I definitely count myself as one amongst the accessories knitter. I have knit a few sweaters, some blankets, some skirts, but I ALWAYS come back to the accessory. Hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, who doesn’t like an accessory?! I have kind of a plain jane wardrobe so jazzing up my life with some colourful or textured knits is a fine way to keep things fresh. I’m also thoroughly enjoying baby accessory knitting, my child will never be without a pompom hat it seems…..

If you are buying for an accessory knitter this year I recommend both of Ysolda Teague’s books. They are full of beautiful hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, toys…what more can a girl ask for? My favorite knits are Kynna’s fingerless gloves from Whimsical Little Knits. A skein of Shibui’s Staccato (a silk blend sock yarn), some needles, and some matching buttons makes a great gift.

For a scarf sized Ishbel shawl (also from Whimsical Little Knits) all you need is one skein of SweetGeorgia Cashluxe Fine. This is a new yarn around the shop, it’s a combination of Merino, Cashmere, and Nylon making it soft but washable. One skein makes the smaller sized Ishbel on 4mm needles and I highly recommend the pointy tipped Addi Lace needles for this project. They make everything run so smoothly.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the stocking. I’ve found over time that different families have quite different traditions regarding this iconic item. My aunty and cousins wrap every little thing in the stocking and the whole thing has to cost less than $30. Mostly it gets filled with toiletries, perhaps a book, that kind of thing. Also, everyone contributes to the stocking. In my family, even though we are all growed up, my mummy is the queen of the stocking. Our stockings can sometimes include the major present of the year (especially as electronics get smaller and smaller), nothing is wrapped, and I honestly can’t remember the last time everything even fit in my stocking!

Amanda has created this beautiful stocking that has all the features I look for in a proper stocking. It’s big. This is a must to fit as much loot as possible into the actual stocking. It’s also felted so it’s strong enough to hold all Christmas booty and still hang by the fire for Santa. It also has my current favorite, the pompom! These are some pretty serious pompoms too. They are so big and fluffy they look like snowballs. Adorable. The second most charming part of this stocking is the seussical looking tail. It has a stiff wire in it so it stays nice and curly. It’s just lovely and it really reminds me of the Grinch. Knit one of these lovelies up in whatever colour scheme suits you. We have many suitable felting yarns, including the mother of all felting yarns: Cascade. I like the look of a felted hand dye, it really adds a new depth and I’ve recently seen some gorgeous tweeds felted up. There are lots to choose from!

With the holiday knitting season in full swing there are so many great little projects to be made for friends and family. One of my favorites of the moment is the hat and I’ve been particularly smitten with the pompom embellishment. Pompom’s are also a lovely ornament, wrapping embellishment, or perhaps (if you are feeling ambitious) a garland! My husband asked me yesterday if all hats made for our child HAD to have a pom pom. Yes, I answered. Yes they do.

There are a couple of ways to put together a pompom but my personal favorite is via the Pompom Maker by Clover. I’ve been told you can make a pompom using cardboard but I find the Clover version super easy and it makes a nice even pompom with a good spherical shape. The mechanism itself, however, does not appear easy to use on first glance so I thought I might try to simplify with this little pompom tutorial. Thanks for being my lovely assistant Kynna!

Step 1: Get yourself some yarn and a pompom maker (there are 4 sizes, this is the 2nd largest)

Step 2: open the maker and start wrapping the yarn around one side.

Step 3: Wrap wrap wrap! Even though it feels like the pompom is eating yarn, you really want a nice full pompom so create a nice thick layer.

Step 4: Close the first side and open the second side. Wrap your yarn around the second side to about the same thickness as the first.

Step 5: Close the second side. You will now have a nice full pompom maker.

Step 6: Take your scissors and cut as seen below.

Step 7: Take a piece of yarn and tie it around the middle of the pompom maker.

Step 8: Open both sides of the maker.

Step 9: Pull the maker apart and release the pompom!

Done!

Last Wednesday I had the honour of meeting one of my knitting heroes, Debbie Stoller (perhaps I mentioned her?). Not only did she tell us all about her latest book, but how she got started in the knitting world. I was riveted. I was weaving in the ends on the sweater I knit from Superstar Knitting, listening to a very interesting woman talk about  knitting, it was heaven.

I wasn’t the only one thrilled to meet Debbie and have her sign my book, all the Urban Yarns ladies were in fine form. Sara even managed to knit the top she is wearing in the picture in only a couple of weeks. It was blocking the night before! Sandra, the queen of cables, knit up a beautiful tomato red dress in only 2 days! Some serious knitters around here I tell ya!

I must say I was totally lame and blurted out ‘You’re the reason I started knitting cool things!’ as soon I sat down at the signing table. What a dork. I was in good company though! Venus had Debbie sign her copy of Bust magazine (another of Debbie’s endeavours) and everyone was excited to meet the knitting guru.

There is something about a simple, beautiful design, paired with super soft and brilliantly coloured yarn that really turns me into a copycat knitter. It’s like I see the knit wear and I can’t think of anything else until I’ve cast it on! Meet the Honey Cowl. KT (a knitting machine with excellent taste we’ve come to know and love on Friday nights. You can check her out on her chic blog here) brought in this stunning cowl and I spent most of last Friday night feeling the soft soft yarn and thinking about all the colours I would knit this same cowl in. I briefly entertained the idea of absconding with the brilliant blue knit, but immediately dismissed the idea as a karmic no no.

The thing about this cowl is that the already nice yarn was even nicer once it was knit up. Is this possible? It was as if the pattern/yarn combination was equal to more than the sum of its parts. Strange knitting voodoo. Hmmm, just read back over this and it seems a bit gushy and obsessive but that’s just how I feel about this cowl. KT knit hers up in the Aslan Trends Royal Alpaca, 2 skeins, but it’s a cowl so you could really knit it up in almost any yarn. If you wanted a chunky version you could just take out some stitches or give your cowl and extra wrap. The possibilities are pretty much endless. I do, however, recommend a yarn with good stitch definition, like the Aslan Trends, to show off the pretty stitch pattern.

To knit up a Honey Cowl of your very own you will need

Yarn: About 350-400 yards of a DK weight yarn (20-22 stitches per 4″)

Needles: 5mm circular needles

Pattern: can be found for free here