In The Rounds

Warm Hands for a Cold Winter

My first project for 2026 is finished and blocked. I wrapped up 2025 by making myself a matching cowl and hat from some stashed Berroco Peruvia Quick. The super bulky yarn knit these very quick. The only thing missing from the matching set was a pair of mittens.

I made my own pattern for the mittens, with a little help from Michele’s Mittens (RAV LINK) by Sarah H Arnold. I knew I wanted a lined mitten, made from worsted yarn (liner) and the super bulky Berroco, but I couldn’t find anything on Ravelry that was suiting what I wanted. I’ve made the Michele’s Mittens pattern a few times in the past. It’s a lined mitten, with a worsted inner liner and fingering weight outer liner.

I made the inner liner following the Michele’s Mittens pattern. For the outer mitten, I found a bulky weight mitten pattern I “designed” when I was a newer knitter and more confidence than was good for me. Turns out, new knitter Lisa was onto something, because I was able to basically follow what I wrote out over a decade ago, and I worked up the two outer liners with a 3×3 cable along the back of the hand.

These mittens are exactly what I needed to get through this particularly cold January in Ontario. They are thick, woolly, and warm. Together with the woolly cowl and hat, they make a very cute set, and I’m thrilled to bits with them. The cowl was the Mistake Rib Infinity Scarf (RAV LINK) by Davina Choy, while the tuque was the Trailside Beanie (RAV LINK) by Clickety Sticks. Being Canadian, I cannot call it a beanie. It’s forever a tuque in my heart. I also added a pompom to the tuque, because winter without whimsy is just cold.

Make Nine 2026

Happy New Year! With the new year, I’m once again setting a goal for myself to Make Nine in 2026. This challenge encourages mindfulness with creativity. Last year, it was the nudge I needed to think about what I want to make, what I want to finish, and what yarn I was going to purchase to make these happen.

To start 2026, the first item on my Make Nine list will be a pair of mittens. A friend de-stashed four skeins of Berroco Peruvia Quick, and before 2025 finished, I made a new cowl and hat. I have just over a skein left, and the plan is a pair of lined mittens. The Berroco will be the outer layer, and a ball of Patons Classic Wool Worsted will become the inner liner.

Left over from last year’s Make Nine challenge is the Gaïa shawl. I’m keeping this project on the radar for 2026. I didn’t get it finished in 2025, but I made good progress with it.

In 2025, I started a Flax DK sweater, and the sleeves are now separated, meaning the project is largely inches and inches of stockinette in the round. This will be a great project for any mindless knitting.

Looking at my stash, I have quite a few skeins earmarked for sweaters. I have five skeins put aside, and I’m eying two possible patterns for it. First is the Le Pouf Sweater. It’s a free pattern, ideal for blending variegated yarn, and a few years ago, I made the Le Pouf Cardigan and liked it. I feel like my wardrobe needs a crewneck version of this sweater. I also have the Extra Light Bright sweater in my library. Another sweater which uses a fade to maximize five different variegated yarns. I should decide quick which one I want to make.

For now, these are four projects I’m wanting to complete this year. The mittens will be finished before the end of the winter. Gaïa might end up as a WIP again 12 months from now, but that’s the beauty of this challenge. It’s not set in stone. Goals change. Priorities change. And that’s ok. I want to create nine beautiful items this year, and these four are just a starting point.

Make Nine 2025 Retrospective

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to finish nine projects. This was part of the Make Nine challenge, to work mindfully and purposefully through the year.

The challenge got me to look at a number of WIPs I had, and it was the motivation I needed to finish two of them: the Pabaigh sweater and the Nomad Cowl

I attended Knit City Montreal, and the yarn I bought made the Ice Cream Social shawl.

I made three gifts towards the Make Nine challenge: a Pixie Dust (RAV LINK) cardigan for my niece, the Besties Hoodie for my nephew, and a project that hasn’t been gifted yet, but will be soon.

I made a scrappy marled hat, which used up a bunch of sock yarn scraps. I was happy to lighten my stash with this project. I made a Rustic Red One Hat (RAV LINK), which I’ve already worn for a holiday event at work.

Finally, I’ve made a dog sweater I’ve wanted to make for a while.

A few years back, I made everyone in my immediate family a work sock hat for Christmas. I’ve since made a few extras after hats have been lost or outgrown. Well, I used these hats as the inspiration for my latest Hoodie Dog Coat (RAV LINK). I omitted the hood, and made it the same as I did for the first time I made Dash a coat (size M, with a added buttonhole for his harness). I’m so cheesy, and it just brings me such silly joy to have my dog wearing a sweater that matches my (and all of our) hat.

So, as 2025 comes to its close, so to does the 2025 Make Nine Challenge. I set this goal at the beginning of the year, to be project focussed and mindful with not only my knitting, but also with my yarn consumption. What I was buying was (mostly) project-driven and purposeful. I didn’t finish all the projects I set out to finish (I see you staring at me, Gaïa shawl [RAV LINK]), but I did finish others that I might have continued to procrastinate on. And while I was doubtful I would actually finish nine projects, I’m pretty pleased that I hit that target exactly. I think the Make Nine Challenge was a realistic goal and one I’ll keep at the front of mind when 2026 goals start.

Knitting Tools: The “Nice to Haves”

A few weeks ago, I knit a test swatch for the shawl I’m testing. I knit the swatch, gave it a wash, and pinned it to a blocking board, using my gauge swatch ruler.

A tool like this certainly isn’t a necessity. I could have achieved the same result (figuring out my gauge) using any old ruler I have around the house. That said, to me, it felt like a tool that was quite nice to have. And, it got me thinking, what are some other “nice to have” knitting tools I’ve acquired over the years.

I think my swift and ball winder could be a “nice to have.” Anyone can wind a skein of yarn using any number of items—backs of chairs, held between your knees (been there), or having a friend’s helping hands certainly can get the job done. But, having used my swift for over 10 years, there’s no going back. Can I wind without it? Yes. Do I want to? No. The added sentimentality to my swift is that it was hand made for me by my dad several years ago. That baby is a forever keeper.

Another “nice to have” are my favourite stitch markers: my row counter stitch markers. They’re great. They’re working double hard because they mark the beginning of the round AND they’re keeping track of what round it is. Anything can be a stitch marker in a pinch. In fact, I KNOW I’ve used paper clips in the past when I’ve needed a stitch marker. And rounds/rows can be tracked several ways. But the row counter stitch markers are my favourite, especially for the several pairs of socks I make!

Any time a pattern says to put stitches on hold using waste yarn, immediately I grab my stitch holders. I like them better than waste yarn because I always find that the first and last stitch can ‘disappear’ on me, meaning they’re the hardest to find when on waste yarn. On a stitch holder, I don’t find that I have that issue. A spare set of circular needs will work for this too, but using stitch holders means I haven’t lost the use of that needle while the project is in progress.

Finally, a “nice to have” tool that I won’t ever do without is my digital scale. With this gadget, I know how much yarn I have, how much I’ve used, things like that. It’s handy for measurements while cooking, and also handy for yarn usage.

This is my list of “nice to have” knitting tools. What’s on yours?

Testing, testing

In the past few weeks, I’ve been testing two different patterns for two different designers. Very aware of my capacity and wanting to make the deadlines, I knew both would be manageable.

The first pattern I’m testing (present tense as I’m still very much still working through the pattern), is a shawl for Holly Kent. I tested a cowl for her last year, and the timing of this test opportunity was well suited for me because I’ve been wanting a simple, fingering weight shawl to add to my winter wardrobe. The pattern is two sections, a simple stockinette (which I flew through) and a lace section, which is taking a little more time to get through. I have until mid-January to finish it, and I have two weeks off at Christmas. I’m not worried about making the deadline.

The other test knit I finished was a mini, so I knew I could crank it out in a few hours. Stephanie Lotven, whose patterns I LOVE, put out a call to test her new minis, including a sweater, mitten, hat, and scarf, which is what I test. She launched the pattern set yesterday and they are currently free, so be sure to check it out! Here’s the link from her website: https://www.tellybeanknits.com/pattern-shop/smallidays

I don’t have my tree up yet, just a few of my Christmas tchotchkes, but once the tree is up, the scarf will be added to it.