Wind Me Up – Knitting

My Yarn Ball Winder has changed my life, eased my wrist pain nand given me one more contraption for my craft room, but best of all it has given my children something to do when they ask “Mummy Can I help You Knit”

Why do you need one? well, they are fast, you can wind around 100 yards in 5 minutes or so which means you have more time for buying hanks of yarn off the internet or from a store.

Your local hank selling store might already have one of these winders you can use for free when you purchase a hank or 2 but even then it’s a great little tool to have at home.

There are a few online stores selling them, so find one thats suitable to your budget

Knitting Warehouse

Paradise Fibers

Yarn supply

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Knit a Brioche Headband to Keep the Wind Off

I happen to live in the Northern Hemisphere, but I know we have a lot of Southern Hemisphere friends, too, who are heading into the cooler months as we are warming up. Whichever one of the seasons you’re in, you might want to stitch up this sweet little hood.

This pattern by saskie&co is called snug hood and it uses two colors of yarn to make a close-fitting pixie style hood (almost a balaclava but it doesn’t cover your face, though there is a neck covering portion to keep you a little warmer). You can use the fingering weight wool and mohair held together that are called for in the pattern, or use a single strand of DK weight yarn.

The neck portion and the edging around the face are worked in ribbing in a single color, while the body of the hat includes an allover colorwork flower pattern. The project is worked both flat and in the round and there is colorwork that is knit flat, which means you’ll have to purl in colorwork (which some people don’t like; also, you can’t see what you’re doing as well on the back of the work).

The pattern comes in one size and the colorwork is charted. Testers noted this is a quick and easy project and a great way to learn some new skills (chart reading, working stranded colorwork flat) if you’ve never tried those things before. They noted the hood is cute, comfortable and warm, and a few said it didn’t take as much yarn as the pattern suggests, so bear that in mind if you’re trying to use stash.

Speaking of the pattern notes, check out all the cute color variations in the projects on Ravelry. From pink and red to blue and white to gray and cream, there are lots of great options to think about.

You can buy this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: saskie&co]

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