It feels like this year the holiday season is coming fast and furious. We hope that in the midst of searching for your must-have recipes for those holiday dinners and locating the cherished decorations you have out every year, you find more than a few moments with your yarn and needles (or hooks). Here are just a few of our favorite knitting staples and classics, most enjoyable when worked in your favorite Green Mountain Spinnery yarns.
Hats are a great “go-to” project for knitters of all abilities. The construction is usually similar between different designs but there is room for modifications or improvisations to create something totally unique. The Warmest Winter Hat, designed by Spinnery friend John Crane in three different weights, is a reversible hat for the person who’s a bit buttoned-down on the outside but jazzy on the inside. It will keep the head toasty-warm on the coldest and windiest days of winter. The only hat s/he’ll ever want to wear! Pictured in Alpaca Elegance and (far left). The Ascutney Mountain Hat & Earwarmer prototype was “borrowed” by our staff members for ski outings to various mountains! This classic design by Melissa Johnson is warm and flattering hat with a cabled band that is knit sideways and an attractive double decrease at the crown. The cabled band can be knit alone to wear as an earwarmer. Pictured in Lichen Weekend Wool (center left). Hopefully you could find time to devote one pleasant evening to knitting and end up with this versatile Beret! A seed stitch band snugs over the ears on a winter’s day, or fits comfortably on the crown of a lucky head. Pictured in Pistachio Mountain Mohair (center right). Riley’s Hat is a design by Maureen Clark for her grandson. This retro-styled hat with earflaps ties under the chin to stay on through all sorts of winter fun. Pictured in Blue Opal and Rose Quartz Sylvan Spirit (far right).
Portable projects are wonderful to keep with you when you have to wait for something. These could be the hats we mentioned above but socks, mittens, or scarves are also great choices. Isabelle Hegemann, also known as IBH, had twenty-six grandchildren and great-grandchildren and knit socks for each of them annually. Her step-by-step teaching pattern, IBH’s Toasty Socks , will have you confidently knitting a rib pattern in the round on double-pointed needles, turning a heel, and finishing the toe with kitchener stitch. Pictured in Natural Grey and White Vermont Organic (left). Little Hands, designed by Cap Sease, are quick knit mittens for the younger set. You can make a pair with each chart for your favorite child. Pictured in various colors of Mountain Mohair (center). There’s no denying the appeal of the Simple Pleasures Scarf constructed in garter stitch on the diagonal. What could be more simple, yet simply elegant? Any of our soft yarns will do – Mountain Mohair, Green Mountain Green or Alpaca Elegance. Pictured in Vincent’s Gold Mountain Mohair (right).
What are the projects you turn to again and again? There are many more patterns to choose from on our website, including Green Mountain Weekend, our new ebook! We’d love to hear about them in our Ravelry group, on our Facebook page, or even by Tweet! Check out our Pinterest boards for even more project and pattern inspiration!