FO: Last Christmas Prezzie DONE!!!!

Oooh, it feels soooo good to be done with these mitts; I had to take crappy cell phone photos to show them off:



Project Details:
Yarn: Knitpicks Palette in the aptly named "blue" and "yellow" -- Swedish colours!
Pattern: Swirly Mittens from Anne L (aka. Goldenknits)'s blog, Kultalankaa (Golden Thread) -- the blog is in Finnish and English. FYI: The pattern is more of a chart to insert into your own mitten pattern. I had to learn how to do the cuff (loose directions given), thumb gusset and thumb (no directions given).
Needles: Addi Turbo 2.5mm circular needles -- magic looped
Ravelry Project Page: Click here!



Feel free to now resume your regularly scheduled blog reading... I'm off to block and better photograph these babies -- and to dream about what I'm knitting next!

Doh.

I'm officially an idiot regarding this second mitt.

Problems so far:

1) I cast on too few stitches, and didn't even realize ("hmmm, does that look small?") until 3 inches into the cuff. Had to rip back and create some blue and yellow ramen to start over.

2) In the palm motive, I messed up a set of four blue/yellow stitches at the end of a round. I dropped a couple of stitches intentionally to sort them out, and managed to fix them, but with wonky tension.

3) Luckily (?!) problem #2 didn't matter because I totally forgot to start the increases for the thumb gusset. More ramen as I ripped WAY back. Ouch.

Hopefully these things come in threes and that's it now. I'd like to get these done and gifted!

Ticking Along...

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by linzknits

I'm working on these mitts, still... and they are a joy to knit, but I wish I weren't trying to get them done ASAP.

I think deadline knitting is enough to sap all the energy out of what I'm working on.

Luckily, these are gorgeous enough that I'm motivated to get them done!

I'm using teeny tiny needles, and funnily enough, they keep warping just a little bit. I think this two-handed stranded knitting has my tension all wound up super tight. I do manage to bend the needles back every so often, but perhaps I need to loosen up a little?

Wish me luck... I think I need it!

Happy Giftee

My dear friend, Pemma, was the recipient of the Composed Mitts I knit for Christmas.



I think she likes them...

Christmas Prezzie #3 in progress...

This is my "tricky knitting" for Christmas this year. I got hooked on stranded colourwork doing Pemm's wristwarmers, that I needed another project!

Well, diving right into the deep end, I pulled some Knitpicks Palette from my stash, and seeing as it costs about $2/ball, I figured I'd be ok even if I messed this up completely.

I'd bought these colours for my boyfriend's Mum, Solveig, as they are the Swedish national colours, originally destined for a pair of stripey socks. But I think these results are going to be much more exciting:



Mittens!!!! Solveig's Swirly Mittens!!!

Don't you love them? I'm using the chart from this blog, which I think is in Finnish. It's much more of a chart than a pattern, and it's my first real pair of mittens, so I'm learning mitten construction as I go. Definitely fun knitting!

My Mum loves the pattern on the back:


And you have to see what I'm doing with the thumb:


Yes, these are my official precursor to the Selbuvotter mittens I am dying to make. But those will be for me!

Christmas Prezzie #1 done!

The stranded fingerless mitts are done!



I have so enjoyed this project, my first colourwork knitting!

In fact, I got so much enjoyment from it that I've purchased some colourwork books that should arrive next week, and I'm on my way to pick up a couple more from the libary. Reviews to come!

In the meantime, here are the FO details:

"Where do Generals Keep their Armies . . ." (Composed Mitts)
Pattern: Composed Mitts by Michelle Rose Orne from Interweave Knits, Fall 2007

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight, Alpaca Silk, and Melange to get the colours right

Needles: 3.5mm (US 4) Addi Turbo circular needles, using magic loop

Ravelry Page: click away!





Yep, it's going to be hard to give these away.

One mitt done!

IMG_0090
Originally uploaded by linzknits

Ok, I am in love with colourwork. This project has been so much fun, and SUCH a learning experience.

I think I am going to do a lot more stepping out of my comfort zone to learn new techniques.

I am now knitting two colours with one in each hand! I'm 'picking' the one in the left hand, and 'throwing' the one in the right hand.

There are fabulous technique explanations out there, and the ones that really made the process click for me are this post at Knitting in Color and this TechKnitting tutorial.

I can't wait to work on the next mitten -- hopefully with new and improved even tension!

Fair-Isle Frenzy!

Yep. First little bit of Fair-Isle, and I am so hooked.

So very hooked, that I had to take a crappy webcam pick to show off. I am absolutely in love.

Somehow I managed to get all this done (about 1/2 the first wristwarmer) last night. It feels like this is going so quickly. I guess compared to giant lace, it is going to be a quick project!!

First Fair-Isle

I had a blast this afternoon picking out Alpaca at Lettuce Knit, my favourite LYS.

I may know absolutely nothing about Fair-Isle, but I know I love picking out 6 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas, my favourite yarn on the planet.

The project will be the Composed Mitts from the Fall 2007 Interweave Knits for a dear friend for Christmas. I think this is the perfect excuse to learn a new knitting technique.

I managed to purchase the pattern online from Interweave -- quick and easy!

As usual, Ravelry Notes here will likely have more frequent updates than the blog.