Christmas Knitting

I've been working away steadily at finishing the Christmas knitting. Only the lace shawl for my mom is concerning me--in part because I foolishly took it to a group knitting event and attempted to work on it. If you've ever done it, you know what happened (what always happens when lace and lack of concentration combine). I fucked up. My stitch count is off. And I think it's bad enough that I need to try running an after-the-fact lifeline a few rows down, then rip it out. I can't look at it for a day or two more, so I'm going to start on Saturday and finish this thing this weekend, I hope.

Meanwhile, I've been using some gifts to practice fair isle. I made one hat for my dad with a simple motif, but it was terrible. So I tried again, making a small bag from Handknit Holidays, then a second hat for dad. Both turned out very well, and my technique is getting much better. It's still not good enough for a complicated fair isle, but it's getting there. I'm holding both yarns in my right hand, because I have serious issues trying to hold the yarn in my left. My thought is, why do something that's uncomfortable, when you can master a technique that builds on skills you already have?

The technique I'm using is described in Sally Melville's third book. Definitely a helpful resource for a colorwork beginner. Next up is, hopefully, a book of fair isle motifs.

Over Christmas, I plan to work on a baby sweater and some gloves for me, I think. Then it's on to a sweater for my husband and a lace shawl for me.

The new Knitty is a mixed bag for me. I think Bamboozelle is a nice use of bamboo yarn. Hemp might also be an interesting choice for this design. I also really like Bristow, something that I plan to knit in the not-too-distant future. It's a classic design that is a cut above many of the sweaters in Knitty, I think. There are several others I am fairly indifferent to, though I've seen Tubey in person, and it's an interesting design that I could see myself knitting--without stripes.

On the other hand, there's this. Can anyone tell me why this was published? I'm tired of the overuse of bobbles, and did the designer actually knit a gauge swatch, or is this a project gone awry? I'm sure it's fashionable, but I would never waste yarn on it. A little less enormous, with the addition of a front and back and the deletion of the bobbles, this might be an okay bed jacket type garment, but its current form is just terrible.

I'm still waiting for Interweave and, hopefully, Spin Off, but I'm not holding my breath. I wasn't impressed with the Interweave preview, but I hope it looks better once I get the magazine.