Winner Wine Cozies, and a Tale of Two Annas!

I'm so excited! My felted wine cozies won the whiplash competition at whipup! If you've never been, definitely check whipup! out - it's a showcase of some very amazing crafts, and I'm honored to be chosen!!

In other news, I'm working on starting a Fix-it Friday KAL, which will be at a separate blog. There was some interest from people who want to join and get their detail work done, so we'll see how that goes. As it was, this week I barely got to blog because I it seemed like I had to have several Fix-it Fridays in a row.

Last but not least, this week I gave my dear friend a pair of knucks for her daughter, who is in school in a wintry climate. My friend is a very accomplished hand quilter, so I passed the embroidery task on to her, and I'm sure they will be amazing. (Such a cool friend, with such a cool family.)



Her daughter's name is Anna, just like my Anna, and she fences, just like my Anna, and she's tall and thin, just like my Anna! And I started these knucks right after finishing my Anna's - except, I'm ashamed to say, my Anna's still need the ends of all those little fingers woven in, let alone the embroidery! See? This is why I need Fix-it Fridays.

This is the first time I've made a pair with the textured cuff, which is very pretty.

Keep Your Wine Cozy

Here in this temperate clime, what better use for thick wool than a cozy that will keep your wine cool at the beach? These wine cozies turned out to be fast, fabulous gifts that'll keep your white wine cool and your red wine cozy.

You'll need some Lamb's Pride Bulky, or other wooly yarn that'll knit to the same approximate guage. This is a good project for using up scraps, too. The charcoal gray cozy pictured here is made with a double strand of Lamb's Pride Worsted, but it felted up to a thinner fabric in the end product than the bulky - still perfectly fine, though. Choose your own color scheme - I had in mind the balmy days of, oh, November of aught-six here in San Diego, but any others will be just lovely, I'm sure.



Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky - partial skeins in as many colors as you want.
Needles: Size 13 dp, or size to give you proper guage
Gauge: 2.5 sts/in (approximately - not critical!)

With your main color, cast on 8 sts and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist.

First, knit the base:
k 1 round.
*k1, m1, repeat from * to end. 16 sts.
k 1 round.
*k2, m1, repeat from * to end. 24 sts.
k 1 round.
*k3, m1, repeat from * to end. 32 sts.
k 1 round.
*k4, m1, repeat from * to end. 40 sts.
k 1 round.

Now turn the corner:
purl 2 rounds.

Now head up the sides:
knit, knit, knit, changing colors when the mood strikes you.
Continue until the sides measure about 10.5" from the purl ridge to the top, and bind off.

Weave in ends, and felt! Check your work from time to time, opening up the inside to keep it from fusing together and pulling it into the approximate shape you need. As you get closer, have a bottle of wine on hand to test the fit.

Once it's wine bottle size, pull it onto a bottle and yank it into shape (a little snug is good - it'll be perfect when done blocking). Leave it until the sides are dry, then remove the bottle and turn the cozy over to let the bottom finish drying.

Voila!



PS I'm entering these in the Whiplash competition for gifts! Update: I won!



Copyright 2006 Lydia McNeil - You may not use this pattern for profit or reproduce it for profit; you may use it to knit for yourself, for others, or most certainly for charity, but not to sell.

Christmas Knitting Frenzy!

Whew....I turned my computer on for the first time today in almost a week! The frenzied knitting is done, the gifts given, and new projects are on the horizon.

Santa brought me a beautiful wooden swift and some incredible Malabrigo wool (every bit as soft as everyone has said) in a burnt orange color - you can smell pumpkin pie and chestnuts roasting just looking at it. I also got a silk needle case for my circular needles, so no more tangles for me.

You can see above our manufactured white Christmas, La Jolla-style (note the felted wine cozy - pattern to be posted soon!), snow courtesy of batting and double-stick tape. It was downright hot yesterday, especially with the ovens going all day in preparation for Christmas dinner. The menu was heavenly - roast pork with pancetta, corn gratin, pureed carrots, haricots vertes with roasted fennel and shallots, and roasted potato fans on a bed of leeks and onions, proving once again that bacon and heavy cream are foods of the gods - and was topped off by the most unbelievable flourless chocolate cake (Warning: do not serve without easy access to lifesaving equipment - this cake almost put as all under the table. At the very least, proceed with caution after ingesting the aforementioned bacon and heavy cream.)

We are off to the movies today, but I will try to post the wine cozy pattern later! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!