Peeper-lou has reached her hand in and drawn the names of Turtle and Shoeless Val. Congrats, my state of stash tumescence is your gain! My stash will be two skeins lighter as of tomorrow afternoon, when I will be sending the last remaining skeins of Opal to their new owners who will love them and treat them right.
Hey--there's a new gimmick around this joint. It involves getting stunningly gorgeous French grad students with perfect skin and shiny hair to model my FOs! Since Tween Thing is never speaking to me again, I needed to get some new talent for my knitting dog and pony show. And so without further ado, I present my latest FO, the Koolhaas hat. I loved this hat so much, as it has the Shedir lite vibe (meaning less complicated and more memorizable).
In fact I loved this pattern so much, I made two of them:
The Specs
Pattern: Koolhaas pattern, you know where to find it (IK Holiday 07)
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Worsted in Cranberry (red) and Shokay Shambala in Regal (purple)
Needles: size 8 addis
Mods: None, absolutely none. Please people, we're talking about Jared here!
These Koolhaas hats will now conclude my knitting for myself routine, as it's time for a Holidays Knitting Interlude. Too late in the game, you might be thinking? Wrong. My handknit prezzies won't be a complicated affair as we'll be sticking strictly with ball-band dishcloths, ultra basic mittens and hats, like this one.
I am very curious, what is your go-to handknit, present-in-a-jiffy pattern?
yeah yeah yeah!! So cool! I have been knitting up a storm and have finished many projects on my wish list..making spots for new yarn and projects! This will be put to good use, and well loved! Thank you! My daughter thinks it's cool your a french prof!
ReplyDeleteThose hats are fab!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I don't really have a standard, jiffy go-to gift pattern. But hats are always a good bet! You don't usually have to stress over size, it's easy to figure out a pattern that suits the recipient, and they almost always knit up in a day or two.
I've been humming and hawing about the holiday issue. That hat might be the clincher.
ReplyDeleteScarves [or neck-warmers]! In stocking stitch, of course. And made with wool from Habu. :)
ReplyDeleteNora
I'm going with the neckwarmer as well. In fact, I made one tonight! Lovely, lovely hats!
ReplyDeleteI gotta go with the plain ole garter stitch scarf. Worked in a chunky handpainted yarn, it looks like something you'd spend a bundle on at Anthropologie. And I can knit it without looking, meaning I can multitask.
ReplyDeleteMy go-to gift this year has been the striped Noro scarf. Four so far. Someday I'll make one for myself :) Sor a slightly lesser gift, it has been Calorimetry, either out of Noro leftovers or Paton's Soy Wool Stripes. In the summer it was the ball band dishcloth. And for babies it is always the Mason-Dixon Bib o' Love.
ReplyDeleteLove your hats and models!
The Opal sock yarn arrived today. It is great. Since I have sworn off knitting on toothpick-thickness needles ("Life is too short to knit on 0s or 1s." -- kmkat) I plan to double strand it with a solid color, maybe a medium denim color. Yum!
They looks great! I don't really have a present-in-a-jiffy pattern. I will generally knock out something in worsted weight yarn though.
ReplyDeleteHats, hats, hats!! They are quick and who doesn't need one or two more?
ReplyDeleteLucky you fining a new model! The Koolhaas hats look great!
ha...the relationship between mothers and daughters. :)
ReplyDeletelovely lovely koolhas.
and your models look fresh and happy.....!
my go-to is a basic fingerless glove. one that looks perfect tied together with a ribbon. all done in stockinette. not at all fancy. but perfect to wear.
Beautiful hats! I have some Cascade 220 in stash that might HAVE to become this hat!
ReplyDeleteMy go-to handknit gift is a pair of socks, which I might add, are not presents-in-a-jiffy. Must work on this! I want to cast on for a Koolhas but I still have a Shedir in my UFO pile...
ReplyDeleteThose hats are really kool (hee). I think I'll have to try one AFTER the holiday knitting madness is over.
ReplyDeleteNo standard go-to pattern which might be the problem for me.
Love the Koolhaas hats! The Shokay Shambala looks particularly soft and delicious. I made one Endpaper mitt for my mom about 6 months ago and promised to finish the pair by Christmas. Now I can't find it. So my go to substitute is a pair of Fetchings.
ReplyDeleteGreat hats & models!! I still want to make that one sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteWell, my go-to handknit present-in-a-jiffy is currently Fetching. I know it's a bit old knit for most of you guys, and I *am* sort of running out of people to give it to, but man I can whip those out fast. And the pattern's pretty easy too ;)
knittymuggins
I just started my holiday knitting too. It's never too late. My go to gifts are mistake rib scarves. They knit quickly and mindlessly but look much more complicated than they rightfully should.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I'm with Kristin -- that hat might just be the thing that gets me to buy the IK Holiday issue. I particularly love the Cranberry one.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a go-to knitting pattern for a gift, though for something REALLY small I've been known to knit a little soap holder and give it with a bar of lovely soap. Kinda dull, though.
I love to make the Maple Seed Hat (you can find it on Ravelry it is free)
ReplyDeleteThey work up in about two hours, but are fairly feminine.
Scarfs are great too! LOL
Hats are my favorite last-minute project these days! I always have enough good yarn in my stash to whip one out posthaste!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful (and expertly-modeled) Koolhaas! I love them so much I might have to frog my Shokay Shambala neckwarmer and cast on for a Koolhaas . . . hmmmm
Your Koolhaas' are fabulous!! Nice colors and models! My go to quick project this year has been Kolenya mitts - practical and fast:)
ReplyDeleteHooray for those fantastic hats!! I generally love hats, mitts/mittens, and thick slipper-socks for quick gifts. Of course, my version of "quick"seems to be somewhat unusual. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the Koolhaus hats! I don't really have a go to pattern... hmmm... maybe I should.
ReplyDeleteOoo, nice hats. My go-to this year has been the Helping Hat that was posted by canKnitian. I believe I am currently working on the 6th one right now. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteI am obsessed with those hats. My go-to present -- for a baby, Handle by Larissa Brown. Other than that --?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how if this qualifies as in-a-jiffy, but I've been knitting up a Brea bag and I'm very pleased with how impressive it's looks like it will be. I'm on my second evening of knitting, and I think one more night, and I'll have it done.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the yarn! It's so fun to win a prize.
I am absolutely in love with Koolhaas! LOVE IT! Haven't made one yet. My go-to quickie gifts are fingerless mitts or a plain rolled brim hat.
ReplyDeleteThis http://knitonecrochettoo.com/PatternPages/1000_ribbontriangles.htm is my go-to pattern. It takes 2 skeins of Tartelette, which most of my LYS carry, and I've timed it - I can make one in 3 hours as I made one start to finish on a flight from ORD to LAX.
ReplyDeleteLovely, lovely hats! I don't have a go-to pattern, because, as the founder of the No Knitted Gifts! movement, I feel obligated to set a good example.
ReplyDeleteLove. Them.
ReplyDeleteYeah my handknit gift plan is not working out so well - I swore this year I wouldn't do any and now it's a week before Christmas and I've changed my mind and am buried in half finished gifts. D'oh!
I've been seeing that hat all over the place lately - it sure is a winner!! So pretty.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm trying to crank out mini-stocking ornaments (based on the pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts) to slap on cookie plates in the hope of making them look like a less lame gift. :)
Love, love, love your Koolhaases. You are sooooo my enabler. Just finished 3 meatheads and now I'm onto Koolhaases.
ReplyDeleteI love these hats! You are so sweet to give these away!
ReplyDeleteSince I tend to complicate everything, I do not have a present in a jiffy pattern. Although the urchin hat/beret I just completed only took 3 days to complete. 1 day if you just sit and do it.
ReplyDeleteI have to plan out my holiday knitting and start in september :)
Love the koolhaases? koolhaas'? koolhaas? Hmm. Well, love 'em, whatever the plural form is!
ReplyDeleteI finally managed to get my hands on a copy of the Holiday IK, so one of these is DEFINITELY in my future (in the beloved mmmmMalabrigo)!
My go-to quick gifts are hats, of all varieties. The thicker the yarn, the faster the knit, but which pattern I choose usually depends on how much time I've got! One day? bulky yarn! (probably YH's unoriginal hat) 2 days? worsted! (foliage! or a classic ribbed hat) 3 days? DK weight it is! (Odessa and some beautiful beads!)
You have so much time for Christmas knitting! I mean seriously? Between now and Tuesday you have something like 150 hours. That is plenty of time... go to knits? Thinks that feature bulky yarn. Yeah.
ReplyDeletei'm so in love with those hats. just so perfect.
ReplyDeleteI love that cranberry colorway! GORGEOUS!
ReplyDeleteLooks good on you ;)
ReplyDelete