Elizabeth mentioned in the comments that she would start calling HWBs, ‘hotties’ which I think is excellent practice, even if people get the wrong idea when you tell them you’re going to bed with a hottie. ;)

Here’s what you’ll need:

Yarn

• 2 balls Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran
• [100gr; 100% wool; 170m/186yds;
• in shade 027 Lewis Grey]
• or 3 balls Rowan Felted Tweed Aran
• [50gr; 50% merino wool, 25% alpaca, 25% viscose; 87m/95yds;
• in shade 729 Soot]
• or approx. 230m/252 yds of aran weight yarn.

Gauge

• 14 sts / 27 rows
• over 10cm / 4in
• (with 4.5mm (US 7) needles,
• in garter stitch).

Finished Size

• 21cm x 34cm, approx. 8¼ x 13½in.
• To fit a hot water bottle 19cm x 30cm.

(On the subject of hotties,) my boyfriend informed me that he gave in to his urge to put a teabag in his hottie the other day. He said he chose peppermint because you didn’t have to put milk in that. Clever man. Except he can’t get the teabag out now, so if you try this, we recommend loose tea. In fact, we’re thinking of patenting some kind of teapot/hottie combo. Watch out for that one. ;)

I’ll be sending out copies to the “mystery winners” as soon as my flaky internet connection allows me. With the rain & wind tonight I think it’s going to be the perfect weekend to snuggle up with a hottie (both kinds). And if you want a good book to go with it, watch out for my next post. The pattern is just £3.00 on Ravelry, so go forth and knit! Have a great weekend! :)

A quiet day. Oh except for the persistent tap tap tap, and click click click and tick tick tock. :)

No one guessed my mystery project, and to be fair, it was a bit mean of me to expect you to. Here it is, modelled in all its rustic elegance by a MAN! Since I first dreamt it up, I thought this design would make a great gift for a gentleman, because it’s genuinely useful, hard-wearing, and cosy in a non-pink, non-fluffy way (though it could easily be made into both these things). I wanted it to be completely unfussy – no buttons, no drawstrings, just a simple fold-over top. There are a few short rows for the pocket to accommodate large hands, but otherwise the pattern is very straightforward.

And if you want further proof that men love this hottie, I got two commissions from builders while we were shooting these photos. I informed them that I actually sell patterns, so they’d have to learn to knit first. I can just see them at home, relaxing after a day’s work with a bit of knitting and a tipple. :)

The pattern will be released sometime next week, and I’ll see if I have time to throw in a little surprise. I’ll send everyone who commented on the last post a free copy, since it was so tricky.

Of course the other mystery that we’re all excited about is WoollyWormhead’s Mystery KAL. Here’s my progress. I don’t think it merits a spoiler warning yet. The yarn is Sirdar’s Country Style DK which isn’t ideal, but it was all I happened to have. Anyway, I like the colour and I’ve finished the first installment. Now I’m eagerly awaiting the second…

Penelope & the Suitors by John William Waterhouse

When I haven’t been very blatantly procrastinating, I’ve been a bit like Penelope (excepting the suitors, oh and the weaving), knitting by day and undoing it all by night. I’ve been pretty patient about it though, and I presumptuously attribute this to the fact that I am now no longer a “beginner”. Ripping out huge chunks of knitting, or knitting an enormous swatch just because you don’t feel like stopping – these are not actions that non-knitters or “persons who knit”, seem to understand. They stare at me in horror when I tell them it’s all got to go. All that lovely work! So I’ve taken to ripping alone and unseen, because I’m a little bored with explaining… “No really, it’s OK. It’ll save me work in the future. Besides, this is one of the best things about knitting!” I secretly suspect that Penelope loved the process of weaving as much as she loved Odysseus, or why would she hit on such a solution?

As to why my knitting wasn’t working out… It was really amazingly simple, when I stopped trying to do it the wrong way. Fortunately, Rowan Scottish Tweed is a hardy yarn that doesn’t mind a good deal of frogging and re-knitting. It’s also very rustic & well-suited to keeping warm in the country. I’m testing it right now. :)

I took some shots today and the pattern should be up soon. It will be a perfect present for gentlemen (or ladies) for whom you can’t easily find gifts. If you can guess what it is, you can get a free copy! ;)

November is a busy month. There’s National Novel Writing Month, for a start. Writing a 50,000 word novel in a month is a feat I’ve accomplished twice before. It’s utterly mad, and utterly fun; you must join if only to receive the pep talks from Chris Baty & other famous authors. And if you do, don’t forget to add me as your writing buddy! Also in November is the illustrious WoollyWormhead’s Mystery Beret. How exciting! I think these two challenges will complement each other perfectly, and help me forget about the increasing gloom of winter…

shh… I’m working very hard! Really!