A bit of Christmas fiddle-faddle

I met up with Beth and Christina at Temptations yesterday, and we had a great time, talking and admiring each other's knits (and shoes) and maybe buying a bit of yarn. And, in my case, Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac. I can't claim to have read the whole thing yet, but I've skimmed, and also knit.


In her August chapter, "Christmas Fiddle-Faddle in the Wilds," there's a pattern (or "pithy directions," as she calls them) for a five-pointed star that is just genius. On the left is the first one I knit, with some Cascade 220 that I Kool-Aid-dyed two years ago, on 3.75mm needles. In the middle is my second one, knit on 4.25mm needles after I decided the first one had been knit too tightly. And finally, on the right, I took Mrs. Zimmermann's suggestion and tried a six-pointed star which turned out perfectly. It took me less than an hour to knit all three, it's a load of fun, and I can totally see myself cracking out a whole bunch of these to tuck into people's Christmas gifts. (You're all warned.)

Temptations is a great store, by the way, with a very friendly and helpful staff and enough wonderful yarn to make you forget what you actually went in there for.