Matching Thumbs Up ~

I am thrilled that these thumbs seem to match on these mittens. Even my daughter, of the "unmatched thumbs" was surprised and pleased when I showed her the two thumbs.

Perhaps I have time to cast on another pair of mittens before the deadline for the kids at Detroit Achievement Academy!

Socks or Mittens ~

The more I look at these mittens, the more they still look like socks.  I thought I should knit some color work into the top so it will draw attention away from the thumbs.

I am still a little worried about matching thumbs.... you can see in this picture where the thumbs will be, someday soon. Would a second grader notice if the thumbs don't match?

Special Mittens ~

It turns out that we have enough hats knit for the kids at Detroit Achievement Academy, however we need a few more pair of mittens. I have not knit many mittens, as the two I have knit had some issues with matching thumbs, yet turned out well in the end...

So I cast on two mittens, as if they were toe up socks, and hope that they will turn out to look like mittens instead of socks...and I'm already worried about those thumbs....

Tolt Mitts Success ~

The designer of the Tolt Mitts came back to Tolt Yarn and Wool shop, and I was ready with my finished Tolt Mitts. Although I knit them for my youngest daughter, she loaned them back to me for this event.

I should have taken some pictures of the event, but I was having too much fun chatting with the designer, Andrea Rangel, and the other knitters in the shop. Plus there was some serious yarn decisions being made by Patti and Lisa, and some lovely yarn came home in our car!  Since I didn't have pictures of the event, I am using the picture of the mitts out on the town....

Thumbs up ~

Lucky for me, and for my sweetie, the two thumbs turned out to be the same!  Hurrah! I added a few more rows than the pattern called for, as I wanted to be sure that her thumbs had maximum coverage, yet still had breathing space.  Moments after casting off, I presented her with the finished mitts, and she took them on a test drive immediately, as she drove us home from her driver's education class wearing her newly knitted mitts, without the ends woven in..... 

 

After the ends were woven in, she gave the mitts another test and wore them while walking the neighbors dog, Lola. Check out that thumb! Lola thinks they are pretty cool, too!

Waiting for thumbs ~

These mitts are darling, and they are knitting up very fast. They are from our newest local yarn shop, Tolt Yarn and Wool, and my daughter picked out the pattern and yarn at our first visit. My daughter is excited to wear them, so she has been trying them on....

Except there are no thumbs yet, just the waste yarn placed where the thumbs will go...

When I get a chance to knit those thumbs....I do hope I can get the right thumb and left thumb to be the same, or at least similar (as the last pair of mittens I made had thumbs that were not quite the same).

Tolt Mitts ~

When I started these Tolt Mitts on two circular needles, I was a bit worried that they wouldn't work out the way my socks have worked.  The cast on and the ribbing were a bit awkward with such few stitches. Once past that, the color work went really well.

I can't wait to get to the thumb!

Real swatching ~

I have to admit that I'm pleased with my first yarn spun and plyed from my wee Pocket Wheel. After soaking and drying, then measuring how much I have from that first sample, I have 65 yards of Almost Real Yarn. Not sure what can be knit with just 65 yards, the Jitteryknitter said that fingerless gloves would be a good project. She said I should swatch to see what size needles, since my Almost yarn is still thick and thin....(but lovely, don't you think so?)So, using her size 4 needles, I am knitting a swatch...and this Almost yarn is behaving a lot like real yarn (imagine that!) and I'm having fun with this wee swatch!Not sure if 65 yards will be enough...now I have to find the pattern she was using for those fingerless gloves, as I can't recall how many to cast on....such fun!!!

Thumbs up ~

After running out of yarn, plus school and work starting up again....

the Nordic mittens are finally done!

As you can see, sweetie E does like them a lot, and is giving them a double thumbs up! She does tease me that the second thumb is better knit than the first...but that's OK with me!! (P.S. I knit this hat, too ~ one of my favorites out of handspun from Sisters Oregon!)

Tea and Thumbs ~

Here I am again, having some tea while waiting for my kids (there's no eggnog anymore *sniff* sniff*) and I'm working on the second thumb.

The first thumb was not done well, but I learned a lot. I did some repairing, and I think it will work out. Now I just have to finish this thumb before Spring!

Mitten issues ~

The first mitten turned out great ~ with the small design feature of the thumb being a little on the long and wide side. Plus I did the duplicate stitch on the thumb as keeping the fair isle pattern going on that small thumb was making me a little crazy with the 3 double pointed needles in the way...

Once the first mitten was finished, I cast on the second mitten, as no "second mitten syndrome" for me! As I patted myself on the back, I realized that there was another issue in my mitten future....

I didn't have enough yarn to complete mitten #2....oh, dear...... I will have to go to my local yarn store tomorrow.....(how bad is that, eh?!!!)

Mitten fun ~

This mitten is really looking like a Nordic mitten! The fair isle pattern with "floats" in the back are creating that double layer that makes the mitten warm but not bulky.

I love how it looks!

Eggnog and mittens ~

Another chance to get an eggnog latte before the season is officially over, and this time I am knitting on these sweet mittens ~ well, knitting on "the sweet mitten" as I'm only knitting one at a time. Gosh, I hope I don't get a "second mitten syndrome"!!!

I love how they are looking, and there is still snow on the ground, so perhaps I can finish them before the cold weather is done...

New Year, new project ~

My sweetie E gave me a great book, Quick Nordic Knits, and some great yarn for Christmas. The yarn is for mittens and a hat, and the book includes great patterns for both.

So I cast on for mittens, on size 1 needles...and I am thinking that I'm nuts....as given this needle size, these are really just socks with a thumb, right? I do hope to finish them while it is still mitten weather....
I really should be assessing my New Years' knitting resolutions, and thinking about how well I did on my knitting journey this year, but I think I'll keep knitting on these mittens while there is snow on the ground...the resolutions can wait!!!

Manos Craving ~

I have been craving more Manos yarn for weeks, since the Jitteryknitter was crocheting a lovely purple and green scarf at one of our Starbucks visits. I've only one Manos project on my needles now, and that is my car project - always in the car in case I need to have some knitting on the go.

So after we looked at all the Manos in the store, even the green and purple worsted wool, I still chose more of the silky wool Manos...

I can't seem to have enough.... these will be soft mittens, and perhaps something else....it is so lovely.... and I feel better to have more Manos....

Book review #3 ~

Saving the best for last...perhaps "best" is tough to define when we're talking about knitting books, but this book is one I've been waiting for... Mostly Mittens by Charlene Schurch who also has written the Sensational Socks and Hats On! which I knit countless hats from in 2009. She has great color sense and writes her patterns clearly. My sweetie E gave this book to me for Christmas! Hurrah!

Check out these beautiful mittens...


So many colors and patterns ~ amazing to choose one to cast on first....

Plus....there are hats in this book, too!!! Bonus!

I do love knitting hats! Here's to more knitting of hats in 2010!

New Moon today ~

Yes, today is the showing of the New Moon movie, second in the Twilight series. My girls and I will be going to the Sunday matinee, and I think my oldest will have already seen it on Saturday with her friends.

As many wonderful Harry Potter knits that I've seen and loved, there aren't many of the Twilight knits that move me at all. After seeing the first movie, the only knit I could remember was Bella's mittens, and here is a link to the pattern, with complements to the SubliminalRabbit blog. Check her out!