I Wish I Was an Octopus: decisions, decisions

I recently finished off two rather large projects, In Stillness by Alicia Plummer in The Uncommon Thread Everyday Worsted and Garter Goodness by Stephen West which used Hedgehog Fibres, Life in the Long Grass and The Uncommon Thread. They both took quite a bit of knitting, so I have been working on a couple of quick and easy hats as a little palette cleanser if you will. I whipped up Puck by Dani Sunshine as a little birthday gift for my niece and a super simple hat in the custom colourway Lupi from Hedgehog Fibres as per request by Ian. Now, big decisions to make - what to knit next!?!

I've been queuing and favoriting on Ravelry like a mad woman and now it's time to decide what to actually cast-on. I have been eyeing up Leonie by Cocoknits for a while and have been going back and forth on yarn choice for this garment. There are a lot of yarn possibilities for this pattern but I saw a version of it last weekend at the Cocoknits booth at the Knitting & Stitching show using Shibui Knits Staccato and Silk Cloud held together and I think we have a winner. Now, shall I knit it in the stunning new color Cove or go with the more wear-with-everything Tar? Or perhaps Ivory?

As I'm on a bit of a hat kick at the moment I have Spire by Shellie Anderson high on the list. Shibui Knits Maai and Staccato held double should be a nice quick knit and this has got to be in Suit for me (if my sister's lucky she might get a version in Tango for Christmas). Rachel Coopey has a new book out, Toasty Volume Two, and I'd love to knit Hartwith in baa ram ewe Titus in Bramley Baths with an Endeavour pom-pom on top. A bit of texture in both of these patterns, great yarn and a small project, that ticks a lot of boxes.

It's that time of year when I start thinking about mittens, I really like knitting mittens and there are some great options. I mentioned Karie Westermann's Skovtur last week and those might very well be on the needles some time next week during the Midwinter Yarns Pop-up. Ysolda Teague's new pattern Kaerlig are a great pair fingerless mitts too. They are done in a fingering weight yarn, so lots of options and maybe a good way to use up some leftover yarn from stash. This is a pattern from Ysolda's new collection Knitworthy 2 and so far only four of the eight patterns have been released, so I can't wait to see what is still to come.

And if I had all the time in the world I would start Whippet (long) by Ankestrick. A lovely customer did a version of this and used the Walk Collection Linea Fingering and it is stunning. It's something that helped me choose this particular yarn for the shop as it's a fibre combination that maybe isn't as obviously beautiful on paper but in person, it's fabulous!

So those are just a few of the things I've been eyeing up recently. So many beautiful things to knit, so little time. What would you be knitting if you were an octopus?

-Carmen