NuttyIrishmanKnits

Mighty-Mini Mitered Mittens

Mighty-Mini Mitered Mittens modified by me from EZ's Mitered Mitten Pattern (May), Knitter's Almanac.
Knitted in small amounts Cascade 220 Wool, light pink, chambray, and avocado.
Knitted on US size 3 Addi turbos using Magic Loop.
Ravelers see them here.

Go ahead.  I dare you to say that five times fast!  Mighty-mini mitered mittens, mighty-mini mitered mittens... I told you guys I loved this pattern!  It took me less than four hours to cast on my second pair, only this time I decided to knit some winter mittens for Lulu.  That's what the 5th Chapter of Knitter's Almanac is all about anyway, right?  Getting ahead on mitten knitting so when the blizzard's blowing little fingers aren't frozen?

After finishing the first pair I knew I wanted to knit another, only this time modify the numbers to fit a child's hand.  I did a few quick measurements, let Annabelle help me pick out some yarn, and was blocking the first a few short hours later.  Once again I used Grace's sore thumb modification, but increasing to 9 stitches rather than 15.  Other than that I cast on 36 stitches and knitted 6 rounds in garter stitch before switching to the mitered pattern.  I also changed colors after every 6th row, (easier to remember!) and started the top decrease at 6.5 inches to allow for some growth.  I measured from the side edge of the mitten to the tip of Annabelle's pinky and rounded up.  Once I got to the decrease I switched to a funky contrasting color and finished the thumb is the same.  The great thing about the sore thumb is that you can customize it to fit a little thumb, and I made mine about 1.5" long.  These should work great for Annabelle this winter and hopefully next year as well. 

These are certainly toddler mittens and you would need to do some larger calculations to fit a larger child.  But that's the great thing about Elizabeth Zimmermann!  She gives you some perameters and says, "there you go, now go create!"  It's so much fun reading her patterns, especially when you're as addicted to line by line instructions as I am.  I like her laid back approach to knitting, and I love her utilitarian view of it.  But it's a testament to her great sense of practicality when you surf through 4500 versions of the baby suprise jacket, or 450 versions of mitered mittens!  I can't imagine a better gift than an adult tomten with a hood or a February baby sweater for a baby.  No doubt about it, EZ rocks!

A Little Wisdom Goes A Long Way

Mitered Mittens from Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann.
Knitted in Noro Silk Garden Lite, colorway 2037.

Knitted using magic loop on Addi Turbos, US size 4.
Ravelers see them here.

It started out like any other day.  Betsy, the toy poodle woke me up at 6, eager to make her morning tromp down to Turtle Pond.  I then made a pot of coffee, sadly discovering we were out of half and half.  And finally, I plopped down at the computer to check emails and of course, new patterns on Ravelry.  It was here, while surfing patterns and drinking that perfect first cup that I felt it.  And I thought, hmmm... something's hung in my tooth.  So I started to wiggle my tongue around back there trying to figure out what it was.  And that's when it came loose.  No, not a piece of food.  But my tooth.  Half of my wisdom tooth to be exact.   So there I sat, mouth full of hot coffee and half a tooth floating around somewhere therein.  I didn't know what to do.  Should I swallow?  Should I spit?  Ah!  The dilemma! Thankfully I decided to spit.

And how are you?  Ha!  First time you hear from me in a month and this is the greeting you get?  Terrible huh?  And it is how I spent yesterday morning.  But yesterday afternoon's recovery period proved much more productive, i.e. EZ's awesome Mitered Mittens from Knitter's Almanac.  These may be my favorite mitten pattern to date. 

I am in love with this pattern!  And knitting it in Silk Garden Lite was a dream.  I've had two skeins of this colorway laying around for some time now, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to knit them up.

I know I've been MIA lately.  It has taken a good month for me to get our house in order after the recent move, and believe me I still have a long way to go!  But I have been surfing patterns online and watching with shear fascination how some of you guys are knitting your way through the Olympics.  I am amazed at your stamina!  Every morning I check the Ravelympics and cannot believe all the new FO's posted.  And it was here that I saw Alice's Mitered Mittens just finished this week.  Needless to say I've been struggling for a project that could fit into my hectic schedule right now, and when I saw these I thought, that's it!  Did I mention it was at 9:00 at night?  Well, it was, and by noon the next day I had the first mitten off the needles and in the bath.  Yesterday afternoon, happily drugged on pain killers, I finished the second and gave it a good soaking too. 

I followed Grace's instructions for the sore thumb, which turned out great.  EZ calls for the afterthought thumb which requires "snipping a stitch" and then unraveling it "either direction" until fifteen are exposed.  Lord just shoot me now.  My hands are shaking just thinking about it!  But it makes for great fun reading one of Zimmermann's patterns.  There for a moment I actually thought I might be able to do it.  But it was  short lived and an indication it was time for my meds...

But with Grace's modifications I felt much safer.  I also liked Alice's idea of binding off twelve rather than eight at the end, and it gave it a slightly less pointed top.  And I know I will be knitted another pair of these, soon.  They made for perfect Olympic knitting, with only one row of instructions you can put the book down and simply let the Noro do it's amazing thang.

So it's good to back!  And I hope to reinstate my usual knitting schedule now that things are calming down a bit.  I've got a few other things on the sticks right now that need finishing up, so hopefully you'll be hearing more from me soon!  Happy Knitting!

Rocky Mountain High

Juniper Mitts by Jennifer Adams
Knitted in O-Wool Balance, 120 yards, colorway 3125, Jade.
Knitted on US size 6 Crystal Palace 35" circular needles.
Ravelers queue them up here.

While the kids are visiting the grandparents for two weeks, Andy decided to surprise me with a little getaway of our own, to the mountains of Colorado.  And I couldn't dream of a better place than the tranquil ski village of Breckenridge to post a new pattern from.  My friend Shelly, and owner of our great yarn shop, Twist, recently gave me a single skein of yarn.  It was a sample from the yarn rep and since it was only 130 yards there wasn't really much to be done with it.  And this got me to thinking about stash busting.  In particular, stash busting with those lone left over skeins of great yarn from big projects.  So I gratefully took the skein (one never turns down yarn...) and started playing around with it over the next few days.  It didn't take long to come up with a quick fingerless mitt pattern, and thankfully, a pattern that comes in just shy of 120 yards.  Not bad.

The Juniper Mitts are a simple spiraling rib pattern that can easily be knitted up in a weekend.  I knitted this pair in O-wool, and really like the soft texture of the blended wool and cotton.  But they will work in any worsted weight yarn.  I've also knitted a pair in Lang Tweed and have a third started in Malabrigo.  Their only embellishment comes from the addition of two large or four medium sized buttons on the cuff.  Enjoy!

And as for other news, Julie from Little Cotton Rabbits has tagged me.  Apparently I have to tell you 6 things about myself, starting from what I was doing ten years ago?  Andy says I can't remember that far back.  I say he's crazy because I can remember that far back, my hands and feet swell just thinking about it.  I was very, very with child, specifically our firstborn, Benjamin.  As a matter of fact it was around this same time of year, 10 years ago, that I officially did my first beached whale flop on the bed and had to yell for help to get up. I'll never forget Andy standing at the end of the bed staring at me, asking "what did you dooooo?" I would have smacked him if I could have reached him without getting a full body cramp.  "Just pull me up!"  was my reply.  The fact that he grunted upon granting my request is something I still remember clearly.  Can't remember my foot...

Now, five things on my to-do list for today... this really isn't fair since I'm on vacation, but I'll do my best:

•run 4 miles along the Blue River that runs between Breckenridge and Frisco
•not fall out of the raft and need "bobbing" to be retrieved while white water rafting through Browns Canyon.
•buy sunscreen and bottled water
•email pictures back home to Dad of abandoned gold mines in Leadville
•take nap (you knew that was coming after the first two!)

and five snacks I enjoy:

•yogurt with blueberries and granola (I eat this every day, a couple of times a day)
•NUTELLA on a spoon (aka heaven on a spoon)
•Snickerdoodle cookies
•Mint Chocolate Chip Frappachinos from Starbucks, but I'm trying to quit after reading the nutritional facts at the Starbucks website... let's just say I'd be better off with a couple of BK Whoppers
•ripe tomatoes straight from the garden (salt shaker and lawn chair included)

and what would I do if I were a billionaire?

•probably mostly what I do now, only with a lot more yarn.

Where have I lived?

Just in the US, except for a stint in New Orleans.  Yeah I know, technically New Orleans is in the United States, but just barely... ;-)

Thanks for the tag Julie!  And I hope you guys enjoy the new pattern!  I doubt I'll post again while up here in the mountains.  I can't hardly get a signal for shoot and it has taken me nearly two hours to get this post finished!  But I'll be looking forward to catching up on all of my bloglines when I get home and see what everyone else has been up to.  Happy Knitting! 

Sunday Morning

Who says you can't train a man?  Nothing to talk about this morning, just showing off my guy's mad camera skillz.  Oh, and a damn good cup of coffee.  This is a proud moment.



Ravelers can see my finished Dashing Mitts here.

One is the Loneliest Number

Dashing by Cheryl Niamath, from Knitty Spring 2007.
Knitted in Cascade 220 Tweed, 7623.
Knitted on Crystal Palace Bamboo circs, US size 6.

Andy has been in Texas all week, and is due to arrive home this afternoon.  So it's been just me and the kiddos finishing up the last of the school year, parties, graduation, sun-burning track and field day...  you know, the typical weaving in of the end of the semester.  And I've actually gotten a bit of knitting accomplished, if you consider lone mittens and fingerless mitts as FO's.  I just started my Dashing Mitts yesterday afternoon and I gotta say, LOVE THEM!  I sort of felt like if I didn't cast on something tweedy soon I was going to go mad.  And I've got tons (tons I tell ya!) of yummy Cascade Tweed squirreled away for Andy Lee's Cobblestone, so what's one little skein?  Yummy is what it is!  I love this yarn!  I have never used it before and had some special ordered for the Cobblestone.  It is really a lovely yarn, and of course, it's Cascade, which means reasonably priced too.  This mitt took only around three hours from start to finish, and I'm really itching to get started on the second one.  I never thought I would be a fingerless mitt type o' gal, but it completely fits my personality!  I guess you never know until you try, right?



I'm knitting the smallest size of this pattern on US size 6 circulars in magic loop.  I have really small wrists and it's starting to loosen up on me as I wear it.  But if my wrists were larger, say a medium, I would definitely knit the larger size.  I'm considering steam blocking them slightly, but I really don't want to loose that great cabley texture, so the jury's still out on that one.  My plan is to finish it's mate up this afternoon and evening, and then chill out with my guy once he's had a moment to unwind.  (Yeah right!  Our kids will be all over him like white on rice.) And because of the name, Dashing, I have this mental picture of Colin Firth.  So you know what that means... yep, I'm gonna finish this knit while watching a little Pride & Prejudice.  To me, Colin remains perpetually Mr. Darcy, and 30 years old. 

And while I'm sharing partially FO's, I thought I'd show you just one more.  Only this one, I really wish I had knit myself, and really must get cracking on it's mate as well. 



This is one little lonely Monkey, as per Becca, my good friend and very patient knitting partner.  One night after we had finished teaching our knitting classes we all went to the Anchor for drinks.  And of course I opened my ginormous mouth and said, "I can totally finish a pair of socks if someone else knitted one for me!"  Hence was born the ADD Sock-Club, and as co-founding member I can truly say, it is living up to it's name!  Becca had finished my Monkey sock in two days... I have cast on once and frogged due to sizing issues.  It's still sitting in the bag to be finished.  Ooi.  Should I tell you that we are knitting Jaywalker for her and I am only about five inches into it?  Probably not... but I love the yarn she selected, and I've got to say for all my belly-aching about socks, it really is the most comfortable, albeit lonely, sock in my drawer!

Karma Goes Around Comes Around

 
Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilia.
Knitted in Cascade 220 Heathers and Cascade 220 wool, blue colorway with red scroll.
Knitted on US size 3 Addi Turbos, 40 inch.
Ravelers see it here.

I'm so pumped right now about our July mitten class we are having at the yarn shop.  We have a lot of sock knitters here in Kansas, but I haven't met too many mitten knitters.  And I'm fully determined to make our sock knitters switch hitters!  Not to mention July is the perfect time to do a little Christmas knitting! 

We're using Adrian's enormously popular Fiddlehead pattern this go 'round, which I think is a great choice.  The colorwork is not overly complicated and the pattern repeats on front and back.  I knitted a test mitten using Cascade 220 and I am really pleased with how well this yarn worked.  The pattern calls for dk weight yarn, but since Cascade is worsted I was a bit worried.  I really didn't want to go below a size 3 needle.  So I held my breath and went for it.  And believe it or not, knitted on US size 3's this mitten actually ended up smaller in both row and stitch gauge than my original.  Go figure!

 

Just to change things up a bit I reversed the colorwork, with the colors changing in the background rather than the scrolls, and I have been working diligently in getting my Continental technique up to par.  I held my main color over my left index finger and my contrasting colors over my right.  I know you are actually supposed to do just the opposite, but since I reversed the colorwork, I really wanted to make sure my scrolls stood out and didn't get tucked down in the blues.  I think it turned out pretty well!

I've got one more mitten to knit up, only this time I'm using Noro Kuryeon for the colorwork.  I've seen several great looking mittens on Flickr using the Noro, and I think it's a great idea if full-out colorwork is not really your thang.  (Fake Isle proved that to be true.)

And as for other knits, I think I'm on a blue kick! I don't know why I get on color kicks, but when I look at my FO's on Ravelry I always move through stages.  Weird. 



I've been working the last month on a sweater... for myself... Yeah!  I wanted to knit something that would be my favorite comfy sweater.  I had wanted to knit Raspy but the pattern isn't available right now (I have since located a copy of the discontinued Denim People by Rowan), so in the meantime I started perusing (yeah, I peruse!) my EZ books and opted instead for her great Seamless Hybrid.  There are some lovely ones online and I decided to get out my denim yarn squirreled away for Raspy and use it instead for the Hybrid.  Love it!  I have a feeling this really is going to be my favorite sweater... especially perfect for my lounge pants.  This is my first time using EZ's EPS system, which is sheer genius.  I've allowed for two inches of positive ease, and did a small amount of shaping in the waist so I wouldn't have a tube.  (Guys, you can get away with the tube.  Girls, not so much.)  And of course the perfect comfy sweater has to be able to handle a good washing, otherwise you just end up with a stinky perfect sweater that no one wants to be near.  And from past experience with Cotton Jeans I know it holds up well in both the washer and dryer.  I have one more sleeve to knit and then I can join the body and sleeves together and start that great saddleback.  Whoo-hoo!  (I'm just a bit pumped about this sweater... can ya tell?)



And as for Clapotis I am actually making progress.  Lord have mercy but it is true!  I have dropped eight stitches and have only four more to go before starting the decreasing.  The silk garden is gorgeous, but this yarn is terrible about not wanting to drop.  I have a feeling those of you who opted for a different yarn without slubs probably had a much easier time than I am with the dropping of stitches.  I have to manually release every stitch.  It's a bit of a bummer but the end product I know will be worth it!

And last week after saying I would NOT cast on anything new I changed my mind and decided to do the Baby Surprise Jacket.  So I emailed a friend and said, "Hey, let's do this!  Shouldn't take more than three days!"  Well, I was at Michaels buying a seam ripper (another story...) and found some semi-cute yarn?  You know the cheap yarn that you know you shouldn't buy, but you're there and it's there it's maybe sort-of calling to you?  You know when it says, I think I might be able to possibly work for such-and-such?  Well I gave in and it completely sucks and I am therefore frogging the whole thing.  This is what happens when I get away from our great LYS and get sucked in by the mediocre competition.  From now on I am sticking to the good stuff.  So I'm remaining loyal to the Clap and it's holding my attention.  I'm pressing on with my Seamless Hybrid and  EPS is proving true.  And I strayed from Shelly and ended up frogging.  I guess it is true; karma goes around comes around.

Am I a Knitting Puritan?

Bird in Hand by Kate Gilbert.
Knitted in Cascade 220 wool, avocado and deep brown.
Knitted on a pair of US size 3 Addi Turbos.
Modification: After reading the braid instructions I wimped out and used my old fave, the Norwegian Braid.  I also chose to use purl rows where the pattern denoted additional braids.
Ravelers find my mitten here.

Now I know what you're thinking... this doesn't look like the Clap!  Nor does it look like Chevalier, or bloomers... I know!  It's none of the above, but it is a partially finished knit that has helped me break through my mental block of finishing all those other projects, minus Chevalier.  Chevalier had to be frogged four times (!)  in an attempt to find a suitable size for me, and sadly, I was unable to do it with the o-wool.  I hate that!  I really wanted to knit those mittens in the o-wool, it's perfect for them!  But I kept ending up with either a flimsy wanna-be (single-stranded) or a ginormous  man-mitten (double-stranded).  Even changing needles sizes didn't work.  Drat!

And my Clapotis is coming along.  I am four skeins into it using the Silk Garden.  My unrealistic goal of last weekend was a no-go, so I've moved this deadline out to Mother's Day, which I think is much more reasonable!   So the Clap should be in the mail by then, on it's way to Memphis.

And as for Annabelle's Unmentionables... all I can say is when you drop the ball, it is so nice to have a friend there to pick it up and run with it!  I am barely inching my way through this pattern right now, and Shelly blew through it with considerable gusto.  Her FO (and it's model) are so adorable that I had to show them off to you guys.  Blogger's bragging rights!

This is Miss Ainsley modeling her Unmentionables, which look awesome!  Shelly used Nashua Cilantro for these in a pretty mint green.  This yarn has such bounce to it!  And being worn by an active toddler doesn't hurt the bounce factor either!  (Ravelers can find Ainsley's Unmentionables here.)

Yesterday, while knitting from the screen**, I was listening to my favorite podcast Stash & Burn.  I don't know which episode it was (found it!),  but a question regarding "Start-itis" with was posed:

        ~do we penalize ourselves in knitting? 

And this got me to thinking, probably because I find myself in that particular boat right now.  Do I sometimes chastise myself for wanting to cast on a new project when I have several on the sticks already?  Projects that are going no where fast and I find myself MOPPING the kitchen floor instead of finishing?  Maybe this is something we can all relate to, and I'm just throwing it out there...

        ~have I begun to impose unnecessary rules on my HOBBY?

As for Bird in Hand, I've got to say, my confidence in my own stranding ability has been somewhat restored.  The Fiddleheads so threw me off my game that I seriously began to question whether or not I really understood stranded-colorwork.  But this mitten encouraged me along the way, and I'm really looking forward to working on the second.  It also doesn't hurt that Cascade smooths like a dream when blocked within an inch of it's life...

So hopefully after a bit of a self-imposed break my pace will begin to pick back up to one I'm more comfortable with and I'll have more FO's to post about!  In the meantime, it's time to hit the sticks and I'll be darned if I'm not actually looking forward to it this time!  So here's wishing you happy knitting today... Cheers!

**When we moved to Kansas my printer cable was lost, and I am therefore relegated to knitting from the screen on nearly everything.  Including Inga!  Crazy!

 

April Showers Bring November Mittens?

Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bilizia
Knitted using Hello Yarn Mitten Kit, original colorway.
Knitted on US size 3 Crystal Palace Bamboo DPN's and US size 3 Addi Turbo circular, 35 inch.
Ravelers they are here.

Well they are officially finished.  Okay I'm lying, they're not.  But linings don't count and it will surely take me until October to get them finished.  But I will get them finished because these mittens really must have a liner.  My fiddleheads took a week to complete, but could have been finished in just a couple of days if my mind hadn't wandered on the last mitten.  I wrote more about that in my previous post.  But overall I am very pleased with how they turned out.  The texture of this yarn was a booger for me to get used to.  It's 2-ply and has a sort of "rope" look to it.  And it really forced me to think long and hard on blocking.  I actually re-blocked my first mitten after making Alice's mitten form.  But the colors are so rich and deep.  It's hard to describe how beautiful they are in person. 

This was my first time using any of Hello Yarn's hand-dyed yarn and I will definitely be going back for more.  This year my goal is to learn to spin, and I know that I really want to join the Fiber Club at Adrian's site.  If you are are spinner, there is plenty more about that here.  I am really looking forward to knitting this pattern again, not only in alpaca, but also in Cascade 220 heathers.  Cascade is such a reliable yarn, and loves colorwork.  This pattern is perfect for it.

And for some of you guys who didn't know it, Playtime Petit Fours has been added to the list of patterns available at Knitting Pattern Central.  All I can say is thank you and HOLY COW.  The pattern was added yesterday around noon and at my last check before bed last night I had received over 700 visitors from KPC.  That is just nuts!  So thank you guys for visiting and come back again!  There is a subscription link in the top-right sidebar if you're interested in checking back in from time to time.  Playtime Petit Fours is also a free download available on Ravelry as well.  You can just store it away in your library there... a new little feature they've recently added that I love! 

As you can tell from yesterday's post I have too many knits on the sticks right now, which means probably not much posting for the next week or so.  I am so easily distracted when I should be knitting.  So I'm thinking I'm going to step away from the love/hate relationship I have with my Mac and make significant progress on my current knits!

But in closing, let me say again how thankful I am for the loyal readers of NIK, and the new readership that continues to increase daily.  It really means a lot, and keeps this normally scatter-brained momma focused and determined in finishing all those projects!  Y'all are the best!  :-)

A Tale of Two Mittens

Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilia;
knitted from Hello Yarn Mitten Kit, original colorway;
knitted on Crystal Palace bamboo DPN's, US size 3, smallest size.
Ravelers find my mitten here.

This is a snip-it of dialog between Alice and myself over the last couple of days.  There have been some pretty tense moments to say the least: 

I think it's too small!... my gauge is way off!... the cat just ate my yarn!!

And on and on.  But we've had such a great time knitting together!  I wondered how a cross-country KAL would work.  Three time zones mind you.  But it's worked out great, and you really get to know each other in the process.  Okay, I admit it.  I've been finding out what yarns Alice is using on all her projects.  She so thoroughly does her homework, and I'm so lazy!  It's just an added bonus that her knits always end up looking just like (or better) than the original. 

And where is Grace?  I don't know!  She's like Waldo... we're still looking for her!  I have a feeling she's in the zone and will then boom! Drop a spectacular mitten on all of us that will make us all pea green with envy!  (She has a way of doing that too!)

The Fiddlehead Mittens are to die for.  Really.  They are absolutely spectacular.  After you finish one, and it has blocked you just sort of sit there staring at it.  Stunned that an idea so beautiful could be envisioned and then executed.  Adrian is the queen.  All hail the queen!

I've still got another mitten to go.  My plan is to work on the lining for this mitten at the same time.  I really want to feel that squishy Alpaca against my hand.  And it will make the mitten so full and fuzzy!

So back to it... no time to spare!  Alice is a machine and you've got to have your running shoes double-knotted to keep up with her.  Hopefully we'll all have some finished mittens by this weekend, and some fun pictures to share with everybody!

Norwegian Mittens

Let me start by apologizing to all you guys who were unfortunately visiting NIK this morning while I was working on the layout! Ugh! I bet I was driving you nuts! But thankfully, I think I've got it all worked out.

And it's a good thing I didn't say by which Tuesday I wanted to have my Norwegian mittens finished! It has been a crazy week, with an unexpected turn-around trip to Arkansas. But we are home and my Norwegians have blocked. I love this pattern so much I have plans to knit another pair. I wandered from the pattern only once, opting to use a braid to give the cuff flare, rather than an I-cord. And the next pair I knit, I will do better on my thumbs. I don't like them, at all. They are big and bulky, and you could easily put two thumbs in each! EZ's instructions call for picking up stitches at either end and twisting those stitches to avoid a hole. My thumb didn't continue easily with the pattern, but sort of stuck out. (Ha! Like a sore...) For me, picking up additional stitches added bulk. I think if I knit the Afterthought Thumb again, I think I will consider the number of stitches I mark for the thumb, and go with the less is more approach.

Ravelers see them here

The yarn worked out beautifully. I have one full skein of Cocoon left to knit another pair! You would never believe by looking at these mittens that you could knit a pair using only one skein of your main color. Mine are exactly 12" from top to bottom, which (I think) is EZ's measurements. And I love the pointed shape! In my opinion it's perfect heirloom knitting. Although this weekend my brother thought I was knitting a "change purse," and declared, "that's the ugliest change purse I've ever seen!" He changed his mind after further inspection...

I am completely addicted to braids for Nordic knitting. Amazingly they keep stockinette from curling up on mittens, hats, and just about anything else you trim out with them! Here is a generic pattern for a braid that can be used to edge the Norwegian Mittens if you're not interested in doing the ribbed cuff or I-cord:

CO stitches designated by the pattern in Main Color. Place marker and join for knitting in the round.
Round 1: Knit.
Round 2: Bring MC to front as if to purl. Join CC and purl 1 stitch in contrasting color.
Bringing the MC over the CC, purl the second stitch. Continue purling, bringing each yarn over
the other, alternating colors. (This will cause your yarn to twist, so allow yourself plenty of tension.)
Round 3: Beginning with CC, purl, continuing to alternate colors as in previous round, only bring each yarn under the previous yarn. (This will cause your yarn to twist the opposite direction, until completely untwisted.)
Round 4: Knit in MC.
Continue with pattern instructions. (This revision gives you one less row than specified by EZ for the ribbing, but the braid is slightly larger, and the finished measurements come out the same.)

If you've never used a braid before, try it! If you're anything like me you'll be sticking them on everything!

The only thing left to do now is a bit of lining. I plan to use some Cashsoft in Poison that has been in the bottom of one of my baskets waiting for a project. I think the Norwegian Mittens are perfect for it. You could leave these mittens unlined, but with all the stranded colorwork, I keep hanging my thumb up putting them on. I know for sure I will line the cuff before becoming distracted by other knits. The temperature this morning is -3 degrees so maybe that will hold my attention!

To fix or not to fix? That is the question.

Well, the votes have been cast, and I am plugging along on my second Norwegian, with deliberate mistakes. You can't imagine how that hurts to write that. Deliberate mistakes? Who on earth makes deliberate mistakes? Apparently me. I do. I admit it. And my brain is in lockdown. I cannot stand to make mistakes, so with knitting, I am always willing to go back and frog. Even happily I would dare to say on some occasions, because I know it's for the good of the knit that I'm doing it. (Remember when your parents said, "This is going to hurt me a lot worse than it hurts you..."?) But this time, I found a glaring boo-boo after I had completely finished the mit. I left out a line! Waaaay back near the beginning. So I was forced to make the choice, do I knit the second mit correctly? or do I deliberately mess it up so it will match the first? AHHHHHH!

I called in reinforcements at the yarn shop and they were direct and to the point. "You gotta mess it up, girl." I appreciate their candor. And I can tell you when I got to that particular line today I wanted to cry. Now I know what my parents meant. But I'm making significant progress now, and can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

And I've been yarn shopping a bit. Recently I keep hearing the term "Yarn Diet" coming up. First time I actually gasped! I already watch what I eat, run, (drink way too much coffee). Now there is a Yarn Diet? If I can't gorge on great yarns what's the point? When it comes to yarn I say carpe diem! Or better, seize the yarn!

Like this great Kona Superwash hand-dyed from Henry's Attic, called Minoan Temple. Yummy.

Or fun Cotton Jeans from Royal Yarns. I picked this yarn for a project I'm starting very soon for Annabelle. Annie inherited my son Ben's Thomas the Tank Engine trains. And, according to her brother, is a "Junior Conductor." I've been wanting to knit her an official conductor's hat for some time, and knew I wanted to use Kiddie Cadet from Kathryn Ivy. This design will be perfect, and the yarn certainly resilient for my junior conductor!

And finally, a great pick-me-up for a frustrating knitting day...

The mailman brought my February issue of Country Living AND I found a new purse at Target! Now that will bring any perfectionist up out of the drama, and get her looking forward to finishing that mit!

Cross-Country Mittens

Ravelers see them here

I think it's quite fitting for my Norwegian Mittens to be making their debut just before the 2008 Winter Olympics. I just finished the first one this morning, and will start the second later today. (I must do a couple loads of laundry! Eek!) I've got to say (and this is not bragging, I'm completely serious) that if you can make it through an Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern or "pithy directions" you have permission to do the knitting dance. (The knitting dance is sort of like the touchdown dance, minus the football.) Maybe I just haven't been knitting long enough, or maybe it's because I've never knitted mittens before, but EZ works under the assumption that you, the knitter, are assuming many things. Which in my case, can make for a whole lotta frogging.

I've queued her Seamless Hybrid on Ravelry, but am almost afraid to do it, as it will be my first sweater attempt. I might switch to my second sweater choice, Cobblestone, after hearing that the instructions are very easy to follow. I'm thinking I've just gotten spoiled to really detailed instructions, from a lot of great designers. But, in the end, EZ's designs are so timeless, that you don't mind so much having to sit up a little straighter and pay attention a bit more. Makes for a better knitter, and greater sense of accomplishment!

I'm ready to begin the second mitten, mainly because I want to see how these babies are gonna look blocked. It's amazing how it takes out the puckering and smoothes the stitches. Hopefully I'll have this knit finished by Tuesday. I've got two friends having babies and I'm itching to start Saartje's Booties along with Hello Yarn's Top-Down Bonnet! But for now, I'm going to make a pot of coffee, do a little laundry, and take a break. I feel like I've gone a few miles on a Norwegian cross-country trail!

Hey, could you happen to be the most beautiful yarn in the world?

I know. That's such a long title for a post, but it's how I feel about my new yarn purchase. I've been ogling and fondling (yeah, really) this yarn at my LYS, Twist, for weeks now. I think one skein actually had a hump in it from my petting it. I am in love with this yarn from Rowan. And knew that I would have to use it for my first pair of mittens, Elizabeth Zimmermann's Norwegian's from Knitter's Almanac. I'm starting this project today and am so pumped about it! I thought long and hard about a color combination, that would have a great rustic feel to it. And that would suit me! I finally decided on this...

This morning I also finished blocking the Fake Isle Hat by Amy King. What a fun and thrifty pattern! I think I still have enough left from two different Kureyon skeins to knit one more. Andy walked past it and asked who it was for, then he really looked at it and said, "Ah, for you. That just looks like you." I agree. I really love the shades of charcoal and blue. But, I've already got someone in mind for it, so now I really must knit another!

Fake Isle Hat by Amy King
knitted in Noro Kureyon, 195
Cascade 220 Heathers, 9452
Ravelers see it here