I'm happy to announce my latest hat pattern!  Meet Emeline: a stranded hat that celebrates individuality.  It begins with 2-color ribbing, blossoms into a engaging chart, and finishes with striped decreases at the crown.  It's a comfy, slouchy, stylish hat and is going with me everywhere I go.  After the bind off, a wonderfully lightweight hat like this encourages us to venture out on chilly nights.

Emeline, comfortable and stylish, celebrates the unpredictable and unexpected adventures of working simultaneously with two skeins of Noro Silk Garden Lite. The pattern, inspired by 18th Century ironwork, is interesting to knit and satisfying to wear. As a compliment to the rigid structure of the chart, gentle color changes within the yarn guarantee a unique hat.

This pattern requires intermediate knitting knowledge including: working in the round, two-color ribbing, reading charts, simple stranded color work and decreasing, all on double point needles.

So, Emeline is available on Ravelry and in the Shop.  I hope you enjoy knitting this one; it really is a rewarding project!

Now that Emeline is completed, I can get to work on some of the other fun things I have in the works.  There are so many good things happening right now, and believe me when I say it pains me not to talk about all of them.  All I can do is ask you to "stay tuned" - In the meantime, I'll continue to keep you updated on what I can talk about. 

In website news, I added a link to a page of abbreviations most commonly used in my patterns.  It'll be updated as needed, and the current version is included with the Emeline pattern.  This seems a good way to make sure people are aware of the abbreviations I use, and could also become a good tool for people as they work on other patterns.  

So, here's hoping you fall in love with Emeline - if you're still searching for a gift for a knitter, perhaps this pattern along with a gift certificate to their local yarn shop would be loved?  

With the new house comes the chance to put  up a larger Christmas tree.  For me, decorating the tree is a fun adventure, beginning with a concept and ending with the final trims.  It's also an archaeological expedition - allowing us to venture to corners of the attic and basement and into closets rarely visited to pull out boxes, unwrap treasures, and find them a home for the season. 

As a child, I had some ornaments that were sentimental, but the majority of "my" ornaments have disappeared through the years.  A precious few remain, and every year I yearn for a way to add to my collection without simply "buying" them.  

Kicking off a new tradition, I did an ornament swap with my good friend Kate - where each person makes an ornament and swaps with someone else.  It's part of her tradition (she has been doing it for a number of years now) and I cherish the idea of having a tree full of handmade (and hand knit!) ornaments.  With that in mind, I set off to find the perfect pattern, and came upon a knitted ornament pattern called "Balls Up" <-- that's a Ravelry link for those interested.  Digging through my studio, I found some Knit Picks Palette that was the perfect weight and colors for this years ornament.

I could only find 3" (76mm) styrofoam balls while the pattern called for 2.75" (70mm).  I began by knitting a red one - using US 2 needles.  The cover ended up a big smaller than it should have been to fit this larger ball size and seems a bit stretched.

Ornaments #2 and #3 were made using US 3 needles and the same size form.  The little snowflake stranded pattern is my own design; a modified version of a centuries-old design found in a vintage knitting book.  The trick for these ornaments is to knit the majority of the cover in the round, then add the styrofoam ball and continue knitting the last few rounds precariously with the ball inside.  It's not the easiest, but after making one or two, the process gets much easier. 

I met up with Kate today, and over a mug of hot cocoa gave her one of my white ornaments, and received a sweet hand knit ornament gift from her.  (I can't talk about it quite yet since she is involved in a larger swap and her ornament hasn't been revealed) - I CAN tell you, though, that it's sweet, wonderful, and I LOVE it.  

So, it's 2012 and I have some hand made ornaments (treasures!) on my tree... they look at home next to the little elf I got a few years ago.  (It is a replica of an elf that was on my family tree when I was a young boy.)  The holidays are full of memories and traditions... and this one will be a lovely addition.

If you'd like to knit your own version of this ornament, download the free Ravelry pattern, then use my chart (above).  Happy Holidays from the Kyle William Studio!

I'm busy in the studio posting scarves and hats and goodies in my Etsy shop - and thought I'd send out a quick blog post (as promised) with the image of the finished clasped weft scarf.  This one is going up right now and will hopefully find a lovely home for the holidays.  

It also features the (fairly new) Kyle William labels - I LOVE my label and my logo... I hope that the recipient loves this scarf as much as I do!

**UPDATE** This scarf sold within minutes of being posted.  Hooray!

As with all my postings, I offer free gift wrap and a card if you are purchasing to send to someone via mail.  

There's not much time left for online holiday shopping without paying lots of shipping costs - so I better get back to uploading and posting these items in case someone wants a fun finished fiber project as a gift!   

Happy Holidays!