Friday, January 29, 2010

Kittens and Mittens


Actually there are no kittens in this post, but there are a LOT of mittens. It seems like mitten knitting has been where it's at for me the past few months. I started in November with Bella's Mittens. I was still in a giddy post New Moon viewing phase and just HAD to make these. They are beautiful, I used an alpaca yarn which was less than ideal for these mittens and my coat because they shed like crazy, and the cable definition is kind of lost...but they are crazy warm. I think I read somewhere once that alpaca is 60 times warmer than wool.

Next up on the mitten circuit are the Give a Hoot mittens for my oldest daughter. I had decided that I was going to knit mittens for both of my girls to put into their christmas stockings. That didn't happen, because of those colorwork mittens I blogged about yesterday...I ended up finishing those on Dec. 24. Both girls got their mittens the week after christmas so everybody's hands are nice and toasty.

My oldest daughter loves owls. So these mittens are perfect for her. I made them out of an inexpensive nylon blend (that way I won't wanna kill her if/when she loses one or more). They are the perfect size...if they weren't pink I would be stealing them.

And lastly, Hope's mittens. These turned out so cute! They are 100% wool. I've been saving this particular skein of yarn for almost three years....why? I'm not sure...I guess maybe because it was the first quality wool yarn I ever bought right after I had learned how to knit. I bought it at a yarn festival in 2007, and because I had just learned how to knit...I did not save the tag or any info about the yarn. So I have no idea who made it, dyed it, nothing. I decided to break in out for Hope's mittens because it's got such a great mix of colors and it matches her coat. I have quite a bit left over so I will probably make her a hat as well.

And I'm still not done...I've got several patterns I'm wanting to try out for myself. Just call me a mitten knitting fool. Say that 3 x's fast.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Resolution

I promised myself that I would blog more. Umm, yeah. So today is Jan. 28th...nothing like getting right on it is there? I need to blog...I have so many projects that need documented for one thing, and little interesting tidbits I need to share about also. So please bear with me while I get my ducks in a row...again. I need to freshen up this blog....which will take a little bit of time I'm sure, after all I've not even posted in almost a year! That will change, I solemnly vow.

I've got FO's to share woo hoo!!!!! Since it is after Christmas and all things have been gifted it is safe to share.

These mittens were my bff's christmas gift....the one I got finished on time anyway. Chevron Love mittens from Knitterlythings. I anticipated this being a fairly quick knit...and it really wasn't. This was my first foray into colorwork...and even though I was really only knitting with two colors at a time, I was having to carry all eight colors up the mitten....I kept getting it tangled..ugh. Not fun. I did devise a strategy on the second one though...I got a shoe box and cut holes in it for the yarn to come through, then put all eight balls of yarn in the box and knit it like that. It helped some, but when you are working with that many yarn balls, there IS going to be tangling. Even though they were difficult...I think the payoff was worth it....they are gorgeous!

Next up, Mod Cables hat. Who knew that cables were for more than just looking pretty cool....they really keep your head warm!





10 days ago I had all four wisdom teeth removed...ugh. I'm still recovering but this is what kept me busy the first couple of days I was lying around on the couch. This is knit with Cascade Venezia I believe...(I lost the yarn label) It's super squishy and the color is beautiful.

Yay! I did let's hope I can keep this up...blogging I mean. I have lots more finished projects to share.

Oh...and feel free to leave me a comment. :)