Solstice Lanterns is a colorwork tam with original motifs depicting lit lanterns glowing in the festive time of deep winter when the earth takes a nap and we all make merry.
Jolly wee lanterns hang in the base of the crown above the ribbing, and the color changes are close together so you can carry the colors upward without having to snip the yarns, making the finish work of weaving in ends minimal . . .
. . . and elegant chandelier lanterns in the upper crown, cozy with scrolls and checking and the detail of the lights casting a glow is rather delightful . . .
However, as these sort of things go, it doesn’t much matter what they are, because the kaleidoscopic affect of the design is quite transfixing. I knit this tam in a lovely Elemental Affects Shetland 2-ply yarn , which I am a big fan of. But by the time knitters are able to get their yarn to needles for this, it will likely be only a few weeks left to the Winter Solstice .
So speedily gather your Shetland 2ply yarns of choice, cups of tea, mugs of coffee, plates of baked goodies, and a lot of spiritual calm and please do knit one of these up for yourself before the holidays are past.
Poetically speaking, the lanterns have a deeper meaning for me, and that is ~~ a light in the dark is hope, and from our hearts shines a beacon for the future.
The pattern is available HERE.
♥ ♥ ♥
Now, just in case you are thinking, what about the grey-scale tam that I knit up in Jamiesons Spindrift ? Well, it is a bit of dark humor (excuse the pun) as I knit it during a Public Safety Power Shut-off during a very windy few days in October (power lines and wind are a major cause of wildfires in California) , and which in fact lasted a week in the mountainous areas north of the bay. Then, due to falling trees there have been still more power outages, and furthermore, the power is OUT as I post this!!! With a bit of irony, I introduce to you my slightly sinister ” Lights Out In California ” . . .
Adorned with a tidy wee felted toorie which I made & posted about yesterday . . .
Equally as good looking as the festive prototype! However, now that I’ve posted the “Lights Out” version, I have a mind to stitch in colored lights. I’ll think about it. In the mean time, please do check out all the details of Solstice Lanterns over on Ravelry, as it is now live! Thank you ~ xx Jen
Jenjoyce Design 
Absolutely stunning and looks so pretty in your styled photos. Going over to Ravelry now xxxxx
Thank you Tracy! Oh, and please check out my group, having a flash pattern give-away here: https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/jenjoyce-design-patterns/3977756/1-25
Thanks Jen xxxx
Awesome, as usual Jen. 🙂
Wen, thank you SO MUCH for test-knitting this tam! I can’t wait to see yours pop up over in the fabulous finishes feed. xx!
Love BOTH of them. Beautiful design. xo
Thank you Sorcha! So funny and ironic, as I was posting all of this the power went out AGAIN! ( you and me, racing each other to notify PG&E, heh heh) xx
ps. Thankfully I have a battery in the Mifi and laptop….
Thank goodness!!
I’m telling you, we will be power independent in the not so distant future and you’re partly already there.
Beautiful and stunning. Grand work, Jen.
Aww Thanks Morrie 🙂 xx!
Just caught the Lights Out reference. Hehe. Yes I was getting a lot of reading done that week! I felt like a real pioneer.
A pioneer indeed!
I am actually a Christmas grump… that is why they are Solstice tams. 🙂
Oh Ben, I think I’ll tell YOU the story I omitted in the post; so I had concieved of this very wintery color photo ensemble a few weeks ago, and when I went to the huge craft store Michaels, there I was lost in the aisle of fake greenery and the one of festive holiday ribbons (I was looking for evergreen bits , red berries, your favorite Stewart tartan — or just a plaid of red, white, green & yellow — ribbon and something gold, to reflect the lights of the lanterns. I bought a package of the fake greenery, I confess (which I will now return). I was lent those little LED lights, and well, then as the tam was drying stretched out, it was time for a walk! I stormed up the ridge road, and the toyon berries were SO bright red! I grabbed some of those , and as I got back home, I noticed so many tips of fir branches strewn all over the drive from the windstorm a couple of weeks ago, as well as many little fir cones, and grabbed some of those. Even though they were already dry and losing their needles, I dunked them in water hoping to make them glisten. Well , there were needles all over the floor, and still are there, but you’d never know about all of that unless I told you, it was the walk before the photo was ready to photograph that I gathered the magic!
Thank you for listening. 🙂 xx
Natural beauty always wins out for me. Nature’s perfection and simplicity. Music is the same way… for me playing Bach without much vibrato, just pure pitch, gentle dynamics, improvising rubato as I feel it in the moment.
And you, Jen, doing the same in nature, seeing colors and natural plants, improvising from your creativity.
Lovely work,love the tams,I enjoy knitting hats and socks with plenty of design,and mostly play around with patterns and eventually chart them to knit up.
I am so far behind on the blogs but catching up now, so sorry to be late to say I love these tams!!! I have never been a tam wearing person but perhaps I should become one..