spruce trees by Swedish designer Kajsa Vuorela Fredriksson. Gran means spruce in Swedish. Come on: you know you want a pair!

Wisp by Kerri Blumer

Sometimes, you need super warm and cozy mittens. These mittens are knitted with a strand of mohair held together with a DK weight yarn, to make a nice, fluffy fabric. There are so many combinations of yarns and colours that could be used to whip up a pair of these; I bet you have some sitting in your stash right now!

Frón by Kristin Ornolfsdottir

I’ve already shown you mittens from Norway and Sweden; here’s a pair from Iceland by designer Kristin Ornolfsdottir. She says: “Frón is the fifth of five mitten patterns where the inspiration comes from Icelandic cross-stitch patterns from 15th to 18th century.” I have a real thing for graphic mittens in black and white; if you go through my earlier mitten posts (see links below) there are quite a few other examples.

Noggin Cove by Jennifer Beale

Jennifer Beale does the most fantastic designs combining different styles and techniques in eye-catching ways. She is the knitting equivalent of fusion cooking. I am always excited to see a new design of hers. Note the traditional Shetland lace pattern which goes up the side of the thumb. These mittens are part of a set of five patterns using panels of Fair Isle in creative ways. My favourite is the cowl; while it is shown in the above photo, you can get a clearer picture of the cowl pattern here.

Jinkies by Kate Davies

These are part of a set of patterns which Kate has recently released based on experimentations with twisted stitches inspired by Norah Gaughan’s book, Twisted Stitch Sourcebook. Kate has written a number of interesting posts on the design process, showing how she has used the book to inspire new designs; she also interviews Thea Coleman regarding her use of Twisted Stitches in some recent design work. Fascinating stuff. You can find her blog here. I love the texture and structure in these mitts, which are showcased well by the longer length.

Dì-Shiopaich by Liz Corke

I admit to being completely fascinated by the technique employed here. She writes: “Meaning unzip in Scottish Gaelic, Dì-Shiopaich has the gusset on the back of the hand rather than around the thumb. This creates a split in the lace pattern which looks like a half unzipped zip!” Amazing! It’s such a neat idea and looks fantastic.

I hope you like these patterns as much as I do, and perhaps have found something to cast on your needles as we head into cold weather (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere).

I have been writing a mitten post every year (two in 2015!) for a long time now. Here are links to the earlier posts, in case you want to check them out:

Merry Mittenmas! (2014)

A dozen great patterns for fingerless mitts (2015)

Mittens! (2015)

To gusset or not to gusset (2016)

It’s mitten time again! (2017)

A show of hands (2108)

Warm hands, warm heart (2019)

Mittens Redux (2020)