I had a great time knitting these gifts!

The fingerless glove pattern I found on line. It was a joy to knit, especially since I could finish one in a night.

The blog that contains this pattern is in German but if you scroll down she has also provided it in English.

The yarn is a sock weight from Fairy Hare fibers. . . a blend of Angora and Merino. I love the saturated color too.

The cowl I made up myself. I started at the head end and worked down. I worked short rows over the back of the head to avoid bulk under the chin. Then I did a few rows of ribbing at the neck to pull it in a bit. The bottom is a simple lace pattern with increases worked in. I wanted a lace pattern that would scallop the edge but when I started I wasn’t home with my pattern books, so I guessed at a lace pattern that might work. It didn’t scallop like I wanted, but looks nice none-the-less. I added about 5 rows of garter stitch on the shoulder edge so it wouldn’t roll. It turned out okay and I have a general idea of what I would do different next time. The important thing is that the recipient loves them and has worn them both!! (Even though the cowl makes her look a bit like the flying nun.)

What did Santa bring me? With a small dent in my checkbook, my knitting library has expanded!!
I got “Handknitting with Meg Swansen” from Schoolhouse Press. This is a cool little book. It has a pattern for gloves in which the fingers are knit like an I-cord. Then stitches are picked up along the “float” to open up the tube to fit your fingers. I can’t wait to try this!

Book #2 “Poems of Color, Knitting in the Bohus Tradition” by Wendy Keele. Over the holidays I fell in love with Bohus Knitting. While rooting around on Ravelry I found a few site links to some Great pictures of Bohus sweaters that took my breath away. Had to know more about it and this seems to be the definitive book about this Swedish Tradition.

Book #3 “KNitting in the Old Way, Designs & Techniques from Ethnic Sweaters” by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts and Deborah Robson. I’ve started reading this one too. Lots of good general information about sweater construction. Seems I can never get enough of this kind of information. One of these days the info will actually stay in my head.:)

Book #4 “the Art of KNitting, Inspirational stitches, textures and surfaces” by Francoise Tellier-Loumagne. I”ve wanted this book forever. A gift certificate to Borders, a trip to the knitting section where I saw this book and snatched it right up!! It is full of color photos of landscapes and knitting and stitches. I saw this book 5 years ago when I took a class with Prudence Mapstone. She had one and I’ve wanted one ever since. This is a truly inspirational book. It was only yesterday that I saw past the pictures and realized there is text in the book too. Now I wish I had a week off to read!