FO- Norweigan Snail Mitts

I've always had a fondness for snails.

I grew up near a big, sandy beach that had areas of rocks and tidepools. This was the perfect location for plucking snails off rocks and watching their rubbery bodies retreat far into their nautilus shells.





It doesn't hurt that they are also delicious in a butter and/or cream sauce.





I love these mittens. They took some time to complete but I kept plugging away at them. They seemed like they were about 4" long for about a month, and then I got determined and completed them in three days.



I made these two at a time on two size US 1 circs. I had to stop and untangle every few rows- having four balls of yarn to keep track of seemed exponentially more difficult than two. I kept telling myself that if it got too hairy, I would put one aside and finish one at a time.



I used two skeins of Artyarns Ultramerino 4. They both started out light blue, but I threw one in the dyepot and got a deep marine blue. The green on the cuffs and the duplicate stitch is some Shibui sock yarn in "Seaweed" that I had leftover from a pair of socks I made last year.



I love these and I'm keeping them. They are tucked away waiting for the first icy arctic blast to hit, or perhaps a trip to Patagonia. The stranding makes them double-thick and quite warm.

The specs: The pattern is by Adrian Bizilia from "The Knitters Book of Yarn". I used two skeins of Artyarns Ultramerino 4 (Color 121), which is a 4-ply fingering weight 100% merino sock yarn. It was 380 yards total, and I had just a little bit of each color leftover. They were done two at a time on two circs- I used size 1. No pattern modifications except that I did a provisional cast on so I could line up the first welt smoothly. They weren't difficult, just a bit fiddly with the cuffs, and the colorwork requires constant attention.

These are also part of my ongoing A-Z stashdown challenge.

FO- Double-Thick Mitts

Here are the mittens that kicked off my A-Z Stashdown project:



I finished them more than a month ago. We had an unseasonably chilly spring day yesterday and for the first time in weeks, I felt like donning a pair of mittens for a few minutes.



And boy, they are toasty. The entire mitten is double-stranded throughout and I used size 0 needles for some dense fabric, but with very little bulk. They are a bit snug on my hands, but they are destined to be gifted to someone with slightly smaller paws so they should fit perfectly.



The Arlan Aarwetta yarn is not terribly soft. It's a nylon/superwash wool blend that was splitty and it dried my hands out...I went through a lot of hand creme while making these. I took a half skein of the beige yarn and overdyed it a dark, saturated red so I could do the colorwork. These should last forever- the yarn is super sturdy and not a pill or weak spot in sight. This yarn would make excellent socks as it seems like it would be years before a darning needle would be needed.



I loved the braided details and picot edge on the cuffs. It was a little finicky, but it really makes the mitten.

The specs: I used a bit over 2 skeins (440 yards total) of Arlan Arwetta sock yarn. This is a Swiss yarn that is rumored to be discontinued but in department stores in Switzerland it seems to be the main sock yarn choice still. I did these on 2 circs that were size US 0 after much trial and error involving dpns. The pattern is by Adrian Bizilia from "The Knitters Book of Yarn", which has a plethora of great patterns and sage advice regarding choosing the right yarn for a project.

I'm off to the post office now to mail these out. Unseasonable, yes, but I'm sure they will get some use in six months from now.

Some Works in Progress

I put the Biggy Smalls sweater down for the week. It's hard to carry it around with me and pull it out on the subway at this point, but I haven't been home too much either. I have 6 more inches of sleeve to go. I should just finish it and deal with my little mishap later (which just looks a bit smudged and fuzzy at this point). It is my goal to finish it this weekend.




After a 90 degree day a couple weeks ago, I went ahead and cast on for Pucker.



It's a simple summery top by Norah Gaughan from her Volume 4 book of designs for Berroco.




I'm using Berocco Seduce in the Jaunes Vermeer colorway, which is a really interesting blend of silk, rayon and linen. It's like knitting with straw, but when you wash the fabric it turns fluid, drapey and graceful. Stitch consistency is kind of a problem as it has no forgiveness at all. I love the sunny yellow color.



Well, that was a letdown. It was hard to get a good representation of the yellow in an indoor photo. There are some gold highlights in it. The picture makes it looked washed out and weak when it's really more sunshiny and bold. I'll try harder next time.


I also cast on for a Lobster. It's probably not a great choice of project for me as I hate finishing and finicky little sewing jobs. Still. A lobster is needed. So far I have the tail done:



The yarn was some leftover worsted weight mystery stash from eons ago. It was white so I dyed it something close to a boiled-lobster red.

Oddly enough, I'm making something else that has a shell:



These are the Norwegian Snail Mittens by Adrian Bizilia. I love Escargot. They taste so good. It's very earthy tasting...kind of like mushrooms but with more tooth. Plus, I could mainline drawn butter and garlic, so it makes the consumption of that a bit less conspicuous. Also, I love these mittens. They are my second A-Z stashdown challenge in Artyarns Ultramerino. I also used some leftover Shubi Sock Yarn in Seaweed for the cuff. It adds a bit of slime to it.



I had two skeins of the Ultramerino in fingering weight in my stash. I overdyed one darker blue so I could do the colorwork.

The cuffs are a bit involved- They have a lot of decorative elements that take some time and patience. I'm on to the actual stranded pattern now and it's moving along now.

Hopefully I'll have a FO or two to show off next week.

Mittens! The Answer is Mittens!

Why yes, I do enjoy being at my wit's end, why do you ask?

My A-Z project has not gotten off to a glowing start.



This, my friend, is the Shetland Shortie. Or was.



About halfway through it, I realized I had managed to spontaneously mess up the lace pattern in the same spot every single row for the past 10 rows. The begining of the row was great and the lace was stacking up on the diagonal, and then all of a sudden in the middle, I lost my mind and suddenly I had lace stacking up vertically. I have no idea how I did this, but I kept on doing it.

So last night I frogged it and threw half of the yarn in the dyepot. I forgot about it, let it boil vigorously for an hour before remembering it was on the stove, and now I look forward to untangling the fruits of my labor/absentmindedness. At least it was superwash and it didn't felt at all!



It's pretty.

I'm making these now:



They are the Double-Thick Mittens by Adrian Bizilia from "The Knitters Book of Yarn". I'll be casting on soon as both the sweaters I am currently working on have gotten to the point of subway knitting impossibility. I feel less frustrated already.