Friday, November 30, 2007

Sad and Lonely "Uni" Fingerless Gloves







Well,






Here are the ones that are missing their partner - I'm going to try and do something about that since no-one should be alone at Xmas!

Getting ready for Christmas!



I have two pairs to share. The first is Fetching made with Debbie Mumm "Traditions". I love the pattern. I hate the yarn. :\




The second pair is Ann Hanson's Snow on Cedar Mitt done in JoJoLand "Melody". The pattern is fantastic! The yarn is totally delicious to work with and wear. I HAVE to make another pair of these.

Happy knitting!

DrL


Finished three pairs....


I have so enjoyed this KAL! thanks Keri for setting it up for us. I have finished three pairs of mitts. The Queen of Diamonds Gloves (a bit fiddly and complicated), Kyla, love 'em!! and the absolutely scrummy Composed Mitts from Interweave Fall 07 magazine. I bought a yarn bundle from Kpixie and have enough left over for at least one more pair and if I juggle the colours a bit I may have enough yarn for more. I truly loved knitting these jewels!!

Maine Morning Mitts finished - Princess Mitts cast on


Here are my Maine Morning Mitts as modeled by my daughter. I knitted them in this mink colour to match a scarf I'd previously knitted for a friend. I hope she likes these mitts too.






Despite this KAL drawing to an end, I'll be knitting more fingerless gloves over the next few months, and have already cast on a pair of these Princess Mitts.

I'm knitting mine in a deeper red colour than the glove shown on the pattern. I love the cable design.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Final Mitts?

In the past couple of weeks, I've crossed three more mitt gifts off my list:

Dashing, in Cascade 220 (ladies size)...



MORE Knucks, in Jo Sharp Silk Road DK Tweed (ladies size, textured cuff)...



and the super-easy ladies-style wristwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts in Art Fibers Kyoto.



(I added an afterthought thumb instead of just leaving a hole).

These may possibly be my final mitts of the season, though I'm really not sure. After 6 pairs in a month, I can't imagine life without mitts on the needles!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

November Mitts


These are my last 2 pair for November. I started a pair for the 10 year old DD Monday night and wove the ends in this morning after she went to school. She loves them and says she is wearing them to school tomorrow. I just made these with an all over, yarn over cable pattern. They are knit in left over Spritely Goods in the Manzanita in Bloom II colorway.


And I finished the second of the Argyle Mitts in the Lorna's Laces Sock yarn. These will be a Christmas gift for a friend of the eldest daughter.
I have really enjoyed looking at all the fantastic mitts everyone is knitting. I can't wait to see what the poll results will be.

My Last Pair... (at least for a while)

Last Pair... (for awhile, anyway)



This makes at least 5 pairs of mitts done during the Fingerless Mitts KAL! It's a very basic pattern, just using leftover Patons Classic Wool (merino) in Too Teal and That's Pink.

I still have plans to do a couple more for Christmas gifts, including Dashing for my husband, but I am taking a bit of a break to work on other things, including a shawl for my mom. I'll probably fit more mitts in between other things - they are great portable projects.

Mirror twist.



Mirror twist mitts.
Life by stylecraft on 2.5mm magic loop.
Again changed the pattern to plain stocking stitch on palm and thumb knitted in later.
I like the way that these twist with the ribbing at either end going in different directions to the hand.
These are for me.

Whitewater wristwarmers.



Whitewater wristwarmers for my sister in law at Christmas.
Sirdar countrystyle on 2.5mm magic loop.
I love these they look really great.
The only modifications I made because I just cannot leave a pattern alone was to knit the palm in plain stocking stitch and I also changed the thumb to one where you knit with waste yarn and pick the stitches up later. I also did 10 rows of k1tbl, p1 by the fibngers to avoid them curling.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Something to look forward to ...

Hi all. I'm currently finishing my second pair of Mitts (Maine Morning Mitts), having already completed Fetching. I probably will knit more over the next few months, but would prefer this KAL to be something to look forward too each year with renewed enthusiasm. I've loved seeing all the finished mitts!

Fetching!


Like many, many others... I'm knitting the Fetching Fingerless Mitts. I'm 3/4 of the way done. It was my first time knitting in the round and my first time using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I think it's my new favorite yarn. I really liked this pattern but a made a minor change. I lengthened the top to come further over the knuckles. And I think if I did it again I wouldn't do the frilly picot bind-off. Oh well. Still happy! (And I LOVE everyone else's FOs on here.) Next I want to knit some Smockies. I didn't see a gauge on the pattern...anyone know? Thanks!

Re: Are we really ending this week?

I'm in the same boat - I have two separate fingerless mitts (separate patterns - it's a long story of being inspired and trying to design by oneself! while half way thru' what should have been completing another pair) and will be unable to complete the matching "twin" to the pairs by Friday.

Maybe I could start a new trend with two different mitts of two different patterns of two different types of yarn. Yes, I am clutching at straws.

I will however try to post pictures of the "uni-mitts" on Friday when I have access to a camera (and that's another story!).

are we really ending this week?

i just noticed that this KAL ends at the end of this week! i'm only a little over 1/2 done with my fourth (and likely final) pair of mitts for the year, but what with a couple of other KALs ending this week and a new nephew who could arrive any minute, i'm a bit backlogged with knitting projects. my lovely 2nd pair of Maine Morning Mitts (in yummy Malabrigo for my hubby) will not be done by Friday, to be sure.

are we really ending on Friday?

Finished!

I finished my wrist warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. You may recall they were my first project knit from my own handspun. I'm in love with them:



The picture doesn't show the colors well but you can get enough of an idea. I enjoyed this pattern so much that I've already started another pair for a teacher gift! This time it's plain old store bought yarn though;)

Monday, November 26, 2007

Greenaway Gloves Free Pattern

The purlbee has done it again, another adorable project up for grabs on their site - the Greenaway Fingerless Gloves Pattern, created as a tribute to Kate Greenaway!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

dashing design feature

You know how if you make one mistake, it's a mistake? But if you keep making it, you can call it a design feature? These started out as dashing, but since I didn't have a printer, I just jotted some notes. It was just about where the cabling starts on the second mitt that I realized I'd screwed up done something different.
dashing2 dashingon

But I think they are ok. You can see that I did the cabling in the same spot rather than in two areas like in the pattern, and that I only did it once per cable round. Otherwise I pretty much followed the pattern... a couple extra rounds before cabling, a couple fewer between end of cabling and thumb. I did them in Ultra Alpaca, on size 4 needles, and knit the smaller size in the pattern.

3rd Pair Done


I can't believe I've finished 3 pair of mitts (I'm usually such a slacker when I join these groups). Here are my Ariel Mitts (designed by my sister Monica and available at The Loopy Ewe). I knit them in Lorna's Sport - Devon...Monica gave me this yarn for my birthday a week ago. They were fun to knit and fit great!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Easy Mitts, Pretty Yarn




Easy pattern (my Piano Mitts and Mini-Mitts, just un-minified). The yarn is wonderful: Arial by Meg at Twisted Fiber Arts, colorway Rodney. It's hand-dyed so as to have stripes of varying width, so this will be a Christmas present for someone artistic who doesn't mind fraternal mitts.

I have another pair of Mini-Mitts to do (with a Star Trek insignia!) and then I really hope to start the Endpaper Mitts that I've had yarn (and yearnings) for, for several months!

Friday, November 23, 2007

Finally!


Better late than ever! I joined this KAL to inspire me to finish knitting a pair of Eric's Glovelets(I never did get to them), but instead started and finished some Maine Morning Mitts.

The details:
Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts
Yarn: 1 skein Noro Silk Garden, Color 241
Needles: Size 7 dpns
Notes: These were a fast knit and I love the pattern! I also fell hopelessly in love with Noro Silk Garden too. I am planning on knitting a matching scarf and am also knitting a second set for a friend. The little ball is how much yarn I had left from the one skein.

Too pretty for my feet

I found this delicious purple and green yarn a couple weeks ago and it made me think of grapes, so I adapted Anne Hanson's Merlot Vine sock pattern. The yarn is Paca-Peds from the Alpaca Yarn Co. It's a superwash wool/alpaca blend. I wasn't sure it was going to be stretchy enough for socks, which was one reason I decided to try it as a mitt, but it surprised me. I went back for a second skein and as soon as I finish the second mitt, I'll do a pair of socks and then maybe a narrow matching scarf with the leftover yarn.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Stranded Mitts FO



I'm happy to report that the blue and grey starnded fingerless mittens (wow, what a name) for my son are done. They turned out a little tight, so note to myself: Use bigger needles next time, when I knit stranded!


I found this pattern for the Kilm Gloves in the IK Winter 2007 issue and changed it over to fit my needs and preferences. Here the original picture.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

mitts for my boys

Hi all! I finished a couple of quick mitts for my boys:


More info and pics can be seen here. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving Day! Thanks! Tiennie

My EndPaper Obsession!





Holy cow, are these things catchy! 1 pair complete, 2 in progress! They are all made with KnitPicks Essential. Color Combos are Burgundy/Grey, Black/Gulfstream and Pine/Fawn.


Fetchings

Wow -- these are so quick! I was able to finish two pairs of Fetchings to give as Christmas gifts last week. For one pair, I used Classic Elite Skye Tweed in Paisley Pink:



For the other I used Springwater Fiber Workshop wool and tencel (and left out the picot bind off because I thought it was too ruffly for the intended recipient):



I used the same size 6 dpns for both pairs. It's interesting to see how these two yarns, that I'm almost positive work up to the same gauge in stockinette, behaved in this cabley pattern.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

not quite fingerless mitts -- but a quick knit nonetheless

Good morning everyone!

If you are looking for an easy way to use up sock yarn, check this site out. It is at Mason Dixon Knitting. Just pay attention to the 4" square. Your gauge can be whatever in order to get a 4" square and then send them off . . . spread the word!

Have a good one.

Mary Lynn

Monday, November 19, 2007

Rannoch Pattern

For those who were interested, I've posted the pattern for my Rannoch gloves, even though I haven't completed the mate yet. It can be found here. Let me know if you find any errors, and I hope you enjoy!

Orchid Mitts - Finito!

Anyhow, so I showed you the first mitt on Friday and I knit on the other one one and off all weekend and wrapped it up Sunday afternoon. Woohoo - it feels so good to get another pair of fingerless mitts for the knitalong completed.

11_19_07_006_2

11_19_07_011

Pattern: Long Orchid Lace Mitts by Anne of Knitspot
Knit time: 3 months, on and off. Mostly off =) If you set your mind to it you could knit them in a long weekend.
Sizing: These mitts fit like a glove, so soft and comfy. They are done in laceweight merino however so keep that in mind if you live in a cold clime, they may not be warm enough.
Needles: 2.5mm rosewood dpns
Yarn: Fearless Fibers Golden Olive Laceweight Merino
Interested in more info? I posted about this pattern here, here and here.
Final Note: I love them - they're very soft and cozy and beautiful. The only note I would make is beware knitting these on magic loop, I normally knit most everything in the round magic loop and the pattern has you move stitches around based on the how they are set up dpn's. Either take the time to figure out where the stitches are moving too, or knit them on the recommended dpn's. I opted for the dpn's, much easier.
Ravelry Info Here

More photos and details on my blog,
Keri

New mitt in progress


I am working on another mitt. Another for my daughter to gift. She would like to keep this one herself if it were a different color. Her friend goes to the "other" high school in town and their colors are orange and brown. This will work nicely for her. I am kniting it in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in orange.

Noro Mitts for Daughter



Pattern is Extra Warm Wristers from Fluffy Deb


Made with Noro Iro colorway 40 (blue green)

The Daughter is loving them so much. She wears them every chance she gets...even around the house! :o)

Pattern found online

Top Down Punk Glovettes
http://pixieriot.net/patterns/yousnag.pdf
I plan on making a pair of these for my daughter who is loving fingerless mitts these days.
enjoy!

Finally starting!

I joined this knit along when it first started but I just started my mitts. In fact these are not even the mitts I intended to knit when I joined it just kind of worked differently than I planned. I started spinning this year and I finally spun yarn that I thought was knittable. Since it was a somewhat small amount I decided fingerless mitts were a great project for it.

I started it last night. The pattern is the Wrist Warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts:



I'm really happy with them so far! If you want some more details on the fiber you can find them on my blog.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I call it Rannoch


This is a pattern I made myself, simple though it is. I've only finished one, but I'm immensely proud of it (it's the first thing I've designed myself knitwise). I'm blogging it now because I don't know if I'll have it's mate finished and/or have computer access before the end of November. I doubt anyone wants it, but let me know if you would like a pattern, you can find more about it on my blog.

P.S. It's Caron Simply Soft in Deep Plum Heather, on 7's if anyone wishes to know. Happy knitting!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

I'm feeling guilty...


Wow, amazing what obligation will do to motivation. I love making fingerless mitts and I have been working on some ideas, but somehow since I joined this knitalong I've been quite easily distracted by other projects and un-inspired to make something for my hands. I really really really do plan to make some mitts before the end of November, but just to confirm that I entered this with the best of intentions, here is a pic of some mitts I made in September (does that count if I made them within in the time constraints of the knitalong even if I hadn't yet joined the knitalong?). These are armwarmers based on Grumperina's Shifting Sands scarf pattern, made with Indigo Moon superwash merino DK.

Now that I'm done with my whining, just wanted to say that I'm loving seeing everyone else's projects!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Hello, I'm new here..

Here are my first attempts at fingerless mitts.
I didn't know they would be so addictive, everyone will be getting them for Christmas this year.



These are Fetchings in James C Brett acrylic on 4mm needles using magic loop.



This is Fetchings too but done on 3.75mm needles in plain knit stitch instead of adding purl. I didn't like the big spaces I got with the origional pattern. Knitted in Stylecraft aran, 80% acrylic, 20% wool as I wanted mitts I could throw in the washer and dryer. I prefer the pattern on these ones as it's knitted into a tighter fabric.

Creative Mitt Blocking

I just finished my first Orchid Lace Mitt in Fearless Fibers Golden Olive, and had to get a little creative with the blocking. I wanted to make sure the lace pattern opened up a bit.
I knew those giant US50 needles would come in handy some day - I stuck two of those suckers in and pinned them open, voila! Perfect mitt blocking! This is the extra-long mitt style, I already cast on for the second one and I hope to get it finished soon.

=) Keri

Another Pattern

Hi y'all. . . .I just found an awesome pattern on Ravelry while looking up the yarn I'm knitting some socks with. . . I wish I'd knit these instead! Well, not entirely, I really like the socks and now don't want to give them as a gift!
In fingerless knitting news. . . I have two new pair of Endpapers OTN for Christmas presents. My first pair for me is complete, but waiting to soak/block. I love that the pattern knits so fast. . . they definitely are addictive, but when those 2 pair are done I'm doing the Mirror Twists :)

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Hattie's comments made me think

So I made the modified Dashing for my husband and he wears them every day. I made them with Patron Merino and they pill horribly. He shaves them every 3-4 days. What yarn have you used that wear like iron?

Handspun, handknit, hand-designed - MITTS! =

Whew - say that title 10 times fast! I just finished my first set of fingerless mitts -
11_15_07_109

These have been a long time in the making, the fiber was hand-dyed by Funky Carolina, then was started to be hand-spun by me, until my dogs ate it. Then Jenn saved me by sending me more. Then I finished spinning it but had to come up with a pattern. I decided to go plain with a simple pattern designed by me. 4x2 rib that travels up the hand and thumb seemed to do the trick. It took me about 5 times knitting, ripping and re-knitting these mitts. I found I was quite picky on how the colors matched up, the fit of the thumb, etc but I'm happy to call these finally - DONE!

More photos +info on my blog, I'm thinking of writing up the simple pattern, this is a great use of those 4oz skeins of handspun! =)

Happy fingerless knitting!
Keri

Finished Mitts

I forgot to post about these. I had them finished last week and I've worn them several times. I still want to add to the thumbs but haven't gotten to it. They are nice and soft and warm to wear but since it's silk, they tend to fuzz up a bit. I'm thinking I may make another pair in some other yarn. We'll see, since there are so many other patterns I want to make!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Blue Morning Mitts


These are the second mitts I have made with this pattern. It is very easy and addictive! I want to make more!...

Maine Morning Mitts by Clara Parkes (Knitters Review) free pattern on this blog sidebar.

Yarn is Cascade 220 Heather - in blue.

Size 7 needles.

First Post and First Fall Mitts

I finished my first fingerless mitts of the season on Saturday. My town museum is wonderful; it hosts a Knit-In twice a year. It's fun because there are a few different knitting groups in the area, and this is one of the few times when people from all the groups gather together. It's from 10-3, so who is there at any given time tends to change. This means that we all get to hang-out and knit with a variety of different people.

Here's my finished Dashing pre-blocking (truthfully, it probably won't be blocked since the owner is already wearing them!). I can't remember the yarn, but it's a 100% wool tonal blue yarn. I won't be making another Dashing. Cabling is not hard, but it wasn't worth it since the cables are so high up the arm that they'll be tucked away underneath shirt sleeves never to be seen! All future cabled mitts will have cabling on the back of the hands. A woman at knit day was kind enough as to model it for me as soon as I was done weaving in ends.


The knitting group also helped me decide which pattern to use for another pair of mitts that I am making for a friend. The yarn is di.ve Autuno, 100% merino. It's my favorite yarn. The yarn is very colorful, so I went with the Knitting at Knoon pattern. I made my first pair of fingerless mitts with a different color of this yarn last year, and they'd still be my favorite if I hadn't accidentally tossed one in the washing machine! They were just a pattern that I pulled together and based off a mitten pattern that I'd already used. I modeled the first one (I'm only 2/3 done with the second one), and they are for someone with larger hands, so the photo doesn't make them look too good. I love having small hands (I knit myself mittens quickly!), but it makes it hard to model other people's stuff.

Anyway, here's the photo of the unblocked mitt! Normally I'd crop in on the mitt itself, but I'm amused at my kitty's glowing eyes so I left them there.



I'm excited to have finally made my first post to the KAL blog :-)