Before we get into the knitty-gritty of this post, I have to say—I’m shocked that Thanksgiving is next week! Are you? I may be prepared in many ways, but I'm flabbergasted that in just seven short days, I’ll be simmering turkey stock and trimming the tree. As I'm posting this, we’re enjoying a wonderful getaway in Charleston and Savannah, and we've stumbled upon the prettiest Christmas market. Today’s post is all about Christmas so let’s dive in  

The day I took this picture the weather was cold and rain was coming down in buckets--the perfect kind of day for the first fire of the season and a photo shoot.

The Selbu snowflake, or Selburose, is a traditional Norwegian knitting motif featuring an eight-pointed star. Though often interpreted as a snowflake, its original meaning was that of a flower—the Rose of Selbu. This timeless design is a hallmark of Norwegian knitting and is most famously seen on Selbu mittens, as well as hats, scarves, and headbands.

Rudolph has landed—and this time, he’s landed right on my sweater! This is the first of three Christmas sweaters I’m making this year so I thought I'd better start early. Last December I wore a different handknit Christmas sweater every day, and since I finished three then, I thought I might as well knit three more… though stopping at three will be the real challenge. There are just so many patterns I love! After all, one can never have too many festive knits when December rolls around. What first attracted me to this pattern was the folk-art style of the reindeer. It has just the right mix of whimsy and nostalgia, which made the sweater simply irresistible to me.

Hello! I'm sooooo happy to be here today. September and October has been filled with a few little trips and a few dear houseguests and while I've had plenty of time to knit, I haven't had time to post and I'm happy to be back. Today I have a pretty Christmas sweater to share and a roadtrip to a beautiful knitting store in Ashland, Oregon. Let's begin!

Why is it that in the hottest days of summer I start to dream about jingle bells and frosty snowman and all that is wintry and Christmasy? If you are a knitter and crafter then I imagine your Christmas craft timer has sounded off its alarm too, so please come on in and see the absolutely adorable things I've got planned to make for the holidays. I'll divide them into three groups: the Already Made Department (as in finished in July), the Almost Finished Category (will finish this month), and those projects on my Wishful Thinking List.

Wearing a candy cane around your neck in December lets the world know that you love Christmas and you're not too shy to shout it out. This is a pattern that requires minimal thinking, making this free pattern (from me) great for social, travel or tv knitting. The pattern is designed for dk weight yarn, but you can use any weight yarn, then add or decrease stitches and create your own masterpiece. If you have any questions about that, just PM me and I'll try to help you. Knitters on Ravelry have made scarves in many colors, not just red and white. My next one is going to be a rainbow blast of stash because I STILL HAVE STASH and I'm a gal on a stash busting mission. 

I also made a little button Santa because I was previewing a few crafts for my favorite almost 5 year old, but this would have been too frustrating for him so I just made the one. But isn't he the cutest?

It's unreal to have a Christmasy post right now because it's as hot as blazes here. Today and the next few days it's in the high 80s. It was 101 the other day and then cooled down to 96 the next day. Thank goodness the heat wave is over. 

Candy Cane Scarf, free pattern by Kristen Rettig

My Ravelry Project page with all the yarny details.

In other knitting news, I just signed up for a test knit. This one sang to my heart with the promise of using a beloved member of my stash (Shibui Maai in Tar) and stripes, yay stripes, with nothing more difficult than a k2tog. Summer knitting bliss. Summer seems to require easy knitting as well as easy reading and nothing can be easier than than listening to this audiobook, Food, A Love Story, by Jim Gaffigan. The author is the reader and he had me laughing out loud throughout the entire book.  I loved it and think you will too, unless you are a vegetarian. He really does love his meats. I listened to the bulk of it while going through my family ephemera/photos which made that (somewhat difficult) experience much more palatable. More about that later. 

Hope you are cool where you are! xo Kristen

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