novamade

mittens are not sweaters

 

While it might appear that I am expertly avoiding the task of sweater knitting or quilt-making, do not be fooled. I am going to wow you with brilliance shortly (I am not kidding about this, prepare for a craft attack of shock and awe); but, for now you can be underwhelmed (or at least average-whelmed) by some mittens.

Little Mister loses mittens like it's his job. He is down to one store bought pair for the rest of the season (which has actually been pretty mild, if we are being honest); and, everyday we pick him up from school, the big question is always, "where are the mittens?" It's taken me a awhile to realize the stupidity of this conundrum, because here are the facts:

• I know how to knit (I know, shocking),
• mittens are actually pretty easy to knit (I am speaking of basic mittens without bells, whistles and accoutrement),
• mittens, particularly those for a child, are a pretty quick knit.

So yes, I knit a pair of mittens. I had to do something with the extra skein of handspun that I wound up for the Valentine's Day hats. The yarn was supposed to be Little Mister's hat, but the gauge was off, the yarn weight was more of a dk-light worsted yarn, and the hats were for heavy worsted, or aran weight yarn. In any case, I did a gauge swatch (I know, I do gauge swatches all the time now, I am just as surprised as you, really), and just knit based on a hand tracing of Little Mister's hand (which leads me to believe that Little Mister has big hands for a three year old; but, there you are).

So, while a pair of mittens do not a sweater (or a quilt) make, I made something pretty functional for Little Mister. And lets be honest, they are pretty fabulous (she says humbly, ahem).  He is a little annoyed that they are red and not green or some other color that he loves right now (like brown, or white--I have no idea), but really, he is just going to lose them anyway, so I suppose I will get around to a green pair eventually.

birthday celebrations

 

A very good friend of mine had a birthday earlier this month, and I wanted to do my part in helping her celebrate her day of good fortune (no one loves a birthday like I love a birthday, it's true), so I made her a pair of mittens.  Because she lives in a chilly and snowy place where winter wear is required to function, I figured she wouldn't mind winter gear that was cute as well as functional.  And since I know she knows how to knit, she would appreciate the knitted goodness that are handknit mittens.

 
I have been wanting to knit Elizabeth Zimmermann's Mitered Mittens pattern for quite some time now, probably ever since I saw Maritza's, and that was well over a year ago.  I am not sure why I waited so long.  They are not difficult or overly time-consuming; and, they are an enjoyable knit (especially if knit with Noro--I bet dyed handspun would be pretty awesome too, actually).  And, as with most EZ patterns, the construction is pure genius.

 
I made two modifications: first, I used Grace's thumb mods that she posted on the Kathryn Ivy blog because most people prefer to have their mitten thumbs where they should logically be; and, secondly, I made the mitten tips less elf-like by stopping the decreases sooner and grafting the tips.  The end result is a nice little birthday treat, if I do say so myself.

 
In addition to helping a friend out west celebrate a birth anniversary, I helped celebrate one on the home front, too.  Special K celebrated another year of aging earlier this week.  He is not that into celebrating, but since his wife and his children are into birthday hootishness, that's moot.  There were many balloons and much cake consumption, as you can imagine.

may is mitten month

Or, May Day is mitten day, at the very least.   Last year, Little Sir was going through some of my yarn (he likes to do this as we have identified yarn as my "toys;" and, if they are toys they are fun, right?) and he came across a small little skein of yellow handspun.  I think it might have been the first handspun spun from my "fancy fiber stash" (I think most spinners will know what I am referring to when I say that...the good stuff...from the indie dyers).  I started out with 4 ounces of beautifully dyed bfl from Spunky Eclectic dyed in the Sunflower colorway.  It was like a puff of sunshine.

The first 2 ounces was my "learning process" (that sounds much better than 'disaster') before I "got it," the singles wer ultra-overspun, unsalvageable.  So I spun the remining 2 ounces and had a little bit of yarn, maybe 55 yards.  When Little Sir found it, he asked me to make him a pair of mittens.  I said I would; but, I hoping he would forget, there was a little bit of sentimentalism with that yellow yarn.  He didn't forget.  Every time he put on his silly commercially made mittens with dinosaurs on them, he asked about his non-existent yellow mittens.  So I finally got around to making them (they took me all of 4 hours in total to knit), and since it's now spring, he is going to get so much wear out of them, I am sure.

  

I am glad I made the mittens.  The yarn became something.  I fulfilled a promise to my kid.  And Little Sir loves his new mittens (LOVES them!).  He likes to wear them around the house (it's not like he needs to wear them outdoors at all).  Notes in the gallery and on ravelry.

If anyone is going to Maryland Sheep and Wool this weekend, say hi!  I will be the one with the Littles in tow (or, alternatively, chasing Little Sir all over the fairgrounds, possibly with Little Mister strapped to my chest).

30% more zaftig, but this time with mittens!

For those of you wondering about my well-being, rest assured, I am fine.  Zaftig, but fine.  I have just been busy with moving an institutional archive at work, managing a "clever" (his word, not mine) toddler at home,  rockin' my crazy mad domestic skills,  and, you know, creating a life.

 

In about 9 hours my zaftig state will (hopefully) start to be less so and my sleepless nights will increase to the tune of newborn wailings.  I will be in the hospital for the rest of the week but when I come back, I will do so with finished knits (oh, and a baby!)...because I have actually done some knitting and other stuff, I have just been too tired or distracted to blog about it.  Also, I started a two month vacation yesterday (aka, maternity leave) so I am thinking there might be a little time to catch up on blogging, blog-reading, baking...but what do I know?

As many things as I have managed to knit or make since Halloween (which, for those keeping score was over a month ago), I did not, however, make my new mitten stunners.  These mittens were knit up by my homeslice (of pie) Ashley aka dogged.  I waxed philosophical on "happy mittens" and she made me a pair.  I am too lazy, tired (...pregnant, you pick) to give you the details, besides, Ashley talks all about them here.  Read about them and then go make your own.  These are, really, the happiest mittens ever.

See you next week!

goodness

So bloglines and I are still on the outs.  It's too bad really, because I have a great FO to share today...mitteny goodness! 

Over the weekend I went to Boston and hung out with some really great knit bloggers, friends all (I know that I am leaving a few people out, there were a lot of people!).  In addition to eating, camera-talk, yarn-shopping and sight-seeing, there was some mitten trading.  I made some mittens for the Philistine.

I think she likes them, she seems suitably whelmed with the finished product.

These mittens are from the same pattern as my frogged white mitten disaster.  There were some interesting design features in the pattern.  The tree of paradise design for the palm was pretty interesting in the finished product (although a pain to keep track of while knitting). 

The cables kept the pattern really interesting and the bobbles were fun.  It helped that there were not too many bobbles (I do think there is such a thing).  The rustic aran weight yarn that I used gave me a way different gauge than the reccommended worsted that the pattern suggests and that I was originally using, so I had to modify the pattern slightly.  I was afraid that the mittens would be too big, but I think it worked out in the end.  I mean, if the Philistine herself gives the finished product two thumbs up, who am I to argue?  Details in the gallery and on the rav.

And since it is Wednesday and the Pushing Daisies episode tonight sounds cute, I am going to post a pie.  I am cheating, but whatever.  I made two apple pies to share last weekend (pie goodness!), and the report was that they were tasty (I am sure the locally made ice cream that Diana had on hand didn't hurt either).   Pie recipe was  from Joy of Cooking, 1972 reprint (naturally).  The curst recipe was the patee brisee pastry liberally modified by me with a goodly amount of extra sharp New York cheddar-because that is how I roll.

I am making the same pie tonight whilst watching the Piehole Wednesday-inspiring show (we went apple picking on Monday, I hope you did something suitably exciting as well), so it's not totally cheating.  Apple pie with a cheddar pastry crust.  I will try for something more original and exciting next week.  Till then, I will leave you with some apple-picking joy (or rather, more goodness).

The first apple he picked all by himself.  It was a big deal.

not now, i'm knitting

Were you looking for pie?  So how about celebrating Piehole Wednesday on Friday?  Yeah, I thought it was a good idea too.  I watched Pusing Daisies on Wednesday and while I did so, I made a pie, a custard pie (with pears), actually. 

It's a Martha Stewart recipe that you can find here.  It's another one of those non-traditional pies in that there is no crust...it's a pie because it was baked in a pie pan.  It was still pretty good though; but, I suppose if you are not a fan of custard (or say, if you are allergic to eggs), then this is not the pie for you.

As pies go, it's a pretty quick one to do...there is no pastry preparation (because there is no crust)...the most time consuming part is peeling, coring and slicing the pears.  Martha suggests that the prep time takes 15  minutes.  I have often thought that prep time estimates arent' really Martha's forte.  If you are a normal person or have a toddler in the kitchen with you while making this pie, you should probably allot 20-25 minutes.  If said toddler wants to "help" you, you are probably looking at 30-35 minutes prepping this very simple pie.  But as pies go, it's a pretty good one to do with kids (after you peel and cut the pears).

Baking this pie was a break from knitting mittens (I know, they aren't knit in that pretty tweed I planned to use, more on that later).  But after the pie was done, I had to get back to knitting the mittens.  They needed to be done last night.  Oh, well.

Also, it has come to my attention that bloglines doesn't seem to like my blog's feed right now.  I can't really do anything about it, so hopefully bloglines and my blog will make up sooner rather than later.  Have a good weekend! 

just peachy

Lest you all think I am lazing about chomping on bon bons, let me assure you that I have been hard at work.  I have been so busy with the knitting lately, I haven't had the time, energy or wherewithall to blog about it (being pregnant probably contributed to the general feeling of lethargy; but, it sounds so industrious to say that I have been busy, so let's go with that). 

For the past couple of weeks, I have been consumed with the knitting of a shawl.  Some of you have heard about the shawl, aka my nemesis.  I finished it tonight, so there will be a finished object post shortly, I have a lot to say about this very tiny shawl.  But while it was soaking up some Kookabura wool wash, I was thinking about other projects.

Like mittens.  I like knitting mittens.  But for some reason, I got stalled on these Aran mittens.  They went in a project bag and there they sat (for a year?).  I liked the pattern, but for some reason, I just didn't finish them.

But the pattern is pretty great, and I think a friend of mine would like the pattern too...so I am going to knit these mittens.  But in a different yarn I think.

Tweed, maybe?

I think it was the white yarn that had me meh about the whole project.  I knew I wasn't going to finish them in the original color, "cloud" (which is Knit Picks' fancy way of saying "white")...

Much better.  Peachy, even.

You didn't think I would let Pushing Daisies premiere with no pie, did you?

Fresh peach pie with a flaky pastry crust, recipe from Joy of Cooking, 1972 reprint.

The pie baker is back (even if her photo editor is not-- please pretent thse pictures are better lit).

i'm all about productivity

So right about now, you are probably wondering if I actually finish anything.  So to prove that I do, I thought I should show some proof of productivity.

I knit these fingerless mitts (Evangelines) in no time at all, but then I let the ends (all 8 of them for the set) derail the finishing. 

I know, it's kind of ridiculous.  In any case, while procrastinating the tomten, I finished them.  I think they are pretty fantastic, I hope the recipient does too.  I will pop the details in the gallery.

The mitts were knit in Andy's Merino (that's the name of the wool source) from Farmhouse Yarns .  I love Farmhouse Yarns, the colors are phenomenal.

So, I am on vacation right now, spring break, as it were.  I don't have internet accessibility in my room, I have not yet decided whether this is a blessing or a curse; but, I was able to post this, so I should still be able to share some pie and another fo on Wednesday.  Because, you know, I am all about pie (and apparently, finished objects).

mittenish

Thanks again for all the mitten love.  It's no secret that I love the mitts, I am glad you guys think they're snazzy too.  Knitting Anemoi has given me a true appreciation for mittens and knitting them.  I still don't think they are as practical as gloves, but they're pretty.  So instead of casting on for a pair of socks (you know, for a portable project) I started looking at patterns for mittens.  I was still feeling awfully puffed up with pride after my success with Anemoi when I cast on for these:

                                                                      

pride goes before a fall...

These cabled cuffs are the start of  Marcia Lewandowski's Aran Island Mittens.  I thought the pattern was interesting (even if there are bobbles that could have easily been left out); but, perhaps it's too interesting for me.  It took me longer than was reasonable to figure out the tree of life stitching detail.  My early efforts were spotty and there was quite a lot of ripping, finally I just went with what I had.  Stitching on the left mitten's lower left palm leaves much to be desired; but that's okay.  These mittens were originally intended as a gift for someone (yes, I know, back to the gift knitting); but, now I'm not sure what fate waits for these mittens.  We'll have to see what the finished product looks like, but I don't have high hopes for this project at the moment.

On a completely different topic, how many of you are solitary knitters as opposed to group knitters?  I tried knitting in groups before, in the early days through "meet up" groups, the only clicking that happened was from the knitting needles, and I sort of discovered the beauty of knitting alone while listening to audio goodness or watching television (which inevitably causes the loss of brain cells, so why not?).  I think I do okay knitting on my own, but I have started knitting with a group at work. 

While I was at a local yarn shop a co-worker who works very far from the library on campus told me about a knitting group that meets in the cafe of the library to knit during lunch once a week.  Well, first she asked if I was a knitter (which seemed like a ridiculous question to ask someone standing in line with an obscene amount of yarn, magazines and needles--I do what I can to help the local shops stay afloat).  So today will be my second session of knitting with this group of random librarians, professors, graphics designers and a coach from the athletic department.  While knitting last week, we drew the attention of some students, so we may see a few of them today.  I think I kind of like it.  It's an odd experience though because I just sort of assume that all knitters know about things like 1) knit blogs, 2) Knit Picks and Elann and 3) Koigu. It's a strange feeling to be looked at as some sort of knitting wunderkind because I know where to buy cashmere blends for a steal.  For the most part I knit thinking "my friends, have you not heard about this wonderful thing called the internet?!" But I don't ask.  I am just considering it a new mission to help these people spend as much money as I do on yarn, purely for there own edification, of course.  I haven't mentioned my knit blog to them, I don't feel like I know them well enough (funny, right?).

And just because I like it, here is a picture of some flowers that make me feel like spring is right around the corner even if there is snow piled up outside my window.

the fine art of knitting for one’s self

There is no shortage of Anemoi Mittens in the knitblogging community.  I have seen many pairs in various states of production.  My Anemois are done, and I couldn’t be happier.

Like many who have knitted this pattern, I too love it.  I love the pattern (and though I don’t actually know her personally, I think I might love Eunny for writing the pattern), I love the yarn I used, and I love the finished mittens.

Lest you think that I should have titled this post “mitten love,” I will tell you one more thing I love about these mittens:  I love that they are mine.  I have been a knitter for a little over two years now and since I picked up the sticks I have never knit a thing for myself.  No, nothing.   Maybe you are sitting there thinking, “what a crock, what about your first project?!”  No.  My first project was a garter stitch scarf made on size 19 needles with LB Homespun, you know the one, the pattern is on the ball band; I was so impressed with how it came out, I obviously couldn’t keep it for myself, it had to be given away.  At least the person I gave it to still wears it, all the time as a matter of fact—I need to knit her something else so she can graduate up to some wool or something, but that’s another post for another time. 

As I was saying, no knitting goods for me…you see, the idea never occurred to me.  Sure, I marked patterns and made mental notes of the things that I wouldn’t mind knitting for my own personal use or wear, but if it was an accessory or something-of-the-like it went to someone else if it came out half way decent (and trust me, when “half-way decent” is your benchmark, you can achieve success quite easily).  In truth, to combat this giving away of the goods I started knitting a sweater for myself (Arwen, what?) thinking, “well, if it’s made with my measurements in mind, then obviously I will keep it…” and then I let knitting for others get in the way of my finishing it, because “it’s just for me, I can wait…”  But then there were these mittens, these Anemois mittens with beautifully curved scrolls reminiscent of Kelmscottian design. 

The special collections librarian in me that deals with rare books, of course, loves that detail.  So I got the pattern thinking that this would be the knit, for me, that I would get around to some day.  Perhaps it was Project Spectrum, or maybe it was my tiring of the cables in Arwen, but “some day” happened a lot sooner than I expected.  And I must say, this knitting for one’s self, it’s the cat’s pajamas (yes, I really do say cat's pajamas--yes, I know).

There are a some who dub knitting for one’s self as “selfish knitting,”  I never thought of it this way when I was doing all that knitting for others, or “gift knitting” if you wish, it just never really occurred to me to knit something for myself at the time.  But now, I have all sorts of crazy plans…but there will still be the knitting for others, because I am a giver (it gives me some sort of weird high,  I really like doing things for other people, it's a compulsion).  But, really a knitter knitting for the sake of producing personal goods, that’s not selfish at all.

I think there is a certain art to knitting for one’s self.  Pattern selection, is perhaps, the key to success, maybe this doesn’t apply to small things or accoutrement; but, with sweaters, it’s nice to know in advance that just because it looks good on that red head in Interweave Knits, there’s no guarantee it will look half as good on you.   So maybe that’s what scared me off of Arwen, because honestly, I am having my doubts about how it’s going to fit me, but mittens, they are a safe bet.  And well, these mittens?  Well, of course they will look good, and of course they are totally worth the effort, and of course I should keep them.

Another part of the “art” involved in knitting goodness for me was not obsessing over small details.  When I knit for others I usually obsess about the knitting (because to be truthful, I obsess over things in general), while knitting these mittens, I made it a point to enjoy the knitting, every moment of it.  I enjoyed knitting the Anemois so much when I noticed mistakes two are three rows back (as I did many times) I had no problems ripping back and re-knitting.  “Oh, rip back and have the opportunity to prolong the knitting of this Koigu fabulousness in this gorgeous pattern?  Yes, please.”  There are a few things that could have been improved, there is a “wobbly” stitch here and there; but, I can see the forest from the trees—I just don’t care.  And if I don’t care, then no one else should.

The last “art” I am going to mention is that of use.  Some of you may think that there is no art to using knit items, but I think there is art in all sorts of things, my friends.  For me it would be very easy to not use these mittens because of the work I put into them and the possibility that I could lose one (because, as you may remember, I love them).  And then there is the very likely possibility of getting them dirty…with things like baby drool …

But if they don’t get used, they wouldn't live up to their functional purpose, and what possible good would that serve?  And though I don’t like to draw attention to myself, for the most part (I mean, I do have a blog after all), I want people to see my mittens and tell me how great they are, because I LOVE them, and the recognition of their greatness gives my mitten love all sorts of validity.

So if you aren’t already doing so, go knit something for yourself.  You know you’re worth it.

Anemoi Mittens

Pattern: by Eunny Jang

Yarn:Koigu (love), 1 skein each of off-white (0000) and medium blue (sorry, I have no idea about the color code/dye lot)

Needles: Aluminum US 2s, Bates?  Boyes?  I have no idea, they were fast and smooth.

Modifications:  Just one, I knit the cuffs on 2s instead of the prescribed 0s.  With the 0s I kept getting a cuff that Special K “thought was the start of a baby sock…”