THAT Hat!

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"Bundle Up!"  The weather reporter folks say repeatedly each morning as I am trying to thaw my fingers though the car heater vents.  My house is like an igloo, albeit a very charming one, my car, which unhappily sits in the driveway overnight, hates mornings more than I do, and my office moves from 90 to 40 with no comfort in between.  Winter has settled in, and that really is OK with me...I don't mind winter but I do mind ALL the Bundle Up-ness that winter brings .  

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If I could sail through November to May with just a great big yummy sweater I would be happy.

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Maybe add a great cowl 

via Leslie Scanlon Reversible Rib Cowl

Or a cute pair of mittens

Tanis Gray Potpourri

...but A HAT??? Not me!!!  You would never catch me in a hat smooshed to my head and causing major electrified hair...not a hat for this cat! 

 via

 Well...maybe I am getting older, maybe my ears are cold, maybe the old wisdom that you lose most of your body heat through your head is finally sinking in...or maybe I am just loving all the cute hats that I see...You got it-I want a hat...

 via Wool and The Gang

...but not just any hat I want THAT HAT!  You know what happens you are quietly minding your business scrolling through Tumblr or Pinterest and BAM--there it is the thing that keeps you up at night and whispers---Knit me!  That is THAT HAT (the one at the top of the page) so Run for the Needles I will...Static Hair--who cares!  I gotta have THAT HAT!

..

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P.S. For a good pattern Option for THAT HAT! see CopyCat Hat

HyberKnitting-Run for the Needles!

 

via Gorsuch

There was a time that multiple newspapers and the background of news casts littered my days. I was a true news junkie. Maybe it is time, or the pace of the planet, or the simple overload of news noise as a bombardment of info- good, bad, and just dumb- come flying at us...the take away-- it's too scary out there!- 

Julia Bereciartu

What is it about October?  Always used to be my favorite month--gorgeous weather, crunchy leaves, color filling the landscape against crisp skies...then you turn on the news.

The world is spinning in a direction that I don't care to follow ...if you haven't listened or read the news of late--well don't! War, violence, disaster, terror, devastation and disease...and that is just in the first 2 minutes.

via Selvedge

The answer-  Tune out .. unplug... hide under the covers...and oh yeah-Run for the Needles!

via Vogue UK

 If ever there were a Run for the Needles Moment-this is it!  My answer in the end to all things insane-Run for the Needles!  I can't fix this planet, nor can I understand or control it.  Frustrating to say the least for someone who operates her life on the firm and proven belief that she can make everything work better.  So...I cast on.

via Loopy Mango

It is knitting season after all, so there really is no need for an excuse to find myself curled up with a pile of projects to be finished, and patterns to be plotted, while I binge-watch Gilmore Girls and remember why knitting matters!

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The rhythm of stitches moving off one needle to the next.  The feel of a gracious fiber around my fingers.  The satisfaction of watching fabric grow beneath my needles.  The joy that never grows old of seeing a series of simple knits and purls become a texture that is better than any comfort food...and perhaps most importantly these days, the knowledge that I can fix whatever doesn't come out right-if it needs to unravel,then I can knit it back in place-if only the world could be so easy!   What to knit?  Doesn't really matter-Just Knit! 

via Knitbaahpurl

Time to Cowl Up!

via beautifullife4me

February is a strange knitting month for me.  I am looking toward spring but not quite ready to cast on just yet and at the same time I am ready to move on from the bulkies.  What's an itchy sheep to do???  Cowl Up!

via fernibook

Quick, loopy,wrappy, happy and oh so useful--even on a warmer day when I may not wear a coat I pop on a cowl.

via Zsa Zsa Bellagio

The other thing I love about cowls is no matter your knitting mood you can cast on and be done quickly-

You can choose to KISS (keep it simple ...)

Gap-Tastic,Jen Geigley

... Play with Stitches

State Street Cowl,Pam Allen

...Toss in Some COLOR

World's Fair, Cathy Carron

...STRIPE it Up

Ships and Seaside, Tiny Owl Knits

...Open it up with graceful LACE

Imogen, Carrie Bostick Hoge

...or Get your CABLE on!

Millwater

Cowls of course are also a fabulous way to use up some stash--you know my stash theory-make a hole in it--go fill the hole :)   For some of my Favorite ways to Cowl UP-Come Visit Winding Yarn

via Americo Originals

Elementary Dear Watson, A Great CAPE-r!

Ralph Lauren

The new BBC/Masterpiece series Sherlock is a Veddy 21st century rendition of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous sleuth and his sidekick Dr. Watson... and there is not a cape, cloak, or pipe in view. Yet, the thought of Sherlock Holmes will always muster up a foggy night, a horse drawn carriage and a of course a good CAPE-r!

 Though I do not have the stature to carry off most capes I have always loved the look-could be because one of my fashion design heroines is the great Bonnie Cashin who brought the cape and cloak to icon status along with her signature toggles and Coach bags.

 (Alexander Wang,Missoni,Chloe)

Capes, Cloaks and Capelets are in every collection this year for day, weekend, evening...the perfect accent. Many are reminiscent of the great Bonnie Cashin with classic styling while others are all about the drama!  The definition of a cape can range from a full buttoned or single button  cloak/wrap to a shoulder shrug...some have a deep dolman some of have peek holes or deep slits for hands and some are just a grand rectangle that wraps you up.  Of course I have my eye on the Knitwear styles in Capes---

 (Assos,Chanel)

I am ready to be enveloped and get these on the needles...

(Rowan)
Come Visit Winding Yarn for some great inspiration and patterns to knit the perfect CAPE-r  and
Visit The Shopping Bag Chronicles for more of my favorite reasons to Wrap me Up! from the Runway!

Yarn -The New Spray Paint

As knitters we see yarn and its potential everywhere and know that yarn can make any day better. Look at how yarn is being used to knit the world together--through personal expression, political statements, street art...yarn is embellishing the planet and turns out to be the best spray paint! as artists and activists move from the paint can to the skein to express their art and opinion and brighten up the dull corners. Yarn Bombing or Yarn Storming is the new graffiti!!  Don't you know a spot that could use a little yarn lift??!!

An EARLY Fall-Run for the Needles!

Hurricane Earl is spinning its way to our Labor Day weekend--though it looks at the moment as if Earl has decided that we can put the boats back in the water tomorrow and squeeze a few last precious days of sand between our toes, the potential for a hunker down day the first week of September has me thinking its time to knit fall!  First the Inspiration...Chunky, Cabled, Fresh Classic...(Pringle ,Marc Jacobs,Stella McCartney)

Through the hot hot summer tweeds, alpacas, crunchy wools just didn't even tempt...but as I turned the page to September (even though it was 92 at the time) I realized--I am way behind! and it is time to Run for the Needles!  Stay tuned for what I'm Queuing for Cast On...(Vogue Knitting,Tahki)