Winter Knitting Projects part 2

I've been busy knitting projects after Christmas. I guess I'm a little obsessed with the color grey! Currently I am working on two other grey projects! I can't help myself!

This is a cable pocket shawl made out of a warm alpaca yarn.





I love wrapping myself up in this cozy shawl. It's perfect for brisk winter days!

 

Grey hat for me, grey hat for my husband


 

This is probably the best angle to really see this hat. It's a cable slouchy hat knit in Berroco Flicker. 




This is probably my new favorite yarn. I love the silver specks!

Steve modeling his warm hat.




Winter Knitting Projects Part 1

Thanks to this incredibly snowy, cold winter we've had, I've been quite a productive knitter. These are the projects I knit for Christmas gifts. I also knit a scarf for my sister in law but forgot to take a picture of it. 

Hat I knit for my nephew Otis in 3 days! Love this easy care merino yarn!

Otis modeling his hat on Christmas morning.

Twirly, watermelon skirt for my niece, Ruby. I knit this in a cotton yarn and it has an elastic waistband. 

 

Ballerina wrap sweater for my niece, Lucia that took me a lot longer than 3 days!

I love this bow! Pink green polka dot perfection!

My nieces love their new hand knit clothes as much as they love each other. 

Knitting is the perfect distraction



Sweater Dress I knit for Ruby's 2 year bday gift!



So since the title of my blog is "The Knitty Gritty" I decided to write a little about knitting. I started knitting 3 years ago just when I was in the beginning stages of CFS. I needed a stress relieving hobby. I knew that stress was making my health worse. I signed up for a basic class and started my very first scarf. My first project was a simple scarf, all done in garter stitch. I was immediately addicted. I loved how I could curl up, relax and knit. My husband's lazy boy chair quickly became my knitting chair. Sorry honey! After that first project, I learned how to purl. I believe my third project was a baby sweater for my niece Ruby and so I learned how to do shaping. After that it was a blur of projects where I learned how to knit cables (so easy!), seed stitch (not my favorite), knit a herringbone pattern (hurt my hands), and I recently even learned how to finish a sweater and put it together myself! I clearly fell in love with knitting. I used to knit one project at a time when I first started. Now I think I have 3-5 projects going at a time. It's crunch time where I'm frantically trying to finish Christmas presents. Yesterday I spent 4 hours in the knitting store doing the finishing a ballerina wrap sweater for my niece, Lucia. Even though it's exhausting to be in the store for that long, it's also fun. I love chatting with other knitters and I like having the support!





This is a cable baby blanket that I knit for my sister's baby shower gift. At the time, we didn't know if she was having  a girl or boy, so I stuck with a neutral color. I loved this cable pattern.

 

I love knitting projects for people. Seeing a picture of my other niece, Ruby, in her sweater dress or my nephew, Otis, in his striped sweater makes me so happy. I recently even taught Otis how to knit! It's so much more special to give someone a gift that you have made. And with this illness where I can easily focus on what I can't do, I like to feel productive with knitting projects. It's nice to know I'm capable of creating beautiful sweaters, scarves, hats, ponchos, and blankets for people I love. (and for myself too ;)







This is a cable infinity scarf that I knit for myself last year! I absolutely love it! The best part about knitting is when people ask you, "Where did you buy that?"