First Finished Project of 2014

Not to brag or anything, but I actually FINISHED a knitted project on 1/1!

These mitts were super-easy and totally made up by me.  I cast on the wrong number of stitches to begin with and had to pull it out and re-cast-on with fewer stitches (20), but that was just right.  I knitted 12 rounds for the wrists, worked back and forth for 11 rows for the thumb opening then 8 rounds for the fingers in ribbing and another 8 in garter.

I didn't worry with a thumb gusset on these since I didn't intend to knit a thumb and the back-and-forth rows are really quite perfect.

I used a soy/wool blend from Southwest Trading Company.  It's super-bulky yarn and I knitted these on size 10 DPNs.  I think total knitting time was about 4 hours...and it qualifies as stash busting since I found the yarn in my stash!  yea!

TGWE #6: Learning about myself as a knitter Part II

I've tried to motivate myself to continue working on the Risti Mitts.  I've told myself I need peace and quiet, few distractions, and to not be tired.  So, I've created that atmosphere for myself.

Guess what?  I still don't like working on the mitts.  I keep making mistakes, even without distractions.  I find myself getting tense, frustrated and a tad grumpy.  And I think, "Why am I doing this to myself?  I knit for relaxation and contemplation time...to keep my hands busy when in a group setting...not to get aggravated."

So, I cut the yarn and have decided to move on.  I didn't like the density of the fabric, either, which was another strike against these gorgeous mittens.

As an experiment goes, this one failed to support the hypothesis.  I have about 2000 yards of some really gorgeous yarn that I have no idea what to do with.

And here's the funny.  When I was talking with David about whether or not to cut this project, my biggest concern was all that yarn with no purpose.  He said, "you have a room full of yarn with no purpose."

That boy doesn't get it.  This yarn was bought for this purpose.  To make some gorgeous color-work mitts.  After it succeeded in that purpose I would have had approximately 1800 yards leftover to make something else, but it could happily sit in a basket and await its next destiny BECAUSE it had fulfilled its first.  Unfortunately, it's going to have to sit in a basket and await its first destiny and I have absolutely no idea what to do with it.

About all that other yarn?  Well, it was either bought because I had a specific project in mind, or a general concept of what I wanted out of it, or it was bought because I liked it.  If it hasn't achieved its destiny yet is only exemplary of the fact that I'm not a knitting/weaving factory and have only a limited amount of time to do things.

Today's picture is of the gorgeous socks I'm working on using my Signature needles.  I love these needles.  they are slick and strong and have the tiniest points imaginable.  I love that they could serve as a weapon should I need them to (ha!).  The pattern is called "Hickory" by Jane Cochran from "A Knitter's Book of Wool" by Clara Parkes.  The yarn is sumptuous:  Springtree Road's Julep Twist socks (merino, cashmere and nylon blend in colorway Idyl).  The pattern doesn't look like much in this picture, but when I finish the second sock and take pics of both of them on my feet you'll love how the ribbing branches out and looks very organic.  They will be a beautiful pair of socks that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy wearing and showing off!

TGWE # 6: Learning about myself as a knitter

I've started the 6th project in my "great wool experiment."  They are a gorgeous pair of color-work mittens using a gorgeous striped lacey cuff with a blue and white graphic color-work pattern for the hand.

And I think they are probably the prettiest mitts I've ever worked.

And I also find that I have no patience for them.

Working the cuff was particular difficult.  I'm not sure why because the lace pattern wasn't really that hard, but I kept having to go back and fix things---at least I was noticing the errors as I made them.  And I really like the two round stripes of each color.  It brings out the different colors and makes for a gorgeous cuff.  As you can see.

Then when I started the color-work portion I realized how much easier it is for me to do color-work than it is to do lace.  I think it's because I only have to remember 2 things--blue or white--as opposed to a bunch of different stitches (5 or 6 in the lace pattern).

So, after working on the mitten for 30 minutes yesterday I decided to put it aside and work on something else.  Keeps me from hating the project, and allows me to rest the brain.  I randomly selected another lace project from my current unfinisheds...I could only stand 30 minutes of that before I  put it back in my closet and selected the next project.

This one is a sock--in a gorgeous cashmere merino blend yarn in a dark green color.  The knitting is only knits and purls, but put together in such a way that the ribbing forms unique slants and curves.  And I thoroughly enjoy working on this one.  In fact, I knitted on it most of the day yesterday and finished the leg and got into the heel.  That's some pretty serious progress if you think about it.  And I'm not bored.  I'm happy with this project, as a matter of fact.

So, what I've learned about myself during TGWE #6 is that I don't like lace.  Even though I'm thoroughly attracted to it, I have no patience for it.  I don't want to "think" about my knitting, at least not right now...I want my knitting to be the thing that flows off of my needles.  I think that, in the end, I'm much more interested in the yarn than I am in the patterning.

This is a very important lesson to know about onesself as a knitter.  It will help me pick projects in the future and know that IF I HAVE to choose the lace pattern, that I'm going to be very long in the knitting of it, and I'll probably hate it before I'm finished.  But that's ok because I'll love it when I'm done.

Lace knitting is definitely something I need to save for those times when I need to be challenged in my hobby--and right now this isn't even close to that!

TGWE #5: Completed

The Sweet Fern Mitts are gorgeous.  I love the way they look, love the way they fit, but man, the wool (Edelweiss by Schoeller and Stahl) is so itchy I can't wear it.

And that makes me very sad.

If anyone out there is interested in a pair of gorgeous mitts, please let me know.  You can have them for the cost of the wool:  $15 plus whatever it costs to ship them to you.  They fit a woman's hand and are very stretchy.  They will be extremely warm.

My thoughts about the wool, besides it being itchy.  It's a very dense spin that has created a very round yarn.  The stitch definitely, therefore, is gorgeous.  It's very lofty and the cables really pop, as you can see.  The ribbing that goes around the hand created a nice snug fit without and the knit wales are pronounced and very pretty.

What I found while knitting is that the yarn wants to knit up very tightly. I  had to keep reminding myself to knit looser so that I could easily get my needles into the stitches on the next round.  The cable, at times, could be difficult to completely twist.  The overall finished product, though, is a nice, dense fabric that will wear for a long time and be extremely warm.

I did enjoy working this pattern and will look for another yarn that I think will do the cables justice to make a pair of these mitts for myself.  I'm not sure if it is the extra amount of hay present in the yarn (I picked out what I saw) that was causing me problems, or if this wool has simply taken me beyond the limits of my comfort level.

The Great Wool Experiment #5

TGWE #5 is well under way.  I started it a couple of days ago and have almost reached the point in the mitt where I start working on the thumb increases.  I love the cable, even though I didn't read the errata first and am doing it backwards.  I looked at the chart when I first started knitting the mitts, and then looked at the picture and thought it didn't look right, but I went with the chart because my knitting intuition isn't as confident as it should be.

I'm not ripping back and starting over, but the cable looks interesting and pretty so I'll keep it.

What I'm finding about working with this yarn.  It's Edelweiss by Schoeller and Stahl in a warm chocolate color.  The yarn is "woolen spun" which means that it isn't carded before spinning which makes the fibers come together in all different directions rather than being a smooth thread.  You see little halos everywhere you look with this yarn.  It's really quite lovely.

I would describe the hand as "crisp" which results in a gorgeous fat stitch.  Just look at this close up of the ribbing section of the mitt.

If you click on the photo and look at the close up you can see the "furriness" of the yarn.  It really is quite a nice look.  I agree with the designer, Clara Parkes, that these mitts need to be knitted with woolen spun yarn.  After looking at several projects on Ravely last night, the pattern comes out kind of limp in other yarns.  But in a nice crisp wooly-wool...it's truly sweet.

Knitting with the yarn has been a bit of a challenge for me.  It feels very tight on size 5 needles.  I tried on the mitt and it fits like it should, so I don't want to go up a needle size.  I thought about how I like working socks in the round on 5 DPNs, so I got out an extra set of size 5 needles to have my cable needle handy and have switched to working with 5 and it is somewhat better.  I'll see what I think tonight when I have a full 30 minutes with it in the "square" instead of in the "triangle."

And for the record, on the next mitt, I'm going to work the cable as intended so you can see the difference....I'm not too fretful over matchy-matchiness...and in the end my hands will be just as warm which is really the whole point of these lovely mitts.

The Mittens are Finished

I think I love them. I  hope I have the opportunity to wear them.  Quite bright and very difficult to get a good photograph, but they're fun, super easy and quick.  I even had to rip one out and start completely over, remember?

Now, off to start something new.

I'm making mittens

I'm making mittens...don't ask me why because it's hardly ever cold enough here to warrant more than one pair of gloves.

But, Saturday I wasn't feeling great and needed an easy knitting project while watching the football games (go Aggies!).  I didn't want to mess up the lovely sweater, so knew that I needed to take a break from it, for at least on Saturday.  I had a bag beside me that had two "cakes" of yarn--a lovely green bamboo and wool sock yarn and a hot pink silk and wool sock yarn.  I decided that every girl needs a bright pink pair of mittens, and somehow channeled the memory that I have no idea how it works and went through the giant stack of patterns that I'd printed out months ago in search of the "great guide to mittens" by Anne Budd...which I found and off I was going.

Problem is I didn't check guage and ended up making my mitten WAY too big.  So I ripped out the whole thing and started over.

And here's its picture.  Lochi was a very good prop for my mitten last night.  The silk is what you're seeing shimmer in the picture.  They are so fun!

Don't worry.  I'll get back to the sweater.  But first I must finish these mittens and today starts the Mystery Cowl Knit-a-long (and I should get my yarn today so I should be able to start that today).  But it'll happen because that sweater is just too gorgeous to let sit for very long.  Apparently, though, I needed a break, and that's ok.