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Selfish Knitting

February 2, 2012

January was “Selfish Knitting Month” when knitters start projects for themselves after all the holiday knitting is finished. That was so true for me, but I had to stop work on the Granny Stripes blanket because I ran out of one color. Everyone has it on backorder with no estimated delivery date from Cascade Yarns. I even e-mailed Cascade and asked them and no answer. Very nice. So that project is on a little hold until I get some more Cascade 220 Superwash in Vinci.

No matter. This gives me a chance to finally start a Guernsey Wrap from Jared Flood. I’ve always wanted to knit that wrap. I love his patterns. They are just so well written and full of beautiful texture. I’m doing this up in super soft Madelinetosh Vintage worsted in Bark. We are traveling to Italy in a few weeks and I hope to have it completed so I can take it with me and use it on those chilly nights on the Amalfi Coast!

Posted in knitting, Shawls/wraps, yarn | 2 Comments »

Slouchy Mitts

January 22, 2012

I saw some mitts earlier this year in the Sundance catalog and clipped them out. I thought, “gee, I could really make those so easily”. The only thing I feared was the stripes – I have a loathing of weaving in ends. That’s why I don’t knit stripey things – I do mostly two color stranded work. And since I am knitting my Granny Stripes Blanket at the same time, I have really put myself to the test. That blanket has some serious ends to weave in.

Sundance Catalog Mitts

I probably didn’t even need a pattern but thought I would look on Ravelry to see if there was anything similar. Sure enough, there was – “The Ultimate Fingerless Mitts” by Erica Lueder. I used the pattern as a guide and kind of did my own thing with it.

I looked through my fingering weight stash and came up with some similar colors, mostly in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine. I liked the greens because I thought they would go with my Stockholm Scarf.

First of all, the pattern calls for casting on 60 stitches. I did that but it soon became apparent that was going to be a little too big, so I decreased right down to 50 stitches. This is what I cast on for the second mitten and it was just right. Of course, I knit them using Magic Loop instead of DPNs. Those days are over.

Also, the mittens in the catalog used 1×1 ribbing for the entire length of the forearm. I debated about doing that and decided to just do pure stockinette stitch. I would still be interested in knitting a pair and using the ribbing and see if I liked that any better.

I really like these mittens. I like the rolled stockinette ends a lot. Since they are knit in a fingering weight and without any stranded colorwork, they are a light mitten and will be for milder weather.

Pattern: The Ultimate Fingerless Mitts
Needle: #2 Addi Lace 32″ Circular
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Black, Pea Soup, Salt & Pepper, Peat Mix
and Yarn Hollow Bitty in Jade
Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, knitting, magic loop, mittens | 7 Comments »

The Incredible Northman Mitten

December 12, 2011

This may be my favorite mitten of all time. After I finished all my Christmas gifts for my family, I felt I had the time to knit one last pair of mittens for another friend. She loves the lined mittens I make so much that I figured she deserved a pair.

This design is by David Schulz, who runs Southern Cross Fibre in Australia. The pattern is just about perfect – it has a braided edge, which I love, rather than a ribbed cuff. The thumbs have gussets, which are more comfortable to wear and the pattern is so well written. The pattern includes charts for two kinds of mittens – dark/light or light/dark. Most patterns don’t do this and it is SO helpful. Thanks, David!

I used one of my all time favorite yarns, Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light. 50% wool, 50% alpaca. So toasty warm. The lining is of luscious Brushed Suri by Blue Sky Alpacas. Brushed Suri is the most incredible yarn to use in the lining of a mitten – so lofty and soft. The color I chose is called “Snow Cone” and I thought it complimented the colors of the mitten so well.

The pattern calls for a braided edge done in one color, which I think kind of loses the purpose of doing a braided edge. So I did the edge in two colors. If you do a two color edge, make sure to do a two color cast on or it won’t come out right. The two color cast on will be your set up row for the braid.

I even do the thumbs using Magic Loop

If you’ve never knitted lined mittens before, you should give it a try. They are so special and warm to wear. You can have all kinds of fun with the colors.

Pattern: Northman Mitten
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light and Brushed Suri
Needle: #4 circular, using Magic Loop
Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, gifts, knitting, magic loop, mittens | 19 Comments »

My Christmas Knitting is Finished!

November 27, 2011

17 projects. 8 months. I’ve been working every spare minute on this enormous project and I’m finally done – I knitted the last lining for the last hat on Thanksgiving weekend. I knitted everyone in my family a different project – I did not repeat a pattern. That wasn’t easy, because I had so many favorites. But to be honest, in that same time frame I knitted 13 other projects for me or as gifts for someone else. So I was busy. Very busy. That’s 30 projects in 8 months.

I also sewed a tag into every item I made. I got these tags from Mountain Street Arts on Etsy. I dislike almost all of the labels you can buy to sew into handmade items and these were the only tags I found that I liked a lot.

There are seven hats, all lined!

None of the hat patterns called for linings, but I picked up stitches and knitted a liner in every single hat. They are so much nicer that way – thicker, sturdier and warmer.

I started this project in March and I spent every single spare minute I had knitting. I finally sat down with my family this weekend to watch a TV show and, for the first time in months, I did not pick up my knitting basket to work on a project. It felt weird but I’m also relieved. When I started this project, I did not know if I would be able to finish. But I did it with 4 weeks to spare!

Nine pairs of mittens

I knitted seven hats, eight pairs of mittens and one pair of socks. As you can see, I’m not the biggest sock knitting fan. But the pair that I knitted for my sister-in-law was amazing. I loved them.

After I present everyone with their gifts at Christmas, I can finally tell them about this blog. It’s been a secret, of course, to anyone in my family.

If you want to see details on any of the projects, just go to my Ravelry page – they are all posted there.