Yarn Along

{Yarning Along with Ginny for the first time in ages...}

 

 

 

I made a Christmas crafting list a few weeks ago and promptly felt a particular urgency to get the knitting going right away- possibly because I have about 14 handknits on the list.

 

Don't worry... I do this every year and somewhere around December 1 the list gets whittled down into something resembling "actually acheivable" (and then further whittled down around Dec. 20th...)

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first of the official Christmas knits this year: A Helena Cardi for my little girl. I've had this sweet little cardigan on my favorites list for about 3 years now, just waiting for a little girl to knit for. Alas, several nephews later I was still waiting until my own little girl showed up almost six months ago.

 

I'm using Knitpicks Swish DK in a yummy grey... I have this thing about grey cardigans over pink and white on little girls. In fact, this is Ellie's third grey cardigan. I promise to branch out a bit in the future, but for now I'm loving the grey.

 

This is my second project using swish and it is beautiful to knit with for the price. I've been trying to decide if I'm a yarn snob (said in all love and kindness) or not over the past two years, and after spending an unholy amount of money with knitpicks over the past 2 years I think I can safely say that I am, but only when it comes to projects I knit for myself. For kid knitting I love the affordability of Knit Picks so that I can use wool but not break the bank over an item they might only wear for a few months. About half of my knitting is for my kids and another chunk for my nephews, so I'm using Knit Picks yarns for a fair chunk of my knitted work.

 

 

 

 

{Apologies for dull indoors pictures, but have you seen the sun recently? We certainly haven't around here...}

 

 

I'm knitting this Helena in a 12 month size hoping we actually get to use it January through April-ish, but if Ellie keeps growing like she is this cardi may end up being a "Thanksgiving present" and I may knit something else to put under the tree for her. For now, though, I'm one good knitting night away from finished (plus blocking) and I'm calling that a great start on the Christmas knitting for now.

 

 

I am actually reading lately too, though everything is on the kindle these days, so no interesting cover for you- I'm in the middle of Insurgent by Veronica Roth at the moment for my own reading, and in the middle of reading Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone with Ender. He's reading some of it on his own too- his first "big book" as he calls it.

 

 

{Are you Christmas knitting too? Or is just me starting early?}