Last week I was approached by the publicist for the newly revised book The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt. She asked if I would like to receive an advance copy of the book so that I could review it here and I readily agreed. A free copy of a book that I had been planning to buy? Winning!

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the original version of this book but it has been long out of print. My library’s copy has been missing for years (no, I didn’t take it!) and copies have sold for outrageous amounts on ebay so it’s wonderful to have it available again for a new generation of knitters. It is, quite literally, an encyclopedia of knitting.

There are over 700 pages filled with diagrams, charts, facts, advice, and lessons. If you don’t know how to knit you can start here. If you already know how to knit you can expand your knowledge base and learn how to do things differently. There are examples of all kinds of techniques, cast ons,  increases, decreases, flat knitting, circular knitting, steeks and hems and so much more.  There are no patterns here but there is information on designing patterns and writing charts that is so valuable and helpful you’ll be designing your own patterns in no time.

There are chapters on all the knitting basics and there is even information on fiber choices and spinning.

The book is so comprehensive that I would dare say it could be the only knitting technique book you will ever need – it’s just that informative. It’s easy to understand, simple to follow, and will be useful to any knitter at any level of experience. It’s available starting February 14th and would make a perfect Valentine’s gift – I’m just saying.

As a librarian and a knitter I highly recommend this book.

Now that I’ve finally shown you my last finished project for 2011 I can proceed with my annual yearly knitting recap. Let’s start with my favorite part – a mosaic of everything I knit last year.

There are 22 items pictured there. That’s down 9 from last year. Yikes. It’s all good, though, because I knit:

• 12 pairs of socks
• 4 shawls
• 3 hats
• 1 baby blanket
• 1 pair of mitts
• 1 sweater

At last I have photos of Hannah’s finished Vivian Sweater. The knitting was finished back in November but I didn’t get the zipper put in until 2 weeks ago and then it took another week or so to coordinate me+Hannah+daylight+favorable weather. What a long fezzle! I think it was worth the wait, though, and I hope you all will think so, too.

I told Hannah when I finished it that this was the hardest thing I’ve ever knit and it’s true.

I’ve knit sweaters before and I’ve knit cables before but the combination of multiple charts, directions, decreases, increases, left cables, right cables, large cables, left large cables, right large cables, seed stitch and shaping all in ONE pattern made this a challenge. Let’s just say there was a lot of flipping paper around while following those directions and charts.

Just because it was hard doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, though. It’s an extremely detailed and well written pattern and Hannah and I are both thrilled with the finished sweater. It fits her perfectly and the style is really flattering on her slim figure.

The sleeves are ridiculously long but they are also tight so they stay put and the effect seems to work well.

I bought the yarn, Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky, on my first trip to WEBS and it was a pleasure to use. It was reasonably priced, I got gauge, and the color was just what Hannah envisioned for this project – a classic, natural colored cabled sweater. It’s got a bit of a halo to it and it’s very warm, perfect for walking to and from class.

The zipper could have been a tricky business but I chickened out and had Lois do it for me. She made it look so easy! She simply pinned it in place and stitched it on the machine. The bulky yarn worked perfectly to hide the machine stitches and I think it took her about 15 minutes to get it done. I would have fussed and fumed over it and really didn’t want to risk ruining the sweater at that stage in the process. The bonus is that Lois got to participate in the project for Hannah and that made her happy.

Hannah and I had hoped to coordinate our photo shoot for the beach but her work schedule and our busy weekends just didn’t allow for that to happen. Instead we wandered into the backyard last Thursday afternoon and captured these photos. The light was a little flat and it was very cold but Hannah was toasty in her new sweater.

Our trees and my father-in-law’s shed aren’t as picturesque as the beach would have been but you know, done is better than perfect and I’m so happy that this whole thing is now officially done!

Wear it well, my dear Hannah, wear it well.

I’ve never been one to knit for Christmas, you all know that. However, if I happen to finish something in the weeks leading up to Christmas I will often wrap it and give it as a Christmas gift. Such was the case with the Poet Society Tam for Hannah.

I bought the yarn, Madeline Tosh Vintage, on my first trip to WEBS last spring and I bought it specifically for this hat. The color is called Fragrant and it makes me think of spices and warm drinks.

You may have noticed that the brim of the hat is a contrasting color. That is because the I ran out of yarn on the first attempt at this pattern. Yes, the pattern is written for this yarn specifically and yes, I ran out anyway. I was frustrated but I loved the design (I always love Kirsten’s designs) and I knew it would be great on Hannah so I ripped and restarted, using this pretty brown for the brim. I actually like the way it looks so I’m calling it a design decision.

I found the buttons in my mother’s button box and I like the way they pick up the pink tones of the yarn.

It’s a big, slouchy, youthful hat and I love the way it looks on my daughter. It goes with her hair color and it’s just her style.

Around here we call that style goofy.

I have always said I’d never knit an afghan. I am a quilter and, frankly, I like quilts better when it comes to form and function. Also, they are much faster to produce. And yet, a few months ago I started contemplated knitting a blanket with leftover sock yarn. I’ve seen some really colorful ones and I’ve become . . . intrigued.

The week before Christmas I spent some time planning and researching. I studied various mitered square techniques. I knew I wanted my squares to be joined together as I went along since I am not being a big fan of seaming. And I knew I wanted them to be squares and not diamonds. I cobbled together ideas from this mitered square blanket pattern and this mitered square wrap and shawl and then I took the plunge.

I’ve got several squares completed so far and I love it. Each square is simple and fast and I’m taking excellent notes so that I can put it down and pick it up much later and (hopefully) not be confused.

There’s just one problem. Since I was so sure I’d never knit a blanket I didn’t actually save my sock yarn leftovers. All those socks I’ve knit over the years and I’ve only got enough yarn to knit 12 unique squares.

It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.

I am so happy to be showing you photos of my finished Hawthorne today. This is partially because it’s nice to talk about finished hand knits but it’s also because I have this rule about not wearing my hand knits until I’ve posted about them on the blog and I am quite anxious to wear this one. Okay, if we’re being completely honest I should probably confess that I did wear this already last Friday night . . . but I haven’t worn it since. I only cheated on you a tiny bit.

I loved knitting this scarf. Or shawl. I truthfully can’t decide what to call it but it doesn’t really matter because it was so much fun to knit. The yarn, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Peru, was wonderful to work with and the color is gorgeous for a dreary winter day.

It’s knit from the bottom edge and, while it takes a while to cast on all those stitches, then you get right into working with the charts and it just moves along so quickly and beautifully.

I love the points.

And these sets of three – what are they? Leaves?

Once you finish with the charts it’s all short rows in garter stitch. This took longer than I thought it would but it was still pretty quick. The garter rows are smooshy and scunchable and soft.

It’s warm and wonderful when wrapped around my neck and now that you’ve seen it I can wear it with pleasure. Yay!

I didn’t write about socks yesterday because neither pair looks all that different than they did last week. The reason for that is two-fold. First, I worked hard and steady on the Vivian sweater for Hannah. The knitting on that is now finished and I just need to get a zipper. Second, I started Hawthorne.

This is not the yarn I originally intended to use but I saw this skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Peru at Webs last week and it sort of jumped into my basket. I am really enjoying knitting this pattern and the yarn is a pleasure to work with.

Those socks can wait.

Way back in June, while my dear friend Hillary was in the throes of labor, I started a blanket.

I started this blanket because I love Hillary and her family. They have had me as a guest in their home on two different occasions and they are gracious and welcoming. They are fun and friendly and warm. I wanted to make something for this new addition to their family to show them how happy I was about the whole darn thing.

Hillary and Bruce chose not to find out the sex of the baby so I had Kim custom dye this yarn for me in two beautiful shades of green. I started on Hillary’s due date and I knit on and on while she labored and I thought of her and wished her strength and comfort with every stitch.

After Bruce called to tell me about the safe arrival of their daughter I rejoiced at the news and I knit on some more. I pictured the happiness and love that was surrounding this family and wished I was with them.

I finally finished the blanket in July and then it sat and sat and sat until I photographed it a few weeks ago and mailed it off to Hillary. I justified my delay with the knowledge that summer is warm where Hillary lives and I didn’t think the blanket would be much needed.

Now that it is finally with it’s intended recipient I can show it to you in all it’s beauty. The pattern, Abby’s Blanket by the uber talented Kirsten, was a joy to knit.

And the two shades of green compliment each other perfectly. I love the open lace of the center and the squooshy smooshy garter stitch edge.

It brought me such happiness to knit this for Hillary and Marissa. I hope it brings them all the love and comfort in the world.

I’ve been diligently plugging away on the Vivian sweater for Hannah.

The back is done and one sleeve is done. I’m so close to the finish line I can practically see it. This is good because I promised I wouldn’t start anything else until this sweater was done.

You know what they say about promises, right?

A month or so ago I was at a library network meeting and I was knitting away on socks, as I’m wont to do at these monthly meetings. My friend Olivia was sitting next to me and she was also knitting but she was not knitting socks. She was knitting a Hitchhiker Scarf. You know where this is going, right?

I logged onto Ravelry with my precious my iPhone so that I could queue it up but found it was already in my queue. Hunh. I didn’t remember adding it but then I saw it was knit with Wollmeise and I’m pretty sure that’s why I put it in my queue. You see, I’ve been sort of . . . collecting . . . Wollmeise but I haven’t actually knit anything with it. I decided, with Olivia’s prodding, that it was time to take the plunge.

I am so glad I did.

The pattern is very simple and makes a great showcase for the color changes in this vibrant sock yarn.

The little sawteeth along the edge provide nice visual appeal.

I sort of couldn’t stop photographing them.

The garter stitch does get a little tedious but it knits up into such a squooshy fabric that it’s totally worth a little boredom.

I’m still not sure I understand the  frenzy that surrounds this yarn but I am glad I knit this scarf with it. It will be like a warm flame around my neck this fall.

And now that I’ve popped my Wollmeise cherry I’m sure I’ll be on the look out for more projects that use it.