Even here in the Dirty South, the cold is coming. Well, as much cold as we get here, which by Northern standards is more like a brief flirtation with the idea of being chilly. Still, the air has gone from soft to crisp, and I’ve been here long enough that I get whiny at anything below about 45 Fahrenheit (that’s around 7 Celsius for the rest of the world). (I’ve also been here long enough that I describe temperature in Fahrenheit, though I use the ‘double it and add 30’ conversion from Bob & Doug McKenzie* to make sense of it.) Here are the latest preparations for the eight week onslaught of not-being-quite-warm-enough. Continue reading
knitting
Just because you can, it doesn’t mean you should (or will).
Some time ago (a timespan measured in years), my sister had a big birthday. Big enough that I offered to make her something special for it. More than anything, she wanted a shawl. A square, lace shawl. A square, lace shawl in black. Coincidentally, I was in the mood to make just such a shawl, so I was delighted. We chose a pattern; I ordered the yarn; the shawl was all but made. Right?
Tiny things for tiny people
As you may have noticed, there has been a lull in creative activity at the Casa de Cusser these days. We’re getting my mother-in-law’s house ready to sell, and because I used to paint houses for a living and therefore can’t stand the thought of hiring someone else to do it, I volunteered to do the painting. To no-one’s surprise, this turned out to be a much bigger job than I expected, partly because I am very, very fussy about painting, and partly because it’s been a while and I am slower than I used to be. What has surprised me about this task (beyond the fact that it never seems to end) is the amount of creative energy it sucks out of a person. At the end of the day, all I want to do is sit down with someone else’s pattern, preferably in garter stitch, and binge-watch murder mysteries. This has not been great for writing or designing, but it sure has helped me make a dent in the backlog of gift knitting, especially tiny, fast baby knitting. Fair warning: there is an awful lot of adorable ahead. Continue reading
Rings of Colour
Over the last few months, I’ve mentioned a collaborative project with an indie dyer whose work I really admire. Well, here it is: the Saturnalia Infinity Scarf, in colours by Astral Bath Yarns. Mmmm…red and red.
Spring, revisited
Some time ago, for a design contest, I came up with these mittens:
I love these mittens. I love the texture of the fabric, I love the way the 2-colour cable looks like embroidery, I love the whole sort of Renaissance textile feel of the things.
There was just one problem: they only came in small. Continue reading
Blanxiety
It seemed like such a great idea: a simple, beautiful pattern, combined with some luscious yarn from the stash, would inevitably result in a very special blanket for my sister’s new baby. Perhaps the yarn was a bit too luscious for a baby blanket, but hey, it was machine washable and it was languishing in a storage bin, so what else was I going to do with it? It’s not like they’ve stopped making yarn. Besides, the colour was just too gorgeous to keep in the dark.
Now I’m not so sure. Continue reading
A problem, a solution, a better hat
Remember my one piece of Christmas knitting? Well, it’s done. It’s done, it’s off, and thanks to my ability to procrastinate and the wonder of USPS Priority international mail, I didn’t even have to go to the post office. I know people like to complain about the postal service here, but a public service that will come to my door to pick up outgoing packages is a thing of joy and a wonder to behold. A few extra bucks to avoid the aeon in Hell’s waiting room that is a post office at Christmas is money well spent, in my book.
It was touch and go, though. I had a plan, and I thought it was an excellent plan, which should have set off the klaxons of warning right away. Continue reading
Galiano and Saturna: a hood & scarf inspired by the Left Coast
Although I may not be doing much gift knitting, there’s a lot of it going around, and the knit-something-for-yourself-for-a-change season is coming up quickly. With that in mind, here are two new patterns, released today.
Galiano, a deep, moebius shaped hood/cowl, which can be worn up to keep your ears from freezing off
Not on your nelly
It’s that time again.
Every August (or even July), the emails begin: “It’s not too late to start your Christmas knitting!” “Five Quick Gifts You Can Make in Your Sleep!” “A Totally Not-Crazy Plan to Make a Fairisle Stocking for Everyone On Your List!” Every year, I resist. Through the chill of autumn, through the holiday gift posts and knitting magazines, I stand firm. Then, sometime in November, I lose my damned mind. “Just a couple of things for the kids,” I tell myself, “and maybe a nice hat for someone. Just a few small things.” I know this is a bad idea, and so I stop myself, and the pressure builds in that small, nagging part of my brain that thinks there are 48 hours in a day and that the whole needing sleep thing is Illuminati propaganda to keep us weak.
This really is a bad idea, though. Continue reading
E. Elliott Knits 