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The 12 Knits of Christmas:
Week Eleven |
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A snowy hello from the North!
Whew! Two solid days of snow, blowing, drifting and school closings (yay!) have had me reaching for my warm woolen mittens....and socks, sweaters, hats, long underwear....
All I want to do in the evening is knit, knit, knit and there's a very good reason. Actually, about 13 reasons. Santa came early to Inish Knits this year--with a sleigh FULL of yarn. This shipment is a trunk show, the most beautiful selection of Debbie Bliss and Noro I've EVER seen--just in time for the holidays! We've got SIX new yarns here at the shop (Can you say "alpaca and silk"? How about "tweed"?) and restocking new colors in SEVEN more. This might be the greatest Christmas present of all--and there's no one I'd rather share it with.
Save the date next Saturday night, December 19th, for a trunk show at Inish Knits from 6 to 9 p.m. We'll have patterns, samples, last minute gift ideas and a little bubbly to bring in the holiday spirit.
True, we sort of assume you'll have your gift knitting under wraps by next weekend. But have you thought about what you'll be knitting for yourself after the holiday rush is over? What about a fabulous new accessory for the New Year? We'll have lots of ideas for little luxuries--larger projects, too--that you can pick up to work on during the holidays. How about a little pampering for you?
Many, MANY of you have mentioned that you (or your husband--whoops!) have accidentally deleted the previous emails. Some of you have only just signed up for the newsletter (welcome, friends!) As of this writing, there are over 600 people that are on this email list, making it rather difficult to resend individual email newsletters. To make things easier, I've uploaded photos AND patterns to a photo album on my personal knitblog, The Land of Wool and Honey. You can always view the album and its contents by going here. (You may want to bookmark this site so you'll always have the address handy.)
Another tip for those of you who've got archaic printers like mine, or eyes that have a hard time seeing small print: instead of printing this email as you see it, try copying and pasting the text into a Microsoft Word document. That way, you can enlarge the font and change the color as you see fit. Life made easier.
If you've done this before, scroll down to reveal the pattern and yarn of the week. If you're new to the program, here's the deal: Every Thursday afternoon (or into the evening!), you'll receive a FREE pattern--either an Inish Knits original creation or from another clever online crafter--that we've deemed "do-able" within the course of a week. These patterns are super simple, and there's a reason. You've got kids. Sports. Dogs. You're working 40-plus hours a week. We want you to feel like you can actually get something done during these crazy weeks leading up to the holidays. (Sorry--there's nothing we can do about the 17 cookie exchanges you've got on the list!)
And that's not all. The yarn that's featured in each week's project is available at 20% OFF for the entire week*, so the projects are as easy on your wallet as they are on your brain. With 12 full weeks ahead of us, if you try your best to keep up, you'll have a nice collection of gifts come December 25th.
Feel free, too, to pick and choose patterns that you like--you may find you like some more than others. Or, stick with one pattern and knit 12 of those. No rules here--just fun. It's yarn, remember?
*Can't stop in to see us? Call (231) 228-2800--we ship near and far!
Colors Available (L to R): 103, 9, 78, 83, 85, 84, 91, 57, 90
A Chubby Little Stocking No time? No problem! If you've got a few hours to spare, you can knit this cute holiday keepsake that's just a little smaller than the traditional size. A chunky-weight Noro yarn does all the work by striping on its own and the bright colors are a funky take on a heirloom knit. This would be a great gift for knitters, too--stuff an Inish Knits gift certificate inside
if you're feeling extra jolly! Yarn: Noro Iro, 1 skein. (Sample knit in color 9)
Gauge: 3.5 sts per inch on US 10.5 needle
Leg
Cast on 32 sts. Join to begin knitting in the round, being careful not to twist sts. Work 6 rows in st st (knitting every row).
Eyelet Row:
*K2, yo, K2tog; repeat across row.
Continue working in st st until piece measures 6 inches from eyelet row.
Heel Flap
Setup Row:
Knit 8 sts, turn and p across 16 sts. Redistribute your sts so that there are 16 each on two needles. (The 16 sts you just purled are the heel sts, the other 16 are the instep sts-you'll come back to these later.)
Row 1: *sl 1, K1; repeat from * across row.
Row 2: *sl 1, p across row.
Repeat these 2 rows 7 more times. (There will be a total of 16 heel flap rows.)
Heel Turn
Next row: K10, ssk, K1, turn.
Next row: sl 1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn.
Next row: sl 1, k6, ssk, k1, turn.
Next row: sl 1, p7, p2tog, p1, turn.
Next row: sl 1, k8, k2tog, k1, turn.
Next row: sl 1, p8, p2tog, p1, turn. (10 sts)
Gusset
With needle 1, knit across the 10 heel flap sts, pick up and knit 8 sts along the side of the heel flap.
With needle 2, knit across held instep sts.
With needle 3, pick up and knit 8 sts along the other side of the heel flap and half the heel sts.
Your beginning and end of round is now at the center back of the heel.
Row 1:
Needle 1-K to the last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2-Knit all sts.
Needle 3-K1, ssk, k across remaining sts.
Row 2:
Knit all sts.
Repeat these 2 rows until 32 sts remain:
Needle 1-8 sts; Needle 2-16 sts; Needle 3-8 sts.
Continue in st st until piece measures 6 inches from the back of the heel.
Toe
Row 1:
Needle 1-K to the last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2-K1, ssk, knit to the last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
Needle 3-K1, ssk, k across remaining sts.
Row 2:
Knit all sts.
Repeat these 2 rows until 16 sts remain. (Needle 1-4 sts; Needle 2-8 sts; Needle 3-4 sts)
Repeat Row 1 until 8 sts remain. (Needle 1-2 sts; Needle 2-4 sts; Needle 3-2 sts).
Knit sts from Needle 1 onto Needle 3. Using the kitchener stitch, graft toe sts together. Weave in ends and lightly block.
I-Cord Loop
Cast on 3 sts. Work in I-Cord until piece measures 15". Bind off. Weave the I-Cord through the eyelet row and sew the two ends of the I-Cord together to create a continuous loop for hanging. Enjoy!
Abbreviations:
BO: bind off
CO: cast on
K: knit
K2tog: knit two stitches together
P: purl
psso: pass the slipped stitch over
sl: slip
st st: stockinette stitch
sts: stitches
YO: yarnover
*Just like all Inish Knits patterns, please feel free to pass this pattern along to as many friends as you'd like. Knit one for each of your 15 grandchildren. Please remember, though, that this pattern belongs to the shop and is protected by copyright--it is not to be knit for profit. But you knew that, right?
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I hope all of you are enjoying these wintry days. It really makes holiday preparation that much more festive when you've got icicles hanging from the rooftops and snow falling outside your window. Tonight, I'm off to decorate my Christmas tree--and after all the lights are lit, I'll sit back to admire it with a bit of knitting on my lap.
Best,
Melissa |
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