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!