FO: Kissing Koi mittens

It's April, I wanna make more mittens!



Am I the only one who gets kind of nostalgic for the chill of fall when spring arrives?  Yes, probably.  And realistically, it's just a passing emotion for me, as I do love the warm sun and the beach and outdoorsy things.  Still, the long days and thawing of the earth is somewhat sad because it means I should probably stop making heavy mid-winter knitwear.

NEVER! says I.  I will sit there in the park on a sunny day making dastardly winter wear no matter how hot it gets.  As an aside, everyone here says they don't get much of a summer anyway.  You'll be wearing tights and a cardi with that cute summer frock regardless of the the calender.

Honestly though, I think it's time to get out the linen and cottons and whatnot and at least do one summery project before the days shorten and a protective coating of knitwear is once again standard gear, and all of those who rolled their eyes at me purling away on a pair of socks in July will start wishing they had the foresight to be nicer to me as they lose all feeling in their extremities.

I've been slightly obsessed with colorwork mittens lately.  To me, they are perfect...they take a bit of time and concentration to get through, but they make fantastic gifts.  While I wouldn't be keen to do an entire sweater with fish or snowflakes or wolves or whathaveyou, mittens are the perfect vehicle to put your spirit animals on display.



I have a fascination with goldfish, especially the fancy, fin-bedazzled kind.  Except every time I've kept a fish tank, I've had dreams that the goldfish have tried to kill me.  I no longer try to keep fish of any kind because of this.  Totally irrational, but it's hard to wake up in the morning and throw some fish flakes to these little monsters when you are convinced they are going to slit your throat in your sleep.

Still...there's something just so peaceful about watching goldfish.



Or is there?  (cue music from Psycho)



Yarn is Knitpicks Palate in Bittersweet Heather and Cornmeal.  Palate is awesome for colorwork based on the sheer number of colors available.  It's not incredibly soft, but it's good, utilitarian, fingering-weight yarn.  Pattern is Kissing Koi Mittens.  The only mods I made was starting the decrease shaping early on the mitten tops; as written I thought they were a little to blunt.

FO: Snowflake Mittens

Hey now, it's springtime.  I should get some mittens on.



I don't know what inspired me to make such wintry-themed mitts so late in the season- maybe it was east-coast empathy!, but, eh.  There's always the sunny optimism of  next year's winter, and I will always have friends with cold hands.



The yarn is KnitPicks Palate, a fingering-weight rather affordable wool yarn that comes in many, many colors.  The pattern was also from KP, although, I can't recommend it highly.  The adult sizes run so small that I had to go up three needles sizes from the recommended gauge just to be able to get a good-sized mitt happening.  Still, they are pretty and worth the effort.



I love the wintry colors.  Those are words no one has ever said in March ever.  

FO: Mittens to Sink yer Teeth Into

Je vis! Happy September! I'm back from a hectic but fun past couple of weeks. I have lots and lots of pictures to sort through from my travels, and even more adventures to plan in the coming months.

First, here's something fun I finished more than a month ago:

Wolf mittens! There has been somewhat of a fascination with wolves on garments for the past few years. What started out as satire has become a coveted clothing item, and we've been seeing loads of wolf shirts in Paris this season. None of them are as awe-inspiring as what you can find at the street fairs in Brooklyn. The annual Bay Ridge street fair is still the place to get your classy howling wolf shirts, but there is also a tendency in Paris for all things dream catcher as of late, so I have high hopes that one day Eurofashion will catch up.

What could be better than wolves howling at the northern lights? Nothing. Go ahead, try to argue your point. You lose.

Throw a wolf on anything and you are an instant bad-ass.

This came from a KnitPicks kit called the Winter Woodland Mittens that I impulsively bought ages ago, which gives you enough yarn to make 6 pairs of mittens. While the color combinations caught my eye, the patterns are kind of sloppily thrown together. Even though I got gauge, I ended up having to go up 3 needle sizes and adding extra stitches at each edge to get these to fit my rather average sized hands. Except these are were supposed to fit larger hands than mine. More stitches were added, for a total of 8, which is why they have a black boarder around them. So I'm kind of bummed that the patterns, as written, will only make a child-sized pair of mitts and I know few children in cold enough climates to actually have the need for double-thick mitts.

Also, the thumbs...they look a little wonky, but since taking the pictures I ripped them back and finished them after re-charting the pattern to accommodate more stitches since they were super tiny and cutting the circulation off to your most important digit otherwise. Although, not having a thumb just means you are more wolf-like than anyone else, and gives you license to pee on any tree anywhere at anytime. Design flaw or feature?

I actually made these to be worn in Norway as I was scared to death about how cold it might be. While knitting these at the height of our short Parisian summer was a little gross, I was happy that these were not needed on our summer vacation, and they are safely tucked away until we get real wintery weather.

FO: Grove Mittens

I've been quietly knitting away, and spinning as well. It all kind of feels like a sneaky little guilty pleasure at this point. I still don't really have the proper mind to write a proper post though. The constant distractions I'm dealing with (aka "work") make it hard for me to form a sentence otherwise. My creativity suffers so.

I did finish these mittens quite a while ago though.



They are the Grove Mittens by Jared Flood, from the "Made in Brooklyn" book. Indeed.



There were so many twisted stitches that I'm not quite sure if I would ever be able to un-twist ever again. In retrospect, I did not choose the right yarn. The fuzzy woolen-spun Shelter yarn really obscured the subtle pattern. Something with more stitch definition would probably have worked better. Regardless, I like them- they really do look like the bark of a noble old tree.



I especially like the twisted cabled cuffs. It's a great touch. The tops of the mittens are much more blunted off than most- kind of a frankenmitten look. That could be easily fixed, but, eh, I kind of like it.

I used a tad over a skein of Shelter in the colorway "Soot". I used size 5 needles, so they zipped right along. I started these Rhinebeck weekend, got home and promptly discarded them to the corner to collect dust for a month because I dislike picking up stitches for the thumbs. Eventually I but picked them back up just to finish them and get them out of the pile. Life is good.

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.

Beach Day

This past weekend was so hot, I couldn't resist a little trip to the beach. I'm pretty close to Brighton Beach and it's a little less crowded than Coney Island, so I set out early in the morning with my beach chair and my knitting.





There's something soothing about getting to the beach earlier in the day than everyone else and taking in the sounds of the surf and the seabirds.





I think all New Yorkers forget sometimes that we live on an island.



Mind you, I don't go near the water anyplace this close to the city but I'm pretty sure it was too cold for a dip anyway. Brighton Beach is a Russian neighborhood, and you can find people in the water year-round going for a swim.

Also, the thing about this beach is that people are pretty comfortable with their bodies. It makes for some mighty fine people watching.





Be happy that my focal point was off. This guy had skin-tight skivvies on that showed all his junk. The soft focus improves the situation greatly.



There was something really disturbing about this chap. I couldn't put my finger on it until he passed me by.


MAKE IT STOP! Oh, my eyes. What is seen can not be unseen.

Sadly, I got this crazy deer-in-the-headlights thing happening and the prize buck eluded my camera. He seemed like a local. Maybe I'll get him next time. His neon green speedo still haunts my dreams.

On to the knitting.



I'm still crawling along on the Escargot mitts...I did make a pretty big dent in them and I'm almost up to the thumb. I find it hard to find the time to sit down with the chart and have quiet concentration time, and the beach was pretty perfect for this.



The Pucker top. I actually finished this up on Sunday and I love it...pictures soon. It's simple and quick to knit and makes a drapey flattering summer top. I'm still love/hating this yarn, but the end result was worth it. The sunshiny lemon color makes me happy.

I have a bunch of FOs that I need to take pictures of this weekend. I also finished spinning for the Oatmeal Cardigan and started swatching in earnest last night...I'm really very happy the way the yarn came out and I have my itchy cast-on finger at the ready.

Some Knitting Progress

The craziness surrounding a corporate move has yet to calm down. Today I have a crew replacing tiles that got gouged during construction in the reception area. The moment I walked in the door this AM, I got a rather overwhelming view of plumber's crack. That vertical smile is greeting everyone coming into the office. Classy, eh? I also have some people here from the furniture installation company to replace pieces that were delivered damaged, but they are spending a lot of time being confused and they seem to be missing the new furniture. This should be interesting.

On to the knitting. I'm ignoring reality today.

I finished the body and sleeves of the Lion Neck Cardigan, and now I'm working on the ruffle collar (the Lion Neck part). I failed to get a picture, but it's all bunched up on the needles anyway, so I'll wait until that's finished. It was a fairly quick knit, but it was too big and heavy for me to get into my day bag (and far too awkward to take out on the subway or bus) so it didn't get a whole lot of attention. Just a few rows here and there when I could find the time.

I'm almost done the body of the Baby Cables and Big Ones Too (which I just refer to as my Biggy Smalls, since the sweater title is infuriatingly complex to try to blurt out when asked).



So far, I love it. And I love the yarn- Valley Yarns Northfield. It's soft and lofty from the merino, drapey from the Alpaca content, a little bit of sheen from the silk, and the whole thing is plied into a tight, springy cabled yarn. It's a steal- it's comparable to luxury yarns twice that price.

My other knitting project is, of course, my A-Z Aarlan Arwetta double-thick mittens.



I ran into some needle issues with these. I loathe double-points, so I went out and bought 2 size 0 circs for these. I decided to try something new (and on sale!) and went for the "Square Circulars" that Kollage makes with horrible results. To be fair, I only tried this one tiny 0 size, so maybe the rest of their needles are great. I gave up after only 3 rounds. I liked the square shape, but the cords were useless- they were too floppy and they kinked and bent too easily to push my stitches around. It became a small war. I switched to DPNS, but they kept sliding out at inopportune moments and made me a bit crazy. I put the mitts down for a few days and ordered a couple of addi turbo circs (addi has yet to fail me with any of their products) with a gift certificate that a co-worker gave me to Yarnmarket.com (which I undoubtedly feel that I've earned) and I'm now once again happily plugging away at them.

Well, the furniture installers did not get about half of what was ordered here, so I will be dealing with them again next week. Hopefully the vertical smiles will be done in a while- I've been putting off a bathroom break to avoid that sight.

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.