Yup, it’s been non-stop knitting over here. I’m finishing things, starting things. Knitting ALL THE THINGS. And I’ve started a December knitting obsession. Here’s the rundown:

The Finished Things

I finished the Helleborus Hat by Kirsten Kapur.

I can’t say enough how much I love the Alpaca Merino DK yarn by Periwinkle Sheep. (I mistakenly said it was the Delirium yarn last time.) So nice to work with – so soft and it will make this hat so warm!

I have mentioned that this is a pretty fussy pattern (for me) because of the many cables. It took me a long time to get the hang of them, but when I did, the pattern went much faster and it was so worth it. I love this hat!

I also finished my Apple Blossom Socks by Helen Stewart.

I love them! Here is what they looked like before blocking:

Yarn is Hedgehog Fibers Sock in the Apple Blossom colorway.

The In-Progress Thing

I picked up my Chaga shawl by Leila Raven after putting it down some time ago (I started it November 10, 2019). It’s going to be a nice, big cozy shawl.

I saw this shawl on Ravelry in the new patterns section and just loved it. The only “problem” was that it was in a book To the Point: The Knitted Triangle and you have to buy the book to get the pattern.

I bought the book. At that time, I had only glanced at the other patterns — I just knew I had to knit this. Turns out, there are many other beautiful patterns in the book so it made the purchase that much more worth it!

I am knitting this with Berroco Ultra Wool which I love. I used this yarn to make my Ribbon Wrap too (that link takes you to the Ravelry pattern page – I can’t find a picture of my finished wrap!). It is 100% superwash wool so it’s washable!

I’d say my Finish My WIPs project is going along very well! I’m trucking along on this now and hope to be done pretty soon. However…. my December knitting obsession might hinder progress.

December Knitting Obsession

Slippers!

My friend Robin held a Zoom slipper talk on Friday night through The Spinning Room yarn shop, and it got me inspired to make them. Actually, ahead of the talk, she texted some patterns that were on sale and I bought them and some yarn to make them immediately. Robin is such an enabler. As are all of my knitting peeps and I love them for it.

So the slippers above are Mine by Faye Kennington and they are so, So , SO comfy! They can be made without the cable on top and there are instructions for adding the ribbed cuff (as I did) as opposed to a garter stitch cuff. Definitely making more of these because the pair only took me about 3 1/2 hours yesterday! A super-quick knit.

But first, I’m trying out the Woodland Loafers by Claire Slade.

Haven’t gotten far with this one yet, but as soon as I’m done with this post, I’ll be back at it! They look like they will be nice and cozy too!

I’ve got plans for several more of both of these patterns:

And There’s More…

So in addition to knitting, I put up our Christmas tree:

Ha! But don’t worry, we are giving it some love and I’ll show you what that grows into. (We went to Gade Farm to pick out a “real” tree and got some piping hot cider donuts. OMG they are yummy fresh out of the fryer… if you are local, you should go.)

I also tried out a new recipe: Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies from Smitten Kitchen. O…..M……G….!

These are so good. The recipe calls for making your own salted butter caramel (mmmmmmmm…….) but, as she says in the recipe, it is pretty easy and doesn’t take long. An extra step, but so, So, SO worth it.

Besides all of the ingredients being my favorites (chocolate, caramel, pretzels), the other thing that made me want to try this is that she says they ship well. I might try to package some since we won’t be doing any visiting this Christmas.

They came out great and were taste-tested with a very positive review from Paul, so you should try them!

Stay tuned for slipper progress… let’s see how many I make before my obsession wanes…

Let me know in the comments if you are making slippers or if you think you’ll try the blondies!!