I needed these 3 months ago...

Yes 3 months ago here in Chicago was perfect weather for fingerless mitts. Last month would have been nice too since the heat wasn't working at my job. But getting these mitts has been a long journey and it isn't even over yet!
When I decided that i needed them I had my heart set on Eunny Jang's Endpapers but Eunny's website with the pattern was not working so I hunted around ravelry for others who had made the pattern and and found Monica to send me the pattern. I had this really great forest green koigu that I am in love with and this Lorna's laces that would give a nice stripe background, if it would stripe nicely. it didn't. RRRIIIIPPPP! Both of these yarns were in my stash and I really like them and I have had a particularly difficult time finding a good pattern for the lorna's laces. Ok So maybe I try a different pattern with Just the Lorna's. I kinda liked the Nereid and thought that might look nice in shades of ecru and grey and purpley-bluey black. One repeat into the cuff and I didn't like it. RRRIIIPPPP! My heart was totally set on the Endpapers. I liked the fair isle. I had never done fair isle and the stranding would make an almost double layered mitt so it would be extra warm. I gave in. I went to my fave knitting store and stared at the koigu wall. I liked gray as contrast to the dark green but camel would be nice too and look at this nice berry burgundy. It matches my coat. And there is the green-blue mix that i making a scarf out of... i love koigu. its not a yarn crack problem that I have it is a koigu crack problem that i have. Anyway I bought a gray that didn't stray too far from its muted color range-it is almost a solid, another ball of green-i don't know why. One is enough for this project. i also bought the berry burgundy and an olive green mix. So i can make another pair! crack. Its like crack. i just can't stop. It totally could have been worse and I got a free tote bag with my purchase! So now it is almost January and I have one mitt done. Almost. I have to cast off in the fancy cast off it recommends. And I still have to knit the other one. they should be ready for next fall since winter in Chicago requires industrial grade thinsulate and a minimum of 16 layers to keep one luke warm.

This is my first post here so thanks to Keri for letting me be apart of this blog!

Jo's Top-Down Baby Mitts

My cousin, who lives in a pretty cold climate, asked me to make some mitts for her two cute kids last month to keep their little hands warm. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for (this was before the Sucky Thumb Mitts pattern was posted!), so I made up my own.



Modeled photos can be seen here and the pattern can be found on my blog.

She loved them

Just a note, my friend Lea loved the gloves and matching scarf!

Snake Mitts

My oldest grandson received a ball python for his birthday this year. I thought these were totally appropriate for him. I had to leave out one "wiggle" in the middle to make it the proper length. The pattern is Dumber Than Snake Mitts by Wendy Sonnenberg. It is available as a free Ravelry download.

Glastig

These are truly lovely in person. The close-up is more accurate for the colors. The pattern is Glastig from Robin Melanson's Knitting New Mittens and Gloves.

FINISHED!

Here is a picture of my completed gloves. I used the Potluck Wool Mittenettes pattern, but added fun fur and an funky accent yarn from my stash on the cuffs. They match the scarf I knit from the same yarn.

One glove down one to go....

After chasing frogs all over my living room...I got one done...tomorrow I will tackle the second glove then post the results...by the way I am making these to go with a scarf I finished on Sunday.

I am adapting the Potluck Wool Mittenettes pattern.. using fun fur for cuff ...oh you'll see.

Ok, here is a picture of glove one...

Alanna's mitts

Machine knit with Caron's Simply Soft yarn.

Hi!

Jumping in with both feet to the world of blogging. I am making my first pair of fingerless gloves and will post a picture as soon as I quit frogging and re knitting. By the time I am done I probably could have made 10 gloves!

Rosy Irish Hiking Mitts

My Christmas cactus is beginning its seasonal display:
I just finished seaming up a pair of fingerless mitts in a similarly rosy shade:

Pattern: Irish Hiking Wristwarmers, by Delia Rau
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Worsted Merino (Single Ply) ~ "Cheeky"
Needles: US 6 Brittany Birch

Notes:

I've knit this pattern twice before, and I'll probably make more! Next time I'll knit them in the round, as I always put off seaming. These coordinate nicely with the Windy City Hat I made from this yarn -- you can squeeze both projects out of 1 skein and still have a little bit of yarn left over. Sarah's yarn is oh-so-soft and lovely to knit.

- Jodi

Zigzag Mitts

Hi Knitters! I'm so excited to see all the wonderful mitts here (the Sucky Thumb mitts are so cute)! I love knitting them because the patterns can be wonderfully simple, or can offer you a small project to try a more advanced technique. This year, I wrote up my own pattern for fingerless mitts!

They are called Zigzag Study Hall: Fingerless Mitts and are worked in two contrasting colors of sport weight yarn. The pattern is available as a download on Ravelry for $5. Click here if you're interested.

If you don't want to go through Ravelry, you can also buy them on my blog here. Thanks!

Sucky Thumb Mitts

I made these mitts using some of my own handspun yarn.....the Mum's mitts are Berry Hill Fingerless mitts
Then I got creative and designed some baby ones...I call them the Sucky Thumb Mitts and the pattern is on my blog

New Fingerless Mitt Pattern

Hi Everyone! just designed these, I call them Mad About Plaid Mitts
Ravelry Link is HERE and for those not on Rav, link on my blog side bar is HERE

The idea for the mitts actually came from a pair of socks I just designed too so if you're a sock knitter and interested in a really unique but easy mosaic/slipped stitch pattern, have a peek:
Mad About Plaid Socks
Ravelry link is HERE, link to my blog sidebar HERE
ENJOY!

Alpaca Zigzag Mitts

I wanted to share my latest fingerless mitts project - I cast on this weekend as a Christmas gift for my grandma.

The pattern is from interweave fall 2008 and they are called the "fresco fair isle mitts." Here's the ravelry link to other projects. I chose to knit them in blue sky alpaca and silk for a little stashbusting. My gma's hands are tiny so I went down two needle sizes. I can't decide what to do with the top part though, I don't love the ribbing at the top of the fingers. It's kind of loose since the alpaca doesn't have a lot of memory. Any ideas??

I love the back detail too - so cute!

Happy Knitting,
Keri

New Button!

Hi Everyone - I just realized our button was a little outdated with last years date on it so I did a quick upgrade. You can find it in our sidebar or in this post.



Feel free to grab it and post it to your blog!

Happy Fingerless Mitts Knitting!
=) Keri

Granny mitts for fall

I've been quite obsessed with granny squares lately, looking everywhere for vintage patterns (mostly from the 70s, ah those funky colors !!)

And so anyways, I wanted to make some mini mitts with granny squares. I looked around and saw there was hardly any available, and the one there was was not my taste. So I designed my own.. and I love them !! I made those Granny mitts with 2 colors of Silk Garden by Noro. (I've also made another pair using only one skein of the same color but I think I prefer the 2 colors one)

I have already made several pairs, so quick and such a satisfying project ! My friend claimed my second pair, and I'm finishing a third pair for my 4 yo with some dk yarn and a smaller hook.. :-)

One down, four to go

I finished the first of my Christmas gift knits. Hot Waffle Mitts for my friend in Cascade 220.

These were a quick and easy project. I probably could have made them in a day if it weren't for the usual interruptions. I immediately started another pair for my Dad.

Baby Alpaca Mitts

Lovely to see this blog open again.  I made these for a gift using some baby alpaca.  The pattern is in 'Knitting Little Luxuries'.  I love the pattern!  Marianne :^)

Toasty Mitts

As promised here's a quick pic of my toasty mitts -

Made of malabrigo silky wool and US size 6 needles I upsized the pattern to fit and it was a quick knit. Now to just finish the thumbs.

Happy knitting!
=) Keri

Pattern Links

Hi Everyone! If you have a fingerless mitt pattern you love (free or paid) post a link to it in the comments so we can see too! I'll be adding them to the master pattern list in the sidebar as we go along.

Let me start - here's a few of my FREEBIE fingerless mitts favorites in my ravelry queue right now:

Cherry Red Handwarmers - (RAV link) Cute and stylish!
Fishtail Wrist Warmers (RAV link only) So pretty in sock yarn!
Garter Stitch Handwarmers (RAV Link to my fav pair)


How about you? What are some of yours? Enquiring minds want to know! =)

Membership Open !

Hi Everyone!

By popular request I've reopened the blog to new members. I apologize for my delay in doing so - I've been in the midst of a cross country move (NC to Washington) and it was a BIG one! =) Still settling in but I didn't want the cold weather to pass us by before we got started so here we are! =)

Anyhow - old members are allowed to post whenever they want. If you're new here and you would like an invitation to the blog simply send me an email to kmckiernan(at)gmail(dot)com. Replace the (at) with @ and (dot) with a . and there you go. Please send me the name you'd like to go by and the email you want it sent to along with your blog link or ravelry link (if you have one, not required) and I'll add you to the sidebar as well.

Anyhow - so who's got mitts? I'd love to see what you've been working on, I know there are TON of adorable new patterns out this year. I'll be opening a new pattern post shortly so you can add all your links there.

Have you seen toast and toasty??? So cute and a free pattern to boot! I have a pair of toasty right now on my needles in some leftover malabrigo silky wool - Mmmm so decadent!

Let's run this one a bit longer this year??? I'll keep membership open until the end of February and you can join anytime between now and then!

Take care and happy fingerless mitts knitting!
Your happy hostess,
=) Keri

New mittens

I've been knitting but not blogging here. Here are the fingerless knitting I've been doing the last months:

Not so much, but as you can see on my blog http://queenmudd.blogspot.com/ I knit other things too.

New Round of Fingerless Mitts

Wow! No new posts for a LONG time. Let's get the season rolling. Here is my newest FO...Pretty Lace Handwarmers. This is another free pattern from purlbee. These are a real quick knit. I made them with leftover sock yarn.

FO — Cabled Armwarmers

I knit some cabled arm-warmers for my friend Anna. These were long overdue, and I'm very happy to have them done. We're going to consider them an early birthday present, even though her birthday is in November. The pattern is pretty much my own, and the cable pattern is borrowed from a book even if it is a really simple one. I intentionally off-set the cables and I think they look pretty cool.

Cabled Fingerless Armwarmers (personal pattern) (ravelry) by Elizabeth Martin
Source: Harmony Guide: Cables and Arans
Recipient: Anna
Occasion: Belated birthday
Completed: April 16, 2008

Yarn: 1.25 skeins of Knit Picks Essential in Grass
Needles: US 2

A Different Kind of Fingerless Glove... :(

Most UNfortunately, I have a new fingerless glove I need to wear - and it's not knitted! I have been having intermittent pain and numbness in my left arm, from fingertips to neck and shoulder blade. It seems after an orthopedic exam and x-rays that I have both carpal tunnel (in the left wrist) and a pinched nerve due to arthritis in the neck. :( I have known about both problems and had issues in the past, but with restarting my knitting in earnest again, they are resurfacing unpleasantly. I am going to be having physical therapy, and also probably an MRI (to see the extent of the problem in the neck). I am hoping that it will not impact my knitting too much - I love it so! I guess it's not the best time to want to take up spinning, either, but what's a fiber-loving knitter to do?? I'm hoping I can learn to do these things without damaging my arm and neck any further. (At least, I'm determined to try!)

I'd love to hear from anyone who has dealt with similar issues... especially if there are tricks to dealing with them and still knitting regularly!

WIP: cabled armwarmers

Cabled Fingerless Arm-warmers Progress update
Recipient: Anna
Occasion: Christmas
Deadline: December 2008

I started these mittens at the beginning of April. They've been on my year long gift along list since the beginning of the year and I'm finally making progress on them. I think part of what helps is that I've decided to knit them both at the same time. I'd say they're about 30 % done. I'm using the Big Braid cable from Interweave's cables stitchonary and I'm very happy with how it's going.

Navy Handwarmers

There's still a chill in the air here in the Windy City.

Pattern: Cherry Red Handwarmers, by Creativeyarn

Yarn: Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK (sadly discontinued)
Needles: US 5 Lantern Moon rosewood straights

Notes:

DK-weight is the way to go with this pattern. The pattern's yarn specifications are slightly cryptic, because Creativeyarn is Italian and yarn is categorized differently there. The mesh pattern is slightly looser than the ribbing. The ribbing itself is slightly tight on my arms, so I would go up one needle size for the arm ribbing, then stick with the smaller needles for the lace pattern and hand ribbing. I'm a big fan of this yarn; it's too bad that it has been discontinued. It's very springy and soft.

Liz's Endpaper Mitts Progress!

The first mitten is complete! whew! I delayed and procrastinated… I'm not sure why, but at least now I feel like I can move forward… onto the second mitten XP

Pink and Blue Endpaper Mitts (pattern) (ravelry) by Eunny Jang
Source: eunnyjang.com
Recipient: Myself
Occasion: Bad circulation
Completed: First mitten completed March 25, 2008

Yarn: 2 skeins of Rowan 4 Ply Soft in Blue Bird (discontinued) and Tea Rose
Needles: US 1 and 2
Other info: I didn't make the edging near my fingers as long as the pattern. I like my fingers to be a bit more free.

Dashing Mitts

100_0257_00, originally uploaded by butterflyjones03.

Here are the Dashing Mitts I made back in November for hubby.
I used Patons Decor yarn - soft and washable.
Love these lots
Vanessa - Upstate NY

More crochet

I love my book Virka muddar (wrote about it in my post January 4) and can't stop making new ones from it. Here are my latest from the hook.