Bird in hand mittens

Well, that week went by fast! I've been knitting away trying to make a dent on my christmas list - mainly these bird in hand intarsia mittens. So far it's taken me most of this week to finish one, which was longer than I had planned for but I do love the way they are turning out.

There is something so lovely about intarsia mittens. They conjure up images of cold, crisp winter days with startlingly blue skies and having to wade through feet of snow to make snowmen or have a snowball fight:) Of course, the wearer of these mittens won't be getting cold hands as these are super snug! Having the two threads weaving in and out of the back makes it twice as dense and these are knitted tighter than normal gauge too so altogether more compact and toastie for the hands!

It's been a while since I've knitted any colourwork so it took me a bit to get back into the swing of things. The inside weaving came back quickly but keeping tension on dpn's at the joins was more problematic. I still have to block this first glove so I hope it evens out somewhat. Hopefully the second one will be a bit more even in tension. But of course, the pattern is so lovely that you won't notice a little thing like the odd uneven stitch or two now would you? :))

It's the attention to detail that makes this pattern work so well I think. I love the little braiding detail between the cuff sections and the picot edging - yum! I also love the way this pattern has the traditional birdseye pattern for the palm side of the mitten - very nice contrast - and this panel is very easy to knit too:) It looks just as good on the inside as the outside so I thought I'd show you that as well so you can see the weaving in of the threads. I must admit I am a bit of a perfectionist with intarsia and I like to keep it as neat as I can, so each floating thread is wrapped every 3 sts to keep larger catchable loops from forming.


And there is one more surprise with these mittens - the bird:) Yes, the bird that makes these bird in hand mittens is a little embroidered bird on the top of the thumb. Ah no, you won't be finding it on mine yet as I'll only stitch it in place once they are blocked but I can show you where it will be......

Okay, see that kind of white bird shaped blob at the top of the thumb? There! Yes, it does take a bit of imagining:)) but draw a little beak, add an eye, a bit of wing detail..... yes, it's there! and it will be on both thumbs so it will make you smile every time you see it. Lovely!

Well, I've cast on and done the picot edging of glove number 2 so back to the intarsia and braiding for the afternoon, snug inside watching tv while it is SNOWING outside. Yes, snowing! We never get snow this early - what is up??? It's not deep or lying much but it's not even December yet. But we may get a white christmas!! Time to hunt out my christmas films - and munchies. Is it too early to start on the christmas snacks??  See you soon! :))

Hmm, what next?

Well the Brea bag is off the needles, sewn up and waiting the lining, handle and button. Fabric and button are sorted and should be here in a few days but I lost out on the belt on e-bay so I'll have to hunt around for something else instead - hopefully quickly so I can call this christmas present finished! I'll take some photos tomorrow in daylight but now I have to consider what's next on the needles?

© Wollschnegge

I'm thinking that this lovely rectangular version of the Gail shawl I found on ravelry will be up next. The designer Jane left a comment for me to say that there is a written up rectangular version already called Spring Leaves - yay! I'm so glad I found that out before I started improvising :) And doesn't it look lovely? I am thinking more of a scarf width than a larger wrap so I will probably reduce the number of leaf repeats - 3 instead of 5? But it's so lovely I think I'll be returning to this one again when I have more time for a full wrap:)

But I'll need a tv watching project as well  - I know I'd better not be distracted with detailed lace till I get into a flow again - so what else?

Well, I'm still thinking about the lovely red and white bird mittens but an alternative to them is Ysolda's lovely snapdragon flip-top mitts and matching beret. The advantage with choosing these instead is that I've already knitted the beret:)) but I don't have any more matching yarn for the mitts in my stash - oh dear, what a shame! I'll have to buy more yarn:)



© Sapphire2001


And if I'm going to be buying more yarn, I may as well get some for the lovely skew socks :) Yes, I could dye some but I want to try out the regia sock yarn that has stretch in it - if I can find it online. I just think that's such a cool way to stop socks getting baggy. I know they look cool but after a while socks, well, kind of s-l-i-d-e :)) Either that or I'm not knitting them tight enough:)

And lastly today, the gorgeous cable 'Gordian' gloves designed by Julia Mueller. These have been on my to-do list for ages too. I love the complexity of the fine cabling - even on the fingers! Such attention to detailing make these such a special pattern. But I can't do them all so these may have to be saved for another time as I know how long gloves take me:))

So there will be lace knitting soon and there will be gloves/mitts/mittens  - I just haven't decided which ones yet:)) Anyone else knitting along for christmas?

The veyla mitts are finished!

I finally made a decision on the buttons for the Veyla mitts and plumbed for the small victorian style buttons. They fit the buttonholes very well and suit the delicate lacy style overall I think. Although it took me a while to decide which ones to eventually go for, it took me even longer to get around to sewing them on! - as I said its been a lethargic week...:-) So as promised, lots of photos of the finished Velyas for you.

So a pic of one mitt off, then one mitt on. I love how Ysolda really thought about how the buttons would sit on that curve - very nice design detail.

And just for you, a tricky picture taken from my viewpoint by John - he had to stick the camera pretty much in front of my face for this one:-)) Thank you for being patient enough to take these pics!!

I think I'll get more chances to wear these now its getting a bit colder. I really noticed the difference in the air today. Time to pack away all the summer clothes, I think and bring out all the layers. I've been thinking more about crochet and stripes and I think there will be more stripes in my future! Stripey scarves, gloves, mitts - and socks of course! Maybe its my antidote to winter coming. Colour, colour, colour!!!!

Oh, I've got to look a bit more natural in these photos:-))

Buttons for Veyla

At last all my buttons have arrived for my green Veyla mitts. It's quite hard to gauge online whether the greens will accentuate or get lost in the lace detail and some that seemed small enough on paper, now seem a bit too big for the cuff. I got a mixture of plain and funky - well, you can never have enough buttons;-)

These first ones fit the buttonholes well and are solid but relective in colour. I quite like these as they are small enough but the shine keeps them interesting. Subtle for me, I know but with these the lace is more dominant.

Next up, not so subtle nice, bright daisy buttons. They are certainly funky and not too big for the cuff but they don't lend themselves to an elegant feel:-) These would have to be decorative only as they get caught in the buttonhole but I think I can slide these mitts on without undoing the buttons anyway.

Next up, these lovely apple buttons. These are super funky but a bit bigger. I can only realistically get three on without squashing them up close together. Again, these would have to be decorative rather than functional. I'm thinking the paler green colour isn't working and the lace is obscuring the apple shape too much to make everything gel.

Ah, the green flower/star shapes. These are a no-no straight away. Gorgeous buttons though but the green flower is totally lost and the sparkly centres look like little dots. Waste of a lovely button on these. I have enough to use them on a larger project so no worries.

Hmm. I like these buttons a lot but they are a bit bigger again - maybe verging on too big? Enough pattern without killing the lace and the right tone of green though. Running near the top of my list these.

These lovely buttons arrived late and are a lot bigger than I thought but lovely. Looking at them on the glove, they are maybe a bit too busy or weighty/heavy looking for the cuff. But they are so nice... Maybe I should keep them for a funky cardigan, or something instead.

The last idea I tried was to move away from green altogether and try white. Although they are more pearlescent than in the picture, the white is just too bright and has too much tonal contrast to work, I think.

So, that leaves the little green buttons in picture 1, the bigger green buttons I liked, the japanese ones and the green and white daisies..... What do you think?

mittens galore!

Well, that was a longer holiday break from blogging than I intended. Once I get out of the routine, all those everyday things suddenly shout for my attention and my good blogging intentions go totally out the window. Christmas knitting took a large chunk out of blogging time last month but when the clock is ticking then a girl has to do what a girl has to do.... Sit down, watch lots of tv and exclusively knit - with a genuine excuse!

Then there is the recovery period when you can't knit as your hand hasn't quite recovered from the last push and cramps at the thought of holding another knitting needle. Then we move into the withdrawal phase where you find your hands twitching as you get progressively bored without something to do when you are sitting down.

So that is just about where I am now, thinking about what projects I could start next. No more mittens though - unless they are very special.... I do wish I had had more time to try out more complex patterns for the gloves and mittens but time kind of prevented that. I'll either have to start now for next Christmas or limit myself to who would really want something made and choose very special patterns.

The christmas distractions from knitting, blogging and generally doing anything crafty wasn't wild parties and living the high life I'm afraid. It was much more mundane things like painting, decorating, DIY and fixing leaky toilets, having your fridge die a death when you're skint, newly painted walls peeling - let's not go there. Just seal it all into a small box, tape it up thoroughly and kick it to touch and call it a bad week! Moving swiftly on and back to knitting!!

Some of these mittens are using subtly variegated dyed yarns so if you're thinking those dark green mittens look different at the top, you're right, they're meant to be like that. I must admit I was a bit rushed to take photos before posting so some have suffered from poor light. And some things I completely forgot to take photos of at all. Three pairs of mens chunky gloves and some stripey scarves all gone without any record of them ever existing. Ah well.

But I do intend to finish another pair as I adapted the pattern myself as I couldn't find anything online. So if you are looking for a chunky gloves pattern for men or a larger womans hand then hopefully I'll get around to posting it for you. I would like to put it into a PDF and list it on Ravelry but I haven't got the foggiest how to even start yet - if anyone has any helpful tips, I'd be grateful!

Soon, the rest of the christmas knits - some more star berets and a crocheted stripey scarf (knitted while watching 'white christmas', aaah). But on the new knit list? I feel a pair of Evangeline fingerless mitts coming on and possibly another Gretel beret. I've suddenly fallen in love with how it looks on all over again so I think I need another one. Maybe in something a little more subtle than the previous pink though. A nice subtle hand spun would be lovely.

Mmmm. Where's the spinning wheel and the fleece?! Time to get going!

warm and fuzzy mittens

I'm beginning to get a bit of a backlog here of knitting I haven't shown you! First, as promised, the fuzzy mittens. These were a trial to find a pair of mittens that would fit me. All the other patterns I've tried just seemed way too big but these fit just right. Guess my hands must be 'baby bear', as daddy and mummy seem just too big. Although they are mainly black, they have lovely magenta and tuquoise flecks that are shimmery.

The yarn looked lovely too and I've been saving it as it never looked as nice knitted as in the ball. I have that problem a lot. I tend to buy yarn on the look of the ball rather than thinking how it knits up. I am a bit of a sucker for that then I keep it for just the right project..... hence a large stash of yarn.

But this knitting for christmas is actually making a dent in the hand knit supplies. Gasp! I may even have to consider 'buying' more to get everything done!

But these mittens are a real stash buster. 2 x 50gm balls of yarn and away you go. A very simple pattern to follow and warm, fuzzy mittens to finish. I thought a 4" rib band was a bit too big so I made it 2.5" instead but feel it's a bit too short. Next time I'll go for 3". I wasn't sure how much yarn this would eat up so I was playing cautious but I had quite a bit of each ball left so I can go generous on the rib band now!
I would describe these as 'fuzzy' as mohair doesn't have as soft a snuggle factor but they are incredibly warm and I feel I may have trouble parting with these when the present wrapping comes along.

The next mittens are going to be stripey, I've decided. Just got to go stash hunting to mix and match colours with personalities now!

Back soon with the star berets I was telling you about. The photos are poor - poor light last week - so I'll take some more tomorrow and you can also get a sneak peek at the new stripey scarf I'm knitting, and knitting, and knitting...... Bye for now.

Finished mittens

Quick post to say that the Orange chunky mittens are all complete!

The second one knitted up really quickly now I'm familiar with the pattern. But get this. The second one looks bigger than the first. Go on, look at the picture. The second one is on the left and the first on the right. Yup, it looks longer and a kind of different shape at the top?! Exactly the same pattern. Mind you a pattern that says 'knit to the tip of your pinkie' could understandably vary for each one with me. Sometimes I check and it's nearly there and I'll say close enough. The next time I might have knitted right to the top of the finger and said, close enough!

Even funnier though is how much yarn I used. Follow this logic for a minute. If the second mitten is actually bigger - visibly bigger - then how come I have this much more yarn left over from an identical brand new 50gm ball for the second mitt??? Compare it to the first little pile....

Go figure! But I like these mittens so much I'm going to cast on some more now, possibly stripey? I'll keep you posted...

Mittenmania!

SO! you've been wondering what I've been up to in the last few days? Since the dashing mitts, I started some pink fetching mitts and a hand-dyed 4x4 ribbed hat that I'm not too happy with, and mittens! See, I did it again. One pink fetching mitt down - ok, minus the thumb - and I got distracted by mittens so it still needs its mate knitted up. It does have a lovely picot edging at the top that I do like a lot though. (the red yarn is where the thumb will be)

But onwards to the mittens! The two tone blue mitts are based on the 'Very Cabley Mittens' pattern which you can find here. It is a well written pattern that has details for each hand - perfect for me who forgets to swap things around. I like clear laid out instructions so I can get on with the knitting! If you do intend to knit this then please note how much yarn you will need before starting.... 4ozs = 114 gms so one 100gm ball won't do it. Mind you, it does say Aran weight yarn on 4mm needles which could decrease the amount of yarn used and might come within 100gms, but I wouldn't take the chance. It's a lot of knitting to run out near the end - Like I did :((( I should have worked it out first...

Its a lovely cable twisted cuff that continues into little alternated open twists all over the mitten on both sides. This works well with a semi solid and the original pic is in a solid pink so that would work too. Maybe too busy a pattern for a colour mix. I followed the pattern exactly and found that it fits the male hand comfortably but is very wide and a bit loose on the cuff for smaller handies. It does give instructions for shortening and lengthening for individual sizing which is extremely helpful but not for the width. I might try to make a smaller version by knitting a Double knit yarn following the same instructions or I could reduce the stitches in the pattern but that would be more work really. But it does knit up nicely and is a cosy, thick, warm mitten.

Unfortunately the second mitt didn't get much further than the needles before the ball of yarn ran out - no way to eek that ball out, I'm afraid. So, plan B. Take back the first mitten and turn them both into fingerless mitts and, voila! Not the original plan but the best I can do with my fogged 'forgetting-to-check-simple-instructions' brain which I seem to perpetually have at the moment. So, will show you the finished cable mitts when I alter them....

But, after this experience, I decided to try a different mitten pattern that shows up the colouring of the yarn and didn't focus on the pattern so much. This is for chunky yarn and has a simple rib cuff and shaping for the thumb. Quick to knit and very soft and yummy. I just love these colours and although the blue mitts are technically more proficient, I do like these more:) They have a snuggly look for winter.

On size 6mm needles, one mitten uses 50gms of yarn with only a few inches to spare as you can see in the second picture. That is a little too close for comfort really and if your knitting is looser than mine, you will run out. Sizing for this one. Fits a man comfortably and a woman more loosely but I think I will tighten the cuff more by knitting it on smaller needles. Does fit me better than the blue mitten but I think once the cuff is more shaped it will keep it on my wrist better and I'll be happier with the fit. You can find this pattern here.

But I still have more mitten patterns to go. There are two more patterns in the Vogue knitting fall edition that I have to try but they may take longer as there are more cables again but for now, these snuggly mittens have leaped up the christmas list pile as they are quick, use little yarn and feel lovely:)

So you may see a lot more mittens piling up as well as Veritys and textured berets. I'll keep you posted.