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Radio Frequency Mittens Christmas FO

November 17, 2011

Almost there. I am seriously almost through with my Christmas knitting that I started in March. I have made 17 projects for people in my family. I just need to put a couple of linings in hats that I have completed and I’m done. I’m going to make it for Christmas. Whew!

This project is actually a second pair of mittens that I’m knitting for a friend of mine who loves purple. This pattern is by Mandy Powers – I love her designs. I knitted her Radio Frequency hat for one of my nephews, and I love that. Check out her designs. These mittens were fun to make and had just enough variety to keep you interested but the pattern was simple enough that you could knit and watch T.V. Very important.

I knitted these up in super soft Frog Tree 100% Alpaca. What a yummy yarn. I did make a modification to the pattern. For the beginning purl braid, I did a two-color cast on as a set up row for the braid. I think that’s very importnat and made the braid nicer – you don’t have the purl bumps that you would otherwise and I think the braid shows up more distinctly. And a two-color cast on is easy to do. As always, I used Magic Loop to make these.

Pattern: Radio Frequency Mittens
Needles: #3 US Addi Lace Turbo Circular
Yarn: Frog Tree 100% Alpaca in Purple & Light Purple
Ravelry Page

Posted in gifts, holiday stuff, knitting, magic loop, mittens | 1 Comment »

Christmas Knitting FOs

October 12, 2011

It’s been a while since I’ve posted something, but I’ve had some misses with my Christmas knitting. I made a Jared Flood hat, Windschief, for my older brother, that didn’t turn out right. Then I made a pair of Nora’s Slippers for my twin brother that I ended up just keeping for me because they will never fit his feet. So I was getting discouraged but then I started these hats for my brothers and each one came out great. It’s funny – one of the patterns had a total of only two people on Ravelry knitting it! And it’s a great hat pattern! There are some hidden gems in Ravelry, aren’t there?

Norwegian Hat

The hat I’m talking about is a Norwegian hat from Drops Design. It calls for a DK weight yarn, so I used my beloved Berroco Alpaca Light. It was a totally fun knit with just enough interest but didn’t required your total attention. I knitted it on circulars, using Magic Loop.

Raupe Hat

The other hat is called a Raupe hat and was designed by a knitter in Austria. I guess “raupe” means “caterpillar” in German and the hat is named that because it looks like caterpillars crawling around the hat. Hmmm. I wonder if I should tell my brother that little tidbit.

Pattern: Norwegian Hat by DROPS Design

Needles: US#2 & 4 Addi Lace Turbo Circular

Yarn: Berroco Alpaca Light in Tupelo & Black

Ravelry Page

Pattern: Raupe Hat

Needles: US#6 Addi Lace Turbo Circular

Yarn: Berroco Alpaca Light in Steel Cut Oats & Dark Chocolate

Ravelry Page

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Turn a Square Beanie

August 17, 2011

I love Jared Flood’s patterns and so I added this men’s hat to my Christmas knitting. I’ve made this for one of my nephews. I love this little hat. The decreases at the top are really nice.

I used some Ecolana that I had left over from these fingerless mittens. The yarn matched nicely with the brown Shepherd’s Wool. Shepherd’s Wool is made right here in Michigan. I love this wool – if you’ve never used it, it’s worth buying some. It’s a worsted that incredible soft and knits up so nicely and comes in a lot of colors.

The hat was just a tad too large, so I picked up stitches and added a lining with the Shepherd’s Wool. It made the hat fit perfectly and just made the hat a little nicer and extra warm – linings are so nice.

Pattern: Turn a Square
Yarn: Ecolana Natural and Stonehedge Shepherd’s Wool in Brown
Needles: US#7, circular
Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, gifts, guy stuff, knitting, magic loop | 1 Comment »

Borealis Fingerless Cuffed Mittens

August 7, 2011

Am I boring you with my Christmas knitting FOs? Well, here’s another one. This one is for one of my nephews and, of course, it has to be fingerless so he can text on his phone!

I’ve knitted these up with Berocco Borealis, a really nice chunky yarn that is a blend – 60% acrylic and 40% wool. This is new for me, because I never buy yarn that contains acrylic but I couldn’t help myself when I saw this squishy yarn in my LYS. HAD to get it! And it is yummy feeling. And they have lots of really neat colorways.

I’ve knitted these mittens before, making a modification to the pattern by knitting extra on the top and cuffing them. I love that. They feel warmer that way. I also used a chunky yarn this time (the pattern calls for worsted) and I just decreased the cast on stitches to 27. It was perfect. The K2, P2 ribbing is really nice and stretchy on these mittens. A favorite pattern. I used Magic Loop for these mittens. As usual.