What the HK is on your Needles? Vol. 5

I can't believe this is Volume 5 already. Time flies when you've got beautiful knits to document. And this week is certainly no exception.

I thought this time I would highlight some recently completed projects. These project vary dramatically but you can really see the versatility of HK Artisan Sock yarn.

First up is Erin (ravname: ErinB) with her gorgeous sweater, Candelia. It took Erin only 2.3 skeins of Chocoberry to knit up this stunner.



Adrienne (ravname: wdripp) knit up a snuggly Sprout hat in Euphorbia. There is nothing more precious than a sleeping baby, except a sleeping baby wearing knitwear.



Marianne (ravname: mariannem) used some leftover Greenlake to knit her Dolly a beautiful Spring dress. Does this come in my size?



And of course, Artisan Sock is great for socks too. Terri (ravname: Terri32) knit up a pair of Spring Blooms as part of the Solid Socks Ravelry group's April-May Mystery sock. Mystery solved! They are lovely!



Not to be outdone, Stephanie (ravname: verybusymonkey) designed an amazing pair of socks in Violeta. Called Pythagoras, these socks are available for sale on Ravelry now. Keep your eye on Stephanie, she will be the Mystery designer for a future HK Knitalong on Ravelry.



And finally, Ange's (ravname: chasingbunnies) socks Take the blue line to the green line caught my attention for her whimsical photos. She took these photos on the Metro on the way home from a Stitch n Pitch event.



She was kind enough to send me a close up as well (the pattern is Charybolis). Love the bunnies!



Thank you to everyone for allowing me to share their projects. I am constantly inspired to knit more.

What the HK is on Viki's Needles?

Knitting time has been at a premium this week, but I have managed to squeak in a few minutes here and there and was able to start my second Anne Hanson project for the Ravelry Knitalong. Anne has such a beautiful and diverse selection of patterns, it wasn't easy to choose. This time I went in a completely different direction and chose to knit Anne's latest pattern, Miss Doolittle, in HK Artisan sock in the club colour, Pick Me.



I think this is going to look fabulous with my hot pink winter coat. I'll be sure to post more pictures as I progress.

Also, this week, I launched a new mitten pattern called Wintry. Wintry has a long ribbed cuff and a gusseted thumb, providing a comfy fit. I knit my pair in HK Entice MCN in Vamp. My mother knit hers in Artisan Sock in the club colour, Starry Night, and proceeded to wear hers all Spring. I was lucky to get photos!







Wintry is available for purchase on Ravelry and in the Hazel Knits Store.

Speaking of my mother, I spent a little time with her this weekend and played around in her garden with the macro lense. Such a beautiful time of year (when it isn't pouring rain, like it is today).

Punch and Judy, Take 2

Color and pattern details here. Rav page here. I can't wait to wear it!

What the HK is on your Needles Vol. 4

In April of this year, at least two Ravelry group ran Knitalongs featuring the pattern Mona by the amazing sock designer, Cookie A. Mona is a pattern from Cookie's latest book, Knit.Sock.Love, a must have book for your knitting book collection. In the book, the sample of Mona is knit in Hazel Knits Artisan sock, and, as a result, several HK versions of Mona were completed over the last couple of months. I thought it would be fun to highlight a few of those projects and see how the pattern knits up in the various different colours.

Hannah (ravname: chanala) knit her Mona's in a recent HK club colour, Pick Me. I'm currently knitting with this colour now, and love Hannah's choice.



Tash (ravname: Coxabey) chose to knit her Mona's in another club colour, Cloudy Day. They look gorgeous hanging out in the garden.



Arlene (ravname: arlenemarie) went for an older club colour (I'm seeing a trend here) and knit her Mona's in Mango Smoothie. You can really see the pattern definition in this colour.



Sarah (ravname: sarahbelle) knit her Mona's in a regular colour, Pacific and they look great!



Jill (ravname: fruitbat) knit her Mona's in Lochness and called them "Where's Nessie?" I'm a huge fan of Lochness. I love the mottled colours and they look fantastic in this sock.



And finally, Erin (ravname: erinkramer) chose to follow Cookie's example and knit her Mona's in Jay Blue. They look just as good as the models in the book.



Thanks to everyone for allowing me to share their projects. Mona (and most of Cookie's socks) are on my "to knit" list.

Punch and Judy Take 1

Why, as a matter of fact I do have a project off the needles. Huzzah!

Punch and Judy by Knitspot in High OcTANG DK Lively.

After it's had a good soak I'll use my new blocking wires to stretch it out and spiff it up. Stay tuned!

What the HK is on Viki's needles?

As predicted, I finished my Inky Dinky baby sweater in Artisan Sock in Camelia as part of the current HK/Anne Hanson KAL on Ravelry. I think it is going to make an absolutely precious baby shower gift. I'll probably add a little sleeper to complete the gift.



One thing I learned while knitting this, is that Anne Hanson (and her technical editor) is a genius. This pattern has so much going on at one time (and in about six sizes as well) but it all comes out perfectly in the end if you follow the directions to the letter. I almost whooped out loud when I got to the end of the yoke section and had the exact right number of stitches remaining.

I wouldn't say the pattern is particularly difficult in terms of knitting skills but you have to be able to focus over some pretty long rows while reading three charts at the same time and coordinating a number of decreases. I had to bust out my highlighters and a number of stitch markers to keep track of everything. Preparation and reading each section in full before beginning is the key. In the end, I feel pretty smart myself for getting it done and it was definitely worth the effort. The pattern is flawless.



My big problem, as usual came with the button selection. I never know if I should go matchy matchy or for contrasting impact. In this case, I've obviously gone for matchy matchy. I thought contrast would take away from the beauty of the sweater, especially on a sweater of this size.

And since the Ravelry KAL has really just gotten underway (it runs until the end of June - check it out - there are prizes!) I've already selected my next Anne Hanson pattern. Coming up next will be one of her latest patterns, Miss Doolittle, a fantastic looking lace scarf which I will be knitting in Pick Me from the February club package. And I have no fear, that no matter how complicated the pattern is, Anne will guide me through it with ease. I can't wait to get started!

What the HK is on your Needles? Vol.3

In February, (okay, it was probably March, thank you very much Canada Customs) a beautiful hint of Spring arrived on my doorstep (okay, it was actually in the superbox on the corner). Just what I needed during the dreary Winter that didn't seem like it was ever going to end (and still doesn't today).

The club contained two beautiful colours: Pick Me and Good Morning. I instantly fell in love with Pick Me and figured it would be the crowd favourite.



Wendee has a special knack with yellows and oranges, and Good Morning was the perfect yellow, but I had a harder time envisioning it as a finished knit garment. What would I knit with it? Wasn't it too sunny for socks? I could see it as a baby sweater. What would others do?

Well, imagine my surprise as more and more finished projects started showing up in Good Morning. And apparently it is not too sunny for socks. There were socks galore!

This week lets have a look at how some other Hazel Knuts chose to knit up their sunny skeins of Good Morning.

First up is Alison (ravname: skeeverfish) and her amazing Hearts and Flowers Socks, or, as she calls them, Yellow Mango Socks. I love a picot cuff.



Karen (ravname: Kaparoo) choose to knit the TTL Mystery Socks, which she happily calls A Cheery Good Morning to Me.



The next three Hazel Knuts all knit the March Sock Knitters Anonymous Mystery Sock, Cadence Socks.

Here is Cheerful Morning, by Jean (ravname: MissFrances), out for a stroll in the yard.



Becki (ravname: muddyrd) took her SKA Mystery Socks out on the deck for a photoshoot.



And bnich (ravname) kept her SKAMAR11 socks inside for their glamour shots.



This colour was obviously a perfect choice for the Mystery Sock. And I am sold that this colour definitely works for socks.

But it wasn't all socks. At least one other person saw what I originally saw in this happy yellow colour. Canoekey (ravname) knit up this sweet Fiesta Frock, which she calls her Sunny Day Frock. Isn't it just precious? The daisy buttons are just perfect!



Thanks to everyone for allowing me to share their projects and for convincing me that yellow socks are okay.

I wonder what my skein of Good Morning will end up being?

Next time I'll show you my latest finished project.

The Dude abides.

Did you know that Hazel Knits is also on Facebook? You can follow new posts and tidbits of information here.

I follow a variety of yarn companies and knitwear designers on FB. Vogue Knitting always links up to great articles and just yesterday they linked up to this article, which lead me to this sweater, which I SO WANT TO KNIT!

What makes it even more appealing to me is that this pattern is offered by local knitwear designer Andrea Rangel. It cracks me up a bit that she took the time to dissect this sweater into a pattern for the masses. And I'm glad she did! Be sure to check out her fantastic original designs as well. And color Hazel Knits tickled - she has a new design coming this summer using Artisan Sock! Woot!

On a different note, Melissa Goodale (aka Stick Chick Knits) patterns will soon be available on the Hazel Knits website - both in print and download-able formats. Stay tuned. :)

What the HK is on your Needles? Vol. 2

This week we are highlighting projects finished during our recent Ravelry Knitalong featuring patterns by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops. Kirsten has a number of beautiful patterns that naturally resulted in a lovely set of finished projects.

First up today, we have Dburns' Snow Drops & Snap Peas in Artisan Sock in a recent club colour, Meadow. A perfect pairing for Spring.



Kathleen (ravname: tincantextiles) knit a gorgeous Hamamelis shawl in Artisan Sock in Evergreen. It looks gorgeous blowing in the breezes.



Christine (ravname: Avalanche) impressed us with her Apollo & Artemis socks in Artisan Sock in Leaf. These socks look like the only signs of Spring amongst the late snow in Labrador. Hopefully Christine is finally getting a taste of the real thing.



Lisa (ravname: lstichweh) knit a beautiful Lavalette shawl in Entice in Blacklight. The cashmere must feel amazing around her neck.



Next up is Laura (ravname: Craftycatrina) with another beautiful Hamamelis shawl. This one is knit in Artisan sock in Belle. Lovely!



And finally, Dorie (ravname: Sweetbeej) combined Good Morning and Pick Me from the February club instalment with Kirsten's Andrea's Shawl and came up with her Good Morning Shawl. Fabulous work!



Thanks to everyone for allowing me to feature their projects and to Kirsten Kapur for the beautiful patterns. It was a fun KAL with lots of beautiful finished projects. I'm glad everyone that could, joined us.

I'll be back soon with more HK knits. What the HK is on your needles?

What the HK is on Viki's needles?

Last time around we got to see what was on a few of the Hazel Knuts needles, now let's go have another look at mine.

This time, I'm busy working on a project for our current HK Ravelry group KAL featuring patterns by Anne Hanson. I've chosen to knit Inky Dinky, an adorable baby cardigan, in one of the latest club colours, Camellia.



So far, I've completed the sleeves and started on the body. I'm making the 6 month size as a shower present for one of my closest friends. She just found out she is a having a girl and I immediately cast on in the prettiest pink I could find. I think it is going to be the perfect gift.

Here's a close up of the beautiful lace pattern.



Now on to the body. The body has three charts going at once, so I might wait until my headcold eases just to make sure I'm able follow along correctly.

I also recently released another pattern of my own. Inspired by Wendee's beautiful Loosey Juicy, I would like to present Kirju.



Kirju is knit in Artisan sock and features a slip stitch pattern that results in a thick, cozy fabric that works well with variegated yarns.



Kirju is available for purchase on Ravelry and through the Hazel Knits store.

I'll be back later this week to highlight more knitting by other Hazel Knuts.

What the HK is on your needles?

We've decided to add a new series of posts to the Hazel Knits blog and this one will highlight the work of other knitters.

Since we officially launched the new Anne Hanson/Hazel Knits Knitalong on Ravelry today, I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the recently completed Anne Hanson / Hazel Knit projects and maybe draw some inspiration for the KAL. For each of the projects you can click on the link to go to the Ravelry page and find out more information.

First up, we've got Cris' Japanese Feathers (ravname: etain) knit in Artisan Sock in Violeta. Naturally, I'm partial to this project since mine was the original in the Sock Summit booth that she claims inspired her. Aw, shucks. I'm blushing.



Next is Yvonne's Les Abeilles Shawl (ravname: RedHatKnitter) in Artisan Sock in Laguna. Can you see the bees? Beautiful!



Ruth has knit a stunning pair of Flaming Desire socks she calls Flaming February Socks (ravname: roobeedoo) in Artisan Sock in Hi Octang. Definitely on fire!



Dawn has an amazing pair of Lacunae Socks she cutely calls Chocoberry Caterpillars (ravname: Dawn76) in Artisan Sock in Chocoberry. This is one of the first times I've seen this colourway knit up and it looks delicious.



And Jeri has a delightful pair of Roger Socks (ravname: Scoobagirl) in Artisan Sock in Hoppy Blonde. I'm a big fan of this pattern and Jeri did a wonderful job on hers.



And finally, Christine has a pair of posh Keukenhof socks called Belle in Paris (ravname: mapleweave) knit in Artisan sock Belle (a club colour). Is is wrong of me to be jealous of a pair of socks? They have been to more exciting places than I have!



Thanks to everyone for allowing me to share their beautiful projects. You are all knitting inspirations.

I look forward to posting more finished Anne Hanson projects following the completion of the current KAL.

I'll be back soon with more HK knits by others. What the HK is on your needles?