Isn't this hat pattern lovely? I knitted it in Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift using main colors 684, Cobalt, contrast color 660 Lagoon, and an unmarked white, gold and green from my stash. We do a free yarn exchange every year during the SuperBowl and sometimes we trade unmarked balls with each other. If I have a chance to look at the Spindrift shade card at my LYS, I will try to track down these 3 colors I ended up with from someone else's stash because I really think it's a good color combination.
I wore this hat a lot in New York to keep off the cold. Can you guess the name of this fabulous fabric store in downtown New York? It's often featured in Project Runway! As you can see, recently I have been making little accessories to match my handsewn and handknitted Snow White capsule collection! Corinne Thomlinson of The Woolly Thistle just released this Flowers of Fortrose pattern, which is free to anyone who is participating in the Wooly Thistle Fair Isle Accessory Knit-a-long from February 17-March 18 2023! The pattern has not been published on Ravelry yet, but is available to anyone who purchases a kit here . It's also available to anyone who signs up for the fairisle KAL on the website of The Woolly Thistle. I knitted this during the Vogue Knitting Live conference in New York which met for the first time in 3 years, and convinced my friend Stephanie to model Flowers of Fortrose here:
Stephanie has a smaller head and you can see the Flowers of Fortrose hat fits her perfectly. If I were to knit it again, I would add another round of flowers to the top of the hat to ensure it fully covers my ears, although the hat is relaxing and stretching out a bit with wear. The hat I am wearing is called Sarandi and was designed by Yoko Hatta. I also knitted it at the convention (it’s a long flight from California to New York and back again!) This is definitely a wicked stepmother color scheme, in my opinion so I was happy to get this photo of me and Stephanie wearing our Snow White and Wicked Stepmother hats! Sarandí was knitted using 2 contrasting colors of Malabrigo Mecha yarn. Sigh. I really need to do better at finding out the yarn names of some of these random balls in my stash! The original is knitted in the Arco Iris #866 and VAA #051 colorways, which are similar.
I am also knitting the Rumple socks by Kay Jones. She designed the sock pattern for Rumple Stiltskin while she and her daughter were watching Once Upon a Time. I test-knitted the sock and made one version for a student that was really cool. I think it is a very versatile pattern that works for both men and women! This is the third in my series of Howarts socks I am making him for each of the houses (he already has Hufflepuff and Griffindor), so I sewed on these slytherin patches. I thought the grey main color of the sock looked a bit like the old brick walls of Hogwarts Castle:
Kay Jones then inspired me even more by knitting a pair of Rumple socks in a luxurious white yarn with only a blue-lavender heel to reference Snow White in Once Upon a Time and the pretty lavender blue knit hat she is always wearing. So I am now knitting myself a pair:
My friends have already finished their pairs, but I just had to knit the hats above first because I knew New York would be very cold! However, it is amazing when you are used to knitting mostly sweaters how much one is able to accomplish when switching to a smaller knitting project like a hat or pair of socks. However, my goal is not to pile up a bunch of finished objects, but just to share my excitement about this little capsule collection which is giving me courage to venture out into the work and travel that I avoided the past 3 years because I am armed with my little handmade things. Just because these knits don't have any REAL magic protective powers doesn't mean I can't tell myself they help me to feel safe anyway, right?
My last accessory on the needles for this Snow White capsule collection is the Blackberry Kerchief by Churchmouse yarns and teas which I am knitting in a bright, sparkling snow white. I am using the discontinued yarn, Rowan kidsilk night which includes a silver thread of sparkle yarn. I discovered this pattern at the latest free Rowan Connect online forum, where the designer and founder of Churchmouse shared it as a good project for using up just one skein of mohair yarn. It is a very pretty lace pattern and some friends and I all started knitting it, but the three of us are finding it to be a rather frustrating and slow-going process. There was some ripping out on one side, some repairs of holes with sewing thread on my side because I struggled to read the pattern and my knitting at first, and it is generally being discussed as a pattern we will knit on for one or two rows a day to avoid getting frustrated with it. However, the finished result will probably be very pretty.
If time permits this year, I will eventually make 2 more woodland/flower-themed accessories to go with this collection:
1) Sarah Dallas’ Fairisle Beret
2) Marie Wallin’s Meadow Mittens
Are you enjoying the last vestiges of your winter knitting before spring comes as well? Please share!