2 Et Frais Mitts.

I knit up this pair of Et Frais Mitts this fall. Knitting with black yarn is hard! But also, worth it. They are so pretty all finished.

I used Plucky Single in Morticia from The Plucky Knitter. It's a beautiful black/charcoal color. I just love Plucky yarn! The colors are so sophisticated and rich.

I made my sister and cousin model my recently finished knits while they were home for Thanksgiving. We took pics in my new studio up on the second floor! It was pretty fun.

These are a gift for a family member, but I think I'll make another pair soon for myself! I love fingerless mitts, they are perfect for photo sessions in the winter because I can still press all the camera buttons while keeping the rest of my hands warm!

You can find more details about these on my Ravelry page.

12 Heaven Mitts.

Happy 2015 everyone! I am only a couple weeks late :) I hope you all had a lovely holiday season.

I have been on a knitting kick lately, which seems to happen every winter around this time. It's freezing outside here and I just want to wear warm handknits all the time. I finished these Heaven Mitts sometime in November, and I've been wearing them pretty much everyday since. I finally had the chance to photograph them while my sister was home for winter break.

The yarn is Manos del Uruguay Fino in the Silver Teaset colorway. It's super soft and a really pretty gray! I held the yarn double to make them a little thicker and am very happy with how they turned out.

These are the perfect winter mitts for me, as I don't like having full mittens on my hands when I'm out taking photographs. I need to be able to feel the buttons on the camera.

I'm planning to make another pair of these very soon, as my dad saw them and told me he wanted a pair! It's not very often that I can make things for my dad, so I'm happy to oblige.

Full disclosure: I fell flat on my backside while taking these photos. Turns out the roads are slippery in the winter! :)

17 new cowls.

I'm not sure what it is about winter (the freezing temps, perhaps?), but I always want to sit on the couch under a blanket and knit!  It's just so cozy.  I finished up two knitting projects in the past week.  Two new cowls!

I started this herringbone cowl last winter, and took a lot of breaks during the process.  The stitch required a lot of attention from me, so I would get tired of it after only a row or two.  

Aren't those herringbone stitches pretty?  I love the texture!!

  It's definitely not perfect, but you can't really tell much when it's on.

Next, another honey cowl!  I've made several of these in the past, it's a quick and easy project!  I started this one on my last trip to Boston, and almost finished it between the plane rides there and back and a couple nights of knitting in my hotel room.

 I think I'll be giving this one away since I already have one of my own.

I used Cascade Yarns Lana D'Aro for both of these, in Magenta and Hare.

I see more knitting in my future... I'm headed back to the yarn store tonight!  I think I'm going to try the Sophia cowl next!

17 feathers.

This was the view from my cutting table this weekend, while I spent Saturday making a few of these gorgeous feather blocks from Anna Maria Horner's free pattern.

I've officially used up every last bit of my Chicopee FQ bundle (available at Pink Castle Fabrics and Stash Fabrics).  All that's left are the selvages, which I continue to save with no use in mind.  I think I'm going to have to buy another bundle soon, I don't think I'm done sewing with these pretty prints just yet.

I spent last night putting three of the six feathers that I made to use, making a knitting needle roll for a friend!  The needle roll is based off of one that I received from my friend Amanda!  I think she should make a pattern for it, don't you? :)  I used a black Sew Classics linen from Joann's as the background, and I love the way it turned out.

Since I didn't have any Chicopee left, I used a few random scraps and prints I had in my stash to make the inside.

 The prints coordinate really well with the feathers without being too matchy matchy.

Hopefully my friend will get a lot of use out of this needle roll!  I'm already plotting what to do with the rest of my feathers!

11 another kind of stitching.

Yep, I've caught the knitting bug.  It started shortly after Sewing Summit.  After seeing all the pretty honey cowls being stitched up there, I wanted to make one myself.  And well, one turned into three, and now I can't stop.

This is the one I just finished, a late Christmas gift for my sister-in-law.  I gave the other two away without taking proper pictures, other than a few Instagram shots.

  I love how cuddly and warm these cowls turn out when they're finished.

Here's the one I just started this week for myself.  It's an alpaca/wool blend that I got from a local alpaca farm/yarn shop called Rainbow Yarn & Gifts.  The color is lemon chiffon, it's kind of like a citron-y yellow.

Here's my little furry alpaca friend I met at the farm.  Isn't he the cutest?

It's nice to have a yarn store in the area, I'll definitely be visiting again.  I might have to pick another pattern to work on soon so I can learn a few more stitches and have an excuse to buy more yarn!

Any recommendations for what I should knit next?  I'm thinking one of these herringbone cowls would be fun to try!