December | 2023 | Knitigating Circumstances

The end of the year approaches, which means it’s that time when I usually show you the projects which were completed during the year. I finished eight knitting projects this year – two cardigans, two tees, two hats, a shawl and a pair of mittens. (I will link to the relevant posts about each project at the bottom of the page, which contain information on the pattern and yarn.)

The cardigans were both knitted from the same pattern – Hirne by Kate Davies. I really enjoyed knitting this, as evidenced by the fact that I knitted it twice; I rarely knit a pattern more than once. I think I’ve worn one or the other of these for half the days of the year.

I also knitted two hats: one for Doug and one for Leah. I have been very remiss in my blogging this year, and did not get a modelled photo of Leah’s hat. I include a photo of it as a project-in-progress. Hopefully, we will get a sunny day soon, so I can snap a shot of her wearing it.

I knitted myself two tees using yarns with interesting blends. The white tee is made with a blend of linen and wool, and the red one with a yarn blended from lyocell (from wood), silk, and linen. They haven’t gotten much wear since I finished them both well into the fall, but I think they will be wardrobe staples in the summer.

And last but not least, a pair of mittens for Emma, and a striped woolen shawl for myself.

This was not a year in which knitting took a front row seat. I have spent the year dealing with the symptoms of Long Covid that resulted from my June 2022 bout of covid. These included fatigue, but also a curious lack of brain power for knitting; I found it very difficult to focus on pattern instructions and to execute complicated techniques. Blogging also takes effort and this year it has been hard to invest the time and focus into posting regularly. This is my 27th post of the year – half as many as I would normally write per year.

I would like to say that I am now back to normal and will be knitting and blogging up a storm in 2024, but I have managed to end the year by getting covid again! Doug and I flew out to Vancouver just over two weeks ago to spend the holidays with the girls. I got covid nearly as soon as I got here, and have been sick the whole time. We have been practicing an elaborate ballet of attempting to keep everyone else from catching it while all staying in a small apartment in Vancouver; isolating isn’t possible in this space so we’ve been relying on open windows, heavy duty masking, meticulous hand washing, and me sitting as far into the corners as possible. It seems to have worked, since I’m the only one to test positive, but this is not the holiday we were anticipating.

Please don’t think that the year has been a sad, long slog; lots of great things have happened, too. After a few years with very little travelling, Doug and I have had four holidays this year: we went to Sicily in May, Freiburg and Konstanz in July, Geneva in August, and Vancouver in December. We met up with many old friends, ate beautiful food, re-discovered favorite places, and explored some new ones. I have taken on a challenging project at work, which is exciting and engaging. We feel enormously lucky to have each other, and the girls, and good friends.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Here are links to the posts about the projects here:

Hirne: Hirne: a beautiful cardigan, Hirne 2: The one that pops!, Knitting the Hirne cardigan without a steek

Doug’s hat: Opus Hat

White tee: Joy in simple things

Red tee: Strawberry out of season

Shawl: Satisfying stripes

Emma’s mittens: A little sparkle

It’s that time of year again, when the temperature drops and I start composing my annual mitten post. Below is a selection of the patterns for mittens, mitts and gloves that have caught my eye this season. I hope they tickle your inner knitter’s fancy. (If you are in the southern hemisphere, it gives you lots of time to prepare for your winter while knitting small things in the heat.)

Expo 67 Mittens by Espace Tricot

I love this pattern, which combines bold colour with an architectural feel. The latter is not surprising as the pattern is based on the architecture of the 1967 Montreal Exposition. Each time I look at them, my brain starts trying out colour combinations. I think I may need to knit more than one pair. And, since they are knitted with DK weight yarn, they should be pretty quick. There is also a matching hat pattern, and a cowl as well, if you are into the matchy-match look.

Snow Treasure Gloves by Mary Jane Mucklestone

This pattern can be found in the new book, Grand Shetland Adventure Knits, which Mary Jane has co-written with Gudrun Johnston. I try not to include too many patterns here which can’t be individually purchased, but if you like these, you might want to check out the other patterns in the book (my favourite is this stand-out vest, also by Mary Jane). I really love how these blues work against the red background, and also the juxtaposition of the three patterns (from the cuffs, the outside, and the inside of the hands). It makes for a really pleasing glove.

Pico Mitts by Belén Fernández

There is something so satisfying about these mitts. They have great lines, and the contrast of the rich earthy green and the pale lavender really works for me. This pattern also has a matching hat, and as you can see, they look smashing together. If you are looking for a mitt with a clean line, these may be for you.

Constellate Mitts by Hunter Hammersen

The first thing you notice here is the pretty stitch pattern in which the yellow pops against the background like fireworks. But then, the eye is drawn to the way that the increases are worked in the opposite direction of the thumb; taking a simple gusset and turning it on its head (or, in this case, its hand). It is so clever. I am really drawn to clever. You can make these in a single colour, but for me there is joy in the splash of yellow.

Sankta Lucia Mitts by Maria Björnståhl

Every once in a while, you need a bit of whimsy. I think these are adorable. In Sweden, the Feast of Saint Lucy (Sankta Lucia) is on the 13th of December; there is a procession and traditional foods and songs. Sankta Lucia wears a white dress and a crown of lighted candles. I love the expression on her face in these sweet mittens and the pretty yellow-topped candles.

Tak Six Kloos by Hazel Tindall

I do like clever, and these mitts are a very clever experiment. The description on Ravelry says; “Hazel has taken six colours to see how many handwarmers she could knit from the same pattern, using the colours differently each time.” Such a simple concept, and I imagine, a lot of fun to experiment with. “Tak” means take and “kloo” is a ball of yarn in Shetland dialect. You know you want to do it: how many different variations of the same six colours can you knit?

Bevel Mitts by Emily Greene

In this colour, these look more like spring mitts than winter ones, but they are sure to be cozy. I really like mittens knitted with twisted ribbing; they hold their shape well and hug your hands. Plus, the twisted stitches can be a lovely fabric for cables to jump and dance across.

Green Blue Lithuania Mittens by Donna Druchanas

Donna’s patterns always catch my eye. She uses traditional motifs and techniques and makes them feel fresh. I love the contrast between the cabled cuffs, the pretty star-like motif, and the checkerboard pattern. They work together really well. I also love the way that the motif fits so perfectly into the triangle at the top of the mitt; it has a very nice geometry. Like some of the other patterns here, there is a matching hat as well.

I hope you’ve found some inspiration. Mittens make a nice gift (for yourself as well!) and are fun to knit. If you want to check out my previous mitten posts, here are the links!

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 (2018)

Warm hands, warm heart (2019)

Mittens redux (2020)

My mitten post for 2021 (2021)

Mittens galore! (2022)

Enjoy!