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Yes, this is posted on Monday. I fell asleep. I was sure I was going to return to the post and write more. Then I forgot about it. *shrug* I'm sure the NaBloPoMoPoPo will get me for such an egregious move.
My niece has her mittens! I managed to get them to her this weekend as I had planned. They are a little big for her, though not as big as they appear in this picture, and they should work for next winter, too. My sister has Disney+ and has been watching Home Alone and now she is inspired to get mitten clips for the kids. I much prefer that plan to the one where I knit eleventy feet of i-cord to attach to them. They might never have gotten their mittens if I had made that part of the projects. It feels good to have these done.
I'm making good progress on my niece's mittens. She, amongst many others, can never know that it is possible for me to knit a pair of mittens this quickly. Now, I'm not trying to get ahead of myself, as I have been known to let a pair of mittens sit thumbless for a year or more. That being said, I hope to be able to give these to her this weekend.
I'm not sure if I'm going to try to power through and work the thumbs tonight. Knitting these has been good for directing my focus, but maybe not so great for winding down before bed. Eh, we'll see.
Some time ago, my nephew asked me if mittens were only for grown-ups. He's so sweet. It was a completely innocent question. You know I had to knit some for him. He requested light blue and dark blue with snowflakes. I then proceeded to take forever to complete them. He asked about them from time to time. Finally, I finished and gave them to him on Monday, just before the weather turned cold. I saw him tonight, and he showed me that he still has them and has been wearing them. I consider that a success.
My niece believes that I have already knit a pair for her. I said that I wasn't sure if I ever finished them. She started describing what she thinks they look like. I told her that I thought they were different than that, and then gave a vague description of the pair I started the other day for her. I might need to be faster with them.
eta: it helps if I click the publish button, eh?
Sometimes the challenges of life feel overwhelming. There are different ways to address those feelings. In some instances, I just choose one task and start chipping away at it. Other times, I look for the smallest, simplest tasks not yet done and start completing them, crossing them off the list as I go. Making progress and accomplishing things helps.
Then there are the times where the overwhelming feelings come from things outside of my control. At those times, I check again and see if there is something I can do to address the situation, and if there is, I do it. After that, whether I'm still feeling overwhelmed or not, it could be time to step back from the situation and stop spinning my wheels, to stop adding energy to those feelings. Sometimes watching television or movies helps me focus on something else. Other times, I pick up the needles and put my attention there. That's what I decided to do today. We'll see where it takes me.
The good news is that I finished the thumbs. The bad news is that I need to rip and extend the tops of the mittens. I was concerned that they were too short, and now I know that's a fact. While I am not thrilled with ripping back, at least I hadn't woven in ends already, so that makes the process simpler. Score one for the time that leaving the ends undone was a good idea, eh? The additional knitting is not tough to do, and there won't be much of it. I just want to get these done quickly because it is getting much colder this weekend.
In other unfinished news, another round trying of getting September's storm damage repaired has begun. We have the roof, and that is good. What we don't have repaired is the gutter/soffit/fascia/whateverelsetheycallit that came down during the storm, blocking most of the garage. You know, the reason we called in the repair people. The folks that signed on to do the work want us to pay someone else to do this portion of the job. They say that they cannot complete this portion of the repairs for what they are being paid. They say they are willing to refund us a sum that I suspect is likely inadequate to hire someone else to complete the repairs. We're trying to take a moment to catch our breath and then move forward, but it isn't easy. It seems like this company is not doing right, and that doesn't feel good.
I'm closing in on completing my nephew's mittens. I need to close the thumb on one, work the thumb on the other, and then it's just the finishing work. Ideally, I'd like to have them done by this weekend, and that is a realistic timeframe. I just need to sit down and do it. There are a few other things grabbing at my time and attention right now, but I think it might be good for me to get these done. Being able to cross something off the list feels nice, and it can inspire me to keep going to get other things done. Besides, c'mon, this is a pair of children's mittens worked in worsted weight yarn. I can do this.
There are mittens I am avoiding, and I'm going to try to make myself finish those, but that's not what we're talking about today. Today, we get to see a pair of mittens I finally finished. The knitting was done quite some time back, but still, they languished in a state of almost. Colorwork pieces might look fine before their bath, but a nice soak really does wonders.
Back in January of 2016, I was trying to choose colors and tweeted out a picture of two yarn colors. A lot has happened since then, but now they're done, and I'm really pleased with them. They're also so nice, that I feel like I'm just going to look at them and never wear them. It seems a shame to let something that I put so much work into just sit there, but I also don't want them to get dirty or worn out either. I'm sure I'll figure out something, but for now, I'll just admire my work.
By that, I mean embroidering on the thumbs of a mitten is either more difficult or exactly as difficult as you think. Although in the end, it was totally worth it. I say that not because I did such a great job with it, but because the little bird looked like an ugly blob without the embroidered details. Now, it kind of reminds me of a lumpy version that jerk chickenhawk in the cartoons, so, improvement?
Anyway let us go back in time to the knitting days of yore. The pattern: Bird in Hand by Kate Gilbert, the knitwear designer who spread TheClap to so many. I admired it and considered getting the pattern and knitting a pair, but I did not. Fast-forward, and a different Pattern Fairy sent it to me. Then I began knitting these, and then they sat. I cannot account for my time. I did not document. Life, the world, and just generally being me, m'kay?
For the yarn, I chose this color combination. It is somewhat similar to the only pair of gloves I've ever knit. That's right, I already knew that the colorwork would not be very clear and I did it anyway. Not only that, I mixed alpaca and wool yarns. I love how soft alpaca is, but it is kind of dead in comparison to wool's liveliness. So, that's going to be an enjoyable and winning combination for knitting colorwork, yeah?
I guess what I'm trying to get at, is that I'm finished making these. For a pair of mittens I like so well, I sound really negative, eh? These are really nice, warm mittens. The softness of all those alpaca floats is very nice, and adds to the wearing experience. Also, there is a small bird on each thumb!
With the completion of the first pair of mittens, I've decided to work on the thumbs for the other long-unfinished pair. Hey, at least this time all of the components are already together. Since I haven't finished them and I already gave you an unimpressive picture of soaking mittens yesterday, I'll spare you the progress shot. I will tell you the major part that holds me up when it comes to finishing these (and almost any, but mostly colorwork) mittens--picking up the stitches for the thumbs. I don't know why I get such a mental block about it, but I do. I mean, the thumb is such a small amount of knitting, but transferring the live stitches from waste yarn to needles (confession: that's as far as I've gotten on the next mitten) and then picking up the rest of the stitches drains away my will to live, and we all know that is a constantly dwindling resource on my best days. Oh, well, I'll get through it. Until then, here's a picture of a tiny figurine the son gave me. I think it was a gift he received in Japan but does not want. That's fine--I love it!
There I was, innocently popping over to Ravelry, where someone had shared a gorgeous hat (and mitten) pattern. I instantly adored it but tried to talk myself out of it by saying that it wouldn't fit my big head. Besides, my unfinished mittens were right when they objected from their bags. So, I backed away from the pattern (Confession: I left the tab open) and moved on with my day. Then I decided to do a bit of thumb wrestling. Yep, it was time.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the bag and found only the needles and one mitten and none of the yarn for finishing it. Now why I had bagged up only one of the mittens and not the other and the yarn is a mystery to me. The good news is that the location of the other unfinished mitten and yarn did not remain a mystery. The even better news is that I finished them. The bad news is that you only get this non-photogenic picture of them soaking.
p.s. Even more good news? The pattern fairy sent me a gift of the hat and mitten set!
It's the last night of the trip. I finished the last bits of knitting I planned to complete, and I cannot sleep. The son is snoring on the couch, and Bruce's PLMD is really going. So, here I sit, listening to and watching them while I try to figure out what to do.
I can hear a bit of rustling from the knitting bag, a crying out for attention, if you will. I'm tempted--I could be making good use of my sleeplessness, and it is getting colder. Those mittens will have their time, but the middle of the night, knit by headlamp while everyone else sleeps is not that time. I'm just going to eat clearance Halloween candy, listen to podcasts, and maybe scroll twitter. Don't judge me.
