Knitter in the Kitchen

Over the holidays, I was in the mood to knit a pair of mittens. I had purchased a Chevron Love Mitten Kit and was super excited about working on them! However, after ripping and re-starting a mitten four times, I gave up. As much as I love colorwork, it just isn’t my strength because of my weak Continental knitting. It messes up my gauge and looks sloppy, so I need to commit time to improving my skills before I try colorwork again. I ended up giving away the kit. I was disappointed, because I really like the mittens.

I searched on Ravelry for other mitten patterns, and came across the Very Cabley Mittens. They appeared simple, and I had enough leftover yarn from the Evangeline mitts. So I cast on and finished them about a week later.

Pattern: Very Cabley Mittens (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, Grey Tabby, less than 1 skein
Needles: US #5 for cuff, US #6 for body
Mods: I went down a needle size for the cuff based on project notes I found on Rav. I did not check gauge, but I know I knit tightly. Normally, I have to go up one needle size to reach gauge. However, since I have small hands I stuck with the #6s suggested in the pattern. It worked out fine for me.

When I am at work, I park my car underground. This works out really great during the summer months when the temperatures are in the high 90s or 100s, but in the winter my car gets chilly. Since November, I’ve been telling myself that I need to knit up some fingerless mitts because my steering wheel is cold at the end of the day. I had a pair of Fetching mitts from 2006, but I only wore them for one season because the fit wasn’t right (too big) and the yarn (Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran) pilled like crazy. I can’t even remember what I did with them.

I saw the Evangeline pattern a long time ago and printed it. If my memory is correct, I believe it used to be a free pattern on MagKnits. Well, when I reorganized my craft room over the summer, I sorted through the many knitting patterns I printed over the years and tossed the ones I didn’t think I would use. Guess which pattern ended up in the recyle pile? Yup — Evangeline. So in order to knit these mitts, I actually paid for a pattern that I used to have for free. You can bet I was kicking myself for being overzealous in my cleaning!

But the pattern was worth it. I really like these mitts. They are easy to knit but not super boring. The fit is perfect, and I am hoping (fingers crossed) that the yarn will hold up well. This was my second time using Dream in Color Classy, and I liked it a lot better than I thought I would. I don’t particularly like the feel of DIC when I’m knitting with it — it seems kind of rough — but it was a good match for this pattern and the mitts don’t feel rough or itchy at all on my hands. Verdict: I would definitely knit this pattern again with the same yarn.

Pattern: Evangeline (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, Grey Tabby, less than 1 skein
Needles: US #7 / 32″ for Magic Loop

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Cash Vero, Color 19
Pattern: Irish Hiking Wrist Warmers
Needles: US #7 / 32 inches for Magic Loop
Modifications: Knit in the round. Many thanks to Marin for teaching me how to do this so very long ago! These are my mods for circular knitting:
Cast on 38 stitches and join the round.
Rows 1-7: K2, P2, K6, P2, K2, P2, K6, P2, K2, P2, K6, P2, K2
Row 8: K2, P2, CF6, P2, K2, P2, CF6, P2, K2, P2, CF6, P2, K2
Knit rounds 1-26 as above.
From rounds 27-38, knit back and forth (i.e., not in the round), maintaining the cable pattern. The odd rows (WS) here will be P2, K2, P6, K2, P2, K2, P6, K2, P2, K2, P6, K2, P2. The even rows (RS) are the same as above.
Re-join to knitting in the round on round 39. Stop after round 45, and knit 7 rounds of 1×1 ribbing.

Almost two years ago, I knit my mother a pair of Irish Hiking Arm Warmers. She mentioned to me recently that the yarn was now pilling quite a bit.  That’s not exactly a surprise — I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and while it’s very soft, it’s not exactly known for holding up well. So I whipped up another pair of fingerless mitts for her.

Yarn: Cascade 220, color 8895
Pattern: I based them on the Tweedy Mittens pattern and essentially knit up to one inch less than the desired length before switching to five rounds of k2p2 ribbing to finish them off.
Needles: US #7 / 32 inches for Magic Loop

Admittedly, these are very plain-looking mitts compared to the Irish Hiking ones, but the plus side is that they have a thumb, right? I am planning to knit my mother a “fancier” pair in the future…either another pair of Irish Hiking Arm Warmers, or maybe Fetching?

Right before Thanksgiving, I got quite productive with my knitting.

Pattern: Top down sock pattern from The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn, Mixed Berries, 2 skeins (old size)
Needles: US #1 / 40″ Addi Turbos for Magic Loop

I started these socks a full six months ago. I knit the first sock rather quickly, but the second one languished on the needles for months. The last time I worked on it was over the summer while waiting for a couple of wedding banquets to begin. I had almost given up hope of ever finishing this pair, but I experienced a burst of motivation recently. Sundara Sock Yarn is wonderfully soft and plush, and the colors are saturated. I would definitely knit with it again.

I also knit myself a pair of fingerless gloves.

Pattern: Fetching
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, Color 300610, 1 skein
Needles: Lantern Moon US #4 DPNs
Modifications: Decreased needle size; plain bind off instead of picot bind off

I used smaller needles than directed because my hands are small. Even then, I still think that the handwarmers are a tad big — I would prefer to see the ribbing stretched out a bit more. Perhaps I should cast on less stitches next time. This is a great pattern, and knitting the thumb wasn’t as difficult as I anticipated.

I cast on for a new project and will show it later this week. Let me leave you with a photo of my favorite tree ornament. I hope your holiday season is off to a lovely start!