Mitten Picture

The third time knitted mitten is a fast knit.   :)  
Fewer stitches!  And I have changed up the colors and am finally happy with what I see.
Mitten on the left is the newest edition.  Mitten on the right is too narrow in the cuff and too wide in the hand (therefore, frogged).
Cupcakes, in my dreams!

Mittens Over and Over Again

Remember last March?  The infamous contest to finish 3 projects?  And nothing got done?  I exaggerate:  One got finished on the deadline, number 2 finished about a month ago, and number 3?....  It's turned into a saga.  The cupcake mittens re-invented to include a clever convertible flap.
I have great respect for designers, and pattern creators, but this is getting ridiculous:  I have planned, measured and knitted those mittens through the thumb increase twice, and am hoping beyond all hopes that "three times' a charm".  This time, I'm salvaging the ribbed cuff.  I don't remember why it didn't work out last time, but last night I discovered that the thumb increase wasn't the only thing that made them look gigantic... it's got to be the stitch count.  One less cupcake on front and back... I'll be done by.... March 2012.  Oh, my!!
And for those 'in the know', the masked blogger is back.

Loads of Yarn

In June I returned home with a 'boat-load' (or plane-load/suitcase-load) of yarn.  Leftover yarn from years of projects--other people's projects... don't ask.

I don't mind... I have a few more places to store un-loved yarns, however, it makes me itchy to use it.  In fact, I have this thing...(somebody, please analyze me kindly) that I would rather use yarns that are recycled and partially used skeins than start a project with brand new/newly purchased yarn.  I'm sure you are putting together yesterday's "thrifty" blog with today's information about my psyche (and my daughter and her friends are rolling their eyes) and thinking I'd be a great candidate for some treatment!  Bring it on-- I've perfected these flaws over my many years.
Do you think this is the same syndrome that makes me obsessive about eating all of the broken chips out of the bowl before the perfect, whole ones?  Anyway, back to knitting.

I brought back a boat-load of colors of mostly the same weight yarn.  One skein of each color, I have been eager to find a nice fair isle that would use them.  I found it!  A pattern that would use 5 of those colors, leaving only another 15 to find a purpose. Here is the beginning of a toddler pullover:

The original pattern uses a white background, but... I didn't have or want another white sweater.  In the same magazine there was much information on choosing colors, and they showed how the color intensity really shows true if the photo is black and white.

You can see that the lighter pink is almost the same as the light purple, which isn't "good" in their terms.  Oh well. Before I started, I lined up all the balls of yarn, took their picture and turned it black and white to look at the contrast.  I didn't notice how close they were then.

It's fun with so many colors, and so fulfilling to use up small amounts of color! STASH-BUSTING!

 Pattern:  Hearts and Flowers Cardigan by Judy Alexander from Interweave Knits, Winter 2009

Re-useable Yarn!

One of the nicest things about creating with yarn is its resiliency.  I'm a thrifty daughter-of-a-scot, and my father had quite the reputation for being able to assemble workable farm equipment from parts.  Very ... thrifty!  I'm sure he kept many tractors from the salvage/landfill yards, just as I'm keeping wool from the compactor!

 It started last June as my daughter pointed out that she didn't need another purple scarf and I was involved in the fascinating pattern of reverse (or two-sided) cables, and knitting up her yummy cashmere.  

I 'know' I have a picture, but the only one I can find is here, on Ravelry.

It was a lovely scarf;  errr... Two scarves!  I had one almost complete, and my daughter had made one of the same yarn years earlier. 

Using the yarn doubled, it makes a nice squishy cashmere vest:  (unfinished)

The pattern is "Eco Vest" and the next step is to add front panels and collar.  Alas, it will be an 'alternative' yarn, because I don't have any more cashmere...  Even though this sounds very familiar (see yesterday's blog), I fully was aware of this.  When I started it in June, I knew I wouldn't have enough and bought an alternative yarn.
Almost as yummy and squishy:

That was purchased 2 months ago, and almost immediately I found myself taking the sleeves off another purple sweater, making it a vest, and the sleeves... well, here's another re-useable yarn.  I have unraveled one sleeve since I'm not sure I'll need both.  This is the third or thirteenth most yummy of yarns:  Elsebeth Lavold's Angora.

By using once knitted cashmere and once knitted angora, I'll have taken "Eco Vest" to the next level of Ecology!  N'est ce pas?


Link to My previous Blog on this project!

 

Happy Endings!

Doesn't matter:  Happy or Sad endings;  I cry.  This had me crying for both occasions.

Sad:  I ran out of yarn.   Happy:  End results are ALL good!

At the end of Knit Nite last week, I was left with no yarn for my sweet 3 color/tiered cardigan.  As everyone left and I was sitting alone finishing the second sleeve, there was this sudden jolt when the yarn slipped from my fingers and I realized it was the end of the ball.

Then the second jolt of anger of being tricked into thinking this wasn't what it seemed and I started thrashing around to find that "next" ball that HAD to be lurking there... in the bottom of...  Then I remembered that a friend was going to LYS (60 miles, one way) tomorrow and all would be right, IF they just happened to have that yarn, in that color.   

The next day brought the right color but the wrong yarn to my home.  

Question:  How different could they be?

Sublime:  extra fine merino wool dk,  and Sublime:  baby cashmere merino silk dk. Same yardage, same color ##... not exactly the same.  But it feels almost the same and was such a good match that I used it for the last few rows at the top of one sleeve (where I honestly have been looking but can't see a difference) and for the neck and front edges (where I have looked and can easily see a difference).  

It sure is a cute sweater... have to get it on that 2 year old before she grows!

  Pattern: Aurora by Sublime Yarns from Sublime #619, The Second Cashmere Merino Silk DK Book

 

 Yarn:  Cashmere Merino Silk DK by Sublime Yarns

DK / 8 ply  75% Merino, 20% Silk, 5% Cashmere, 127 yards 

 plus  Extra Fine Merino Wool DK by Sublime Yarns

  DK / 8 ply 100% Merino, 127 yards  

 

I detest sewing on buttons, but ... has to be done.  I found thread in Fjord Blue that matched nicely.

And here's one more for inspection, to look for the mismatched yarn.

Summer Babes in Canada, Eh?

Here's a link to another blog.  Calendar at the Beach

Socks! The Perfect Project

As I finish up my newest cardigan, and somehow find challenges EVERY time I do some knitting project, I start to wonder why I have these challenges at all.
Afterall, I'm, what I consider, an experienced knitter... Maybe I think of myself too highly.  I generally have some obstacle to overcome.  (Varying sizes of cables and running out of yarn to name two problems in the past month.)  Maybe I deserve the label "intrepid" knitter... not experienced.
This leads me to believe that socks are the only items I knit that are relatively problem-free.  I counted up 15 sock projects in the past 30 months, and I remember only one of them having to be ripped back and re-knitted.

I 'heart' socks....  In a stress-free world, there would be only socks for knitting!  Hmmm. I'll think about that.
Ravelry Link to My Socks