December | 2025 | Knitigating Circumstances

Emma came to visit for a few weeks and while she was here, she finished knitting a gorgeous shawl:

This is the Field Shawl, designed by Maxim Cyr. I think it looks smashing, and it is unbelievably cosy and warm. Emma is turning out to be quite a good knitter. Next up: probably a sweater, but which one?

You may remember that, on her last visit, Emma and I went to the Unravel festival in Farnham, where we both purchased yarn for a new shawl. I blogged about it here. We realised, just as Emma was about to leave for the airport to go back to Vancouver, that we have now both finished knitting the shawls with the yarn we purchased at Unravel, and ran outside to take some photos. It was starting to drizzle and Emma put on Doug’s gardening shoes (“Just don’t get my feet in the photos, Dad”.)

We were very busy when she was here. Both Doug and I were working, and we spent every free day running around London with Emma, mostly visiting museums (as one does). Emma’s friend Julianne joined us for an afternoon at the V&A. We saw a cool exhibit on disability and design, and then went to the Marie Antoinette exhibition. It was not the best lighting for photos, of course, but here are Emma and Julianne towards the end of the exhibit which featured Marie Antoinette-inspired fashion. We called these the “wedding cake dresses”:

We also spent an afternoon at the Saatchi gallery, ate at some excellent new (to us) restaurants, went to the last evening of the London Jazz Festival at Cadogan Hall, window shopped, wandered through multiple book shops which led inevitably to buying books, raced through Paddington Station numerous times, and got stuck in massive Black Friday crowds. (Who knew Black Friday was a thing here? Why is it a thing here?) The highlight was probably the Cecil Beaton exhibit at the National Gallery. It was amazing and beautifully curated. The inscriptions next to the photos were worth the price of admission alone.

It was a lovely visit with Emma, which as always feels too short although we packed in a lot of stuff.

Emma is now back in Vancouver and Leah will be arriving in a few days. The girls are sadly in complimentary distribution this holiday season. I’ll sign off with more photos of shawl silliness.

Emma throws the shawl up and it gets tangled in a tree above her head.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Last December was not a good month for me and for the first time in over a decade, I didn’t publish a mitten post. Well, it’s time to get back on the wagon. There are so many new mitten patterns being published now, and I hate to say it, but many of them look samey-samey to me. To help cut through the mitten haze, here are some that stood out from the crowd for me.

Rosie Mittens by LE KNIT by Lene Holme Samsøe:

The Rosie sweater was a huge hit for Lene Holme Samsøe this year. While I think it is gorgeous, I am unlikely to knit it. The oversized, drop shoulder look isn’t so good on me. But these Rosie Mitts are charming! Here is a good way to knit the exceedingly pretty Rosie pattern in a smaller canvas. I can imagine these in so many different colour combos, some soft, some bold.

Skating Ring Mitts by Ainur Berkimbayeva:

One of the things that Purl Soho do so well is to make classic patterns with well-thought out design. This is a fairly simple concept, beautifully articulated. I am not exactly sure why I find these so appealing; nevertheless, appeal they do. Perhaps it is the matching set of hat and cowl, which while being matchy-matchy, is definitely not samey-samey.

On Two Wheels by Claudia Fiocchetti:

What can I say? These are fun! I am often critical of self-striping yarns, but I love how Claudia Fiocchetti has used them to great effect here. If you know anyone who cycles, this is a wonderful gift. If you cycle yourself, be indulgent and knit a pair for you!

Spot Mittens by Anne Ventzel:

I love these mittens, just like I love the sweater they are based on. I have really been enjoying Anne Ventzel patterns; I knitted both her Robinia sweater and Robinia mittens last year (blogged here and here). I like the crispness of the geometric pattern, particularly in this blue and white combo. Such a great photo, too. It not only makes you want to knit the mittens, but also to sit and have a coffee and chat with Anne.

Stanford – mittens by Sara Ottosson:

Oh my, look at the fantastic interplay between the garter and mosaic stitches! See how the garter on the thumbs continues up the side of the mittens, making a boxy structure? I love these so much! I would love them even if they weren’t in this eye-popping colour combo. But of course, they are, which makes them irresistible.

Grønmo by Lanja Khon-Engheim:

Sometimes, all it takes is a beautiful cable pattern. Knitted in this lovely natural shade, the cables pop, and look very intricate and organic. Non-knitters will be agog and won’t believe that you knitted these yourself. Just don’t knit them in front of the telly.

Juicy fruit short by knittinglotta:

These are Leah’s favourites. She sent me a link with some barely disguised hinting. It is such a pretty pattern, and extremely cheerful. It makes me think summery thoughts even in the midst of winter. I have a feeling these will end up on my needles sooner rather than later.

Underglow Mitts by Melanie Berg:

These are so dainty and elegant. It’s a very beautiful stitch pattern and Melanie Berg lets it do all the work. No need for any extra flourishes here. Just a soft yarn and a great stitch. The hemmed cuffs are a nice touch.

TractorBaby by Tonje Haugli:

In all of the time that I have been writing these mitten posts, I have never featured a baby mitten. But look at these! Aren’t they adorable? I love them! I could eat them up! They are so, so sweet. I dare you to look at them and not smile!

I hope you’ve found something you like. If you have another favourite, drop me a line in the comments. And, in case you are interested in the previous mitten posts, you can find them at the below 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)

You had me at mittens (2023)