well, fiddle-dee-dee! look at my mittens!

pattern: Fiddlehead Mittens

designer: Adrian Bizilia/ hello yarn
yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca for the main color of the shell, Cascade 220 in black, charcoal, red, orange, and light blue for the contrasting colors, and Still River Mill 2-ply cashmere for the lining
needles: Addi Turbos #2
modifications: none - the pattern is perfection; I used a lace weight yarn for the lining instead of sport weight

It feels great to start off the new year with a finished project, and this is the kind of project that just keeps on giving. I was never one for mittens until we moved to New England. Now, I can't imagine not having several pairs on hand to choose from or to lend to friends. Not to mention how much I love knitting mittens. They're always such a satisfying knit.

Recently, several of my crafty/knitty gurus on Flickr and in real life have been cranking out Fiddlehead Mittens, a pattern I have been meaning to knit since Adrian first published it way back when. First, I saw Chawne's beauties on Flickr. Next I saw Caro knitting away on her first of the pair at knit night. The final straw was seeing Stacie's amazing handspun Fiddlehead. It was love - pure love. Or actually, perhaps the final straw was Matt picking up the Fiddleheads that Stacie test knit for Adrian and asking me to knit a pair for him because he was so smitten with them. Either way, I had been pushed over the edge. I figured since everyone was whipping them out so quickly, maybe I would be able to do the same. What I didn't count on was my gauge being a bit smaller than I expected. As I mentioned before, the mittens were too small for Matt, but they were perfect for me. Lucky me!

Let's talk about the linings one second, because they are really lovely. I used a super-soft and squishy cashmere; to say they are lovely is almost an understatement. They are heavenly. Anyway, I knit the first lining just a bit too long, and it bunches a little at the top of the mitten. The second one is just the right length. I am going to not be an anal retentive freak and rip back to fix it. I am going to just relax and accept the fact that I knit the linings two separate lengths. It's a good thing I can't see the difference in length once they're stuffed inside the mitten shells. because when I think about it, it does my head in a little. I'm going to focus on the warmth and coziness they provide. In fact, I have no idea how I have been knitting mittens without linings for so long. I have seen the light, people!

One last thing - using the Berroco Ultra Alpaca was snap decision. I was going through the stash picking out any DK/light worsted yarn available to me and just grabbed it because I figured the color would make a great base for the others. What I hadn't considered was the fact that it would give the mittens a nice fuzzy halo which I love. There's nothing like a little bit of knitting serendipity!

mad about mittens

The pile of mittens grows, some awaiting partners, others awaiting linings. And I just got my Amazon order for Magnificent Mittens and Mostly Mittens. So excited! It's going to be total mitten madness around here for the next month or two.

I finished the Fiddleheads on the top of the pile last night. They're blocked and smelling fantastic from the shampoo I used to soak them. (I always use shampoo when I soak any project that I think is going to bleed, upon Adrian's awesome advice.) They were originally intended as a last minute-gift for Matt, but my gauge was a little off. So they're too small for him but perfect for me. Heh. Talk about serendipity, huh? I'll line them once I finish the back-up gift I am now working on. More on the Fiddleheads later, though. I'll have the full details once I'm 100% finished with them. Happy holidays, folks!

squirrely fun!

Lately, I haven't had much of a chance to knit. My hands have been extremely busy doing the softie thing for the last month with little room for anything else. However, now that the Bazaar Bizarre is done and over with *huge sigh of relief* and that the shop is fully stocked for the holidays, I can finally get to knitting again. Trust, this is a great thing because there are a ton of things I want to knit, starting with Adrian's delightful Squirrel Sampler Mittens which she will be releasing for sale on her blog and through ravelry some time this week. I'm a little tardy to the party with the testing, but I was able to finish one and hope to have its mate finished by the end of this week. I *love* these mittens so freaking much, it is ridiculous. Check out the pattern on the palm:

Isn't it wonderful? I just love it to bits! Adrian is brilliant. She is totally the mitten-master.

Now for some basic info about these.... I used Harrisville Designs New England Shetland in Peacock and Marigold for the mittens at a gauge of 8 stitches and 10 rows per inch on US size 0s. For the lining, I used Misti Alpaca lace 2-ply in some purple color at a gauge of 8 stitches and 11 rows per inch on US size 0s. Oh, did I mention that they're lined?

Yep. Love, love, love!!! I need to finish the second one stat!

satan ate my mitten

The other night, Friday night I believe it was, I had a bizarro nightmare in which I was knitting a mitten that kept shifting shapes as I was knitting it and changing colors every 5 seconds like some crazy fiber optic lamp from the 70s. In the dream, I was seated across from Danielle at my kitchen table. My mitten began to hiss and make noises, and Danielle started laughing, saying, "Shit! Your mitten is possessed!" And I guess it was because suddenly there was all this horror-movie style house-groaning as "Satan" asked for the mitten. Suffice it to say, I gave him the mitten. I awoke to the house shaking. Those who have more spiritual leanings than I do might be inclined to say, "Well, that's what you get for knitting a dirty pair of mittens, you pervo." I respectfully disagree, though, being as the reason the house was shaking was probably because a huge truck rumbled by or a tree fell in the park across the street or more ice was sliding off of our roof or any one of the million reasons why our place shakes regularly. It might have even had to do with the earthquake in PA, considering all the fault lines in the northeast. Science is much scarier than myth.

The dream did express, however, how I've been feeling about these mittens I was trying to knit (all haphazardly and insanely) for Matt for Xmas (at the very last minute, of course). I thought I would be all slick and go for subtle by copying this talented stranded knitter on ravelry. I love her mittens and the way the striping of the Noro Kureyon Sock makes the pattern crisp in some parts (like those gorgeous cuffs!) and subtle in others (like the, ahem, frolicking deer). It's genius! Maybe I should have totally copied her and used Kureyon Sock (albeit in my own colors) because I am loathing the way the colors are knitting up on my mitten, and the regular Kureyon knit at this gauge is hurting my already achy hands. Not fun. I am frogging these asap and using the yarn I originally had in mind for them, a much squishier alpaca/wool blend. I might have them done in time for Matt's birthday on New Year's Day. Or I might have them finished for him in a week or two. Hmmmm, we'll see how that goes....

comfort knitting

pattern: basic mitten recipe (see below for details)
designer: me (& anyone who has ever knit a mitten)
yarn: Pigeonroof handspun in Millefiore
needles: Addi Turbos in US size 1

You know what's immensely satisfying after a couple of frenetic weeks (that I am actually extremely grateful for)? Finishing a quick and easy project before moving on to your holiday knitting (at t-minus 4 days, of course). I didn't use a pattern for these mittens. I just wanted to knit something very basic that would really show off the yarn and its gorgeous striations like sedimentary levels. I cast on 48 stitches, k2p2 for 32 rows, knit one row, then started increases for the thumb in the next row. I knit the tops of the mittens using a round decrease, but I kinda wish I had gone with the traditional wedge-shaped decreases because the mittens do feel a bit baggy. Or maybe I just have freakishly skinny fingers on a regular sized hand and that’s why there’s all that room in there at the fingers whereas the mittens fit perfectly across the palms.

Off to finish some presents now, but one thing before I go.... I loved knitting with this yarn so frigging much! Seriously, I loved every second of it; I loved knitting every stitch. The palette is amazing. I love how the colors knit up together. I need to score myself some more of this stuff.

you know what's insane?

Knitting a light worsted yarn on US size 0 needles for a colorwork project - that's insane. Originally, I was going to knit Minty a pair of Gotland Island Mittens from Folk Mittens using some Malabrigo Silky Merino. Since NYC never gets that cold in the winter (well, compared to New England, at least), I figured the yarn would be perfect for some light yet warm mittens. Hah! Light mittens my ass! At this gauge the yarn knit up into a super-dense impenetrable fabric, and honestly, it hurt my fingers to knit. Now, I am not sure if I am going to finish these. I think I'm gonna frog 'em and use the yarn for something else because after stuffing teeny-tiny softie parts all day, the strain of knitting this is really too much for my wrists and fingers.

mittens for minty

pattern: Chapter 5, Pattern 1 from Magnificent Mittens
designer: Anna Zilboorg
yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in colorways I can't recall and whose bands I threw away because clearly I am smart like that (less than one skein of each color)
needles: Addi Turbos US size#1
modifications: I did a slightly different cast on, and I knit a 1x1 ribbed colorwork cuff

For the swap I mentioned yesterday, I had to knit a pair of mittens for Minty. To be perfectly honest with you, I was more than a little intimidated knitting for someone who has the designing skills and knit-blog clout that Minty has. I probably took too long to choose a pattern because I didn't trust myself to design anything (and didn't have time to do so with my current work load - with Halloween right around the corner I am trying to churn out bats for my shop on top of everything else). I had been ogling these on ravelry for some time and finally decided to just go for it. The only problem was that I didn't have the pattern. No problem, right? Just buy the book! Yeah, that wasn't really an option with the book out of print and selling for upwards of $149 used on amazon. I ended up blowing up some photos of the mittens and charting the pattern myself. I also did some research on the rav and thanks to someone from my old stitch-n-bitch who explained Anna Zilboorg's cast on pretty clearly, I was able to cast on in that manner and knit the mittens from the fingertips down. Thanks to someone from a local knitnight who was kind enough to let me peek at her book, I realized that I had not done this exactly as Anna had explained (I knit the band in the wrong direction), but it looked good regardless so I kept going instead of ripping the whole thing out.

My favorite part of this specific pattern is the thumb. I love the way it goes with the rest of the pattern so that it is an "invisible thumb." And the construction method was pretty neat, too. I have never knit a thumb seperately and attached it as I was knitting the mitten. Thumbs are always an afterthought, in a sense. My only problem with this is that perhaps I should have knit the thumbs a little looser because they are very snug, even on Minty's wee hands. I also have a problem with the way that peasant thumbs distort the pattern on the palm because they fit so snugly across the palm:

I think if I knit these again, I might knit a gussetted thumb instead of this type despite how enamored I was the thumb construction. What am I talking about "if?" "When?" is more appropriate here because I definitely want to knit myself a pair of these, maybe with a self-striping yarn so that it imitates the Fiddlehead pattern, which is yet another mitten pattern that I want to knit for myself. (Actually, I have three of Adrian's patterns in my queue, and I'll be amazed with myself if I can resist the temptation to cast on for the Entomology Mittens before the end of the week.) Gah! I think mittens have become the new sock for me. I can't knit enough of 'em!

so lucky

I may not be the most outgoing gal at the party, but I am certainly the luckiest. In a recent swap some friends and I put together, I walked away with these beauties designed and knit by the freaking fabulously talented and so very lovely Julia Vesper in yarn that she handspun and dyed just for this. Seriously, how ridiculously lucky did I get? Thanks again, Julia! I love these so much! Knowing how cold it gets up here (and taking into account what a wuss I am about the cold), I will be wearing these A LOT this winter. And they fit beautifully!

Did I mention they're lined? She lined them in Kid Silk Haze in a fantastic shade of purple. I am beyond wowed by these. Also, she gave me the leftover yarn, and it looks like there's enough in there for a hat, like maybe the gorgeous chevron hat that she designed not too long ago. Guess what I'll be casting on for in the next week or so.

In short, Julia Vesper rocks big time! I believe tomorrow is her birthday so please do drop by her blog and wish her a great one.

fits like a glove, or ahem, a mitten

Can I live with this picot edge? Or will I just end up ripping it out and knitting the ribbing, thus salvaging an otherwise enjoyable knit and pattern that I am more than a little in love with? Because really, look at that palm:

And the thumb:

One down, one to go! And the fit is just perfect!

picot-boo!

Oh, picot edge. I've never tried to knit you before. I don't know why. I guess I was a little daunted. You seemed more complicated than you actually are. In fact, I was kinda amazed at how easy it was to knit you - just a YO, k2tog all around. So simple and pretty. I was sold on your beauty. Or was it all just an illusion? You see, in my mind, you would look something like this or this. Not this:

Hmmmmmm, where did I go wrong? Suggestions anyone? Should I have used a smaller needle? That's it, isn't it? Help a knitta out here.

As far as these mittens go, I think maybe what I need to do is rip out the picot and knit that part as the pattern calls for, so that it looks like these beauties here (or as close to perfect as those as possible). Here I thought I would make the cuff all fancy-pants when really I should have stuck to the plain ol' ribbed bit that was in the pattern. I have to say, the fit is perfect. I thought the fit would be super-loose because the mitten looked so big on the needles, but it fits my 7.5 inches in circumference hands perfectly. Not too loose, not too snug - juuuuuuuuuuuuust right! I have to say, I am in love with the pattern on the palm:

i'm just mad about mittens!

pattern: mitered mittens from Knitter's Almanac

designer: Elizabeth Zimmermann
yarn: Noro in Silk Garden, colorway
needles: Addi Turbos US size#6
modifications: I used Grace of KathrynIvy's length specs and thumb modifications

How long have I been meaning to make these mittens? It feels like forever. I've been stalking other's people's mitered mittens on Flickr and just dreaming and drooling. Well, I am so glad I finally went and got myself a copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac (seriously, how could I not have had this book in my knitting library? crazy!) and knit these puppies up. I LOVE them. The pattern is super-simple, the yarn does all the magic, and they fit fabulously. Using the mods that Grace was wonderful enough to share with us, they were a breeze to knit. I am now ready for winter! Ummmmmm, well, on second thought, not quite, but I am extremely pleased with the mittens.