Sweet Sunday, Mitt-vember Edition

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.   

  

Thumbless Thursday

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.   

Post-Parade Mitten Modeling

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?   

Knitting Through It

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.     

So Close

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.     

Mitt-vember Strikes Back

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.       

It Doesn't Repeat Itself, But it Kinda Rhymes

I get ideas.  It's probably for the best that some of my sparks of inspiration extinguish themselves as quickly as they ignite.  Occasionally, however, I see some of them through.  In this instance, I only saw part of it through, (although the other parts are more tangential, and certainly don't matter for the rest of this story) and past the deadline, of course.  

Last year, I purchased a pattern collection with some birthday money.  Not that I disliked the rest of the book, in fact, after flipping through, I can see myself knitting several of them, but I really only bought it for three of something like thirty patterns.  Anyway, at first glance, I thought one of the patterns resembled a scaled-down, miniaturized, simplified version of a sweater a friend had knit for herself.  There you are, millions of miles away through all of those tubes of the internet, and you see where this is going.  You know me a little bit, and you know if I see something like this, I will feel compelled to knit this for my friend.  

I cast on, and slowly, I made progress.  Why so slowly, you wonder?  Well, I quickly spotted a problem with the pattern, and I didn't want to have to fix it.  The closer I got to the error-riddled section, the more I slowed, and the less I worked on it.  I occasionally looked at the clearly wrong colorwork chart and tried to figure out how to fix it.  I thought I had an answer.  The chart is worked over twenty-four stitches for thirteen rows.  It looked as though it should have been worked from stitches thirteen through twenty-four and then one through twelve.  It made me tired just thinking about it.  To compound this, I ought to mention that for this section, you are working back-and-forth instead of in the round, so odd rows of the chart are read right-to-left and even rows left-to-right.  I think it is accurate to say that working this chart in this manner while trying to compensate for these errors is probably a greater burden than I should place on my will to live.  So, I copied the chart, cut it up the middle, and made the first half the new second half.  You know what?  Yep, it wasn't right, either.  At this point, I already had the chart copied, cut out, and cut in half, so I tried something else.  I made the first half of the chart the second half, but I rotated it 180 degrees, and it worked.  I don't know how they made the error that they did in putting together this pattern, but there you go.  

While I knew that I would not make my self-imposed deadline, I moved on with the knitting and thought of my friend.  When she knit her sweater, that pattern had many problems, too.  She worked through them, and the sweater looked great, but I'm pretty sure the pattern remains on her "Would Not Recommend" list.  I composed the note to accompany this many times in my head while I knit.  I shouldn't do that.  It so often paralyzes me as I try to find the right words, and by the time I to put pen to paper, my note has morphed into inky awkwardness, something I will feel embarrassed about whenever I think about it over the years.      

So, while it isn't exactly a miniaturized replica of the original, people-sized version of the sweater, it kinda rhymes.   

In a surprise move, I went ahead and mailed this off instead of waiting until the end of the year.  I know, shocker, eh?  Hey, I had to try to do something as right as I could this year.  Speaking of, how is your year thus far?    

Float Flash

Maybe it beats a picture of soaking mittens?  I'm not sure.  I'm unsure of many things.  I think I may have missed the mark on something, and the feelings of insecurity and confusion might be bleeding over to other parts of life.  Of course, it's one of those things I probably can't do anything about, and can only hope that the thought can be what counts.  If not, it won't be the first or last time I embarrass myself, and if it goes sideways rather than just missing the mark, well, it won't be my first shunning, either. 

Anyway, I couldn't show a photo of the mittens soaking, as I have only completed the thumb on the first mitten.  I gotta tell you, my enthusiasm is not where I would like it to be.  That being said, a lack of interest can work for me when it comes to finishing things.  I won't be looking for that spark for embarking on something new; I can just plug along.  I just have to get going on the work and let some version of autopilot operate.  At least that's what I'm trying right now with these mittens, as well as with other work I need to do, and I do have a lot of work needing to be done.          

I Suppose it Depends on What You Think

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!     

           

Three

 
You know how it goes.  Your brother vacations in Iceland, he brings you back some yarn, and then he notes with surprise that those are his colors.  Well, I did have a ridiculous idea to make something for everyone for Christmas.  Something about an Icelandic cat of legend, but before I was working the decreases on the first hat, I was over that.  

Anyway, I used the charts from the North Iceland Mittens pattern in Folk Mittens and made this hat for my brother and gave it to him for his birthday today.  It fits, and it even matched the outfit he was wearing.  He declared that it would be the hat to accompany him on his journey to Maine this week.

   

Done and Just Begun

 


I finally finished my mittens, and then the hot returned.  It really is not so bad.  Perhaps the only reason I think that is because I have these wonderful new mittens.  I do love them, and it has only been a bit over a year since I started them.  The pattern is Sea Mineral Mittens by SpillyJane.  I changed the thumb because I think they are more comfortable this way.  While the way they are done in the pattern (peasant thumb) is just so very matchy-matchy, I think I did well enough with the gusseted thumb.  Now I just have to wait until I can wear them.  

With the mittens done, it was time to dive into the stash.  I was looking for yarn for some future knits, but more about that another day.  At one point, I was going through the lace bin, and removed the handspun yarn so it could live with its own kind.  Side note:  I have a good bit of handspun at this point, and I am considering a NoMillSpunNovember.  Anyway, I found some more lace in other bins, and the next thing I knew, I had trouble getting the lid on the lace bin.  If that is not a sign to cast on for new lace, please don't tell me.  

Augh!  The Color is Totally Off!

I decided to knit Bauble from Knitty (First Fall 2012).  It is a pattern that I liked when I first saw it, but it was not a good time for me to knit it.  I think it is an ideal pattern for me right now.  I have the full bin situation, I have been knitting (almost finished) socks with twisted and traveling stitches and so does this shawl, this Malabrigo lace yarn is so pretty and soft, and it has been too long since I have had lace on the needles.  I have already made it through the foundation charts and am on to the main ones, and am quite enjoying the knit.                   

All Thumbs

While I started these mittens over a year ago, it is only now that I am getting ready to finish them, and I am so close and yet so far. I really do not remember why I set them aside. I picked them up the other day and breezed my way to the tip of the second mitten and feel like tossing them back in a yarn bin, but I will not. I will weave in ends and knit the thumbs. Then it is only a dunk in the bath, the drying, and I will have new mittens. I can do this, and I will.

It is just that I have been a bit unsettled with my knitting lately. That can be a perfect opportunity to attend to the odd piece left unfinished. It is a good time to just knit without thinking about what I want to knit and just follow along and form stitch after stitch after stitch. When I do not feel like knitting, there are plenty of ends waiting to be woven in and snipped. While I am feeling a bit meh, I am going to use it to make my way through something I might otherwise set aside in pursuit of more exciting knitting. Then, when I cannot stand it, I will paint my nails and bask in the luxuriousness of forced idleness while I wait for them to dry.  

Take Two Tuesday

Seeing as this week's weather has already given us back-to-back <90F temperatures, (we'll not speak of the rest of the week) it seems like the time is right to knit mittens. I have been contemplating colorwork lately, and this is the perfect excuse to play. As I was going through my books the other day, I found several motifs that I would like to put together into mittens of my own (for lack of a better word) design. I don't know that I will ever get around to it, so for now I am knitting from a pattern.

It is already take two for this pair of mittens, as I did not like the way the colors were working together. You can see how some were just blending into the background, so I had to rip. I am not sure whether I like the re-start, but since I am having difficulty liking anything right now, I am going to keep going. The pattern is Sea Mineral Mittens from SpillyJane. I am changing the thumb because, although it is very attractive in this design, the peasant thumb is a bit uncomfortable for me.

Tomorrow includes time in the car and in the waiting room, so I would like to have my knitting settled and ready. I figure that if I can make it through the cuff and the gusset and place the thumb stitches on waste yarn, I will be set.

On One Hand

When I finished Emily2, I looked about for the next thing to knit. Our weather was wonderful and unseasonably cool. I was loving it, especially because I knew that the heat would soon be here, and that October or later is probably the next time we might expect to enjoy such temperatures.

Anyway, I was not quite ready to begin something new, but rather, I was of a mind to finish something that was waiting for its time to receive my attention. I first thought about Salt Peanuts, but I quickly let that go. I admit that part of the reason I did not finish it was the dreaded idea that I would have a new wool sweater just in time for hot, humid, oppressive weather to set in for the season.

No sooner had thoughts of completing my cardigan been put back into hibernation, did the answer of what to finish next pop into my head. Within a few minutes, I was retrieving my nearly complete Estonian Sheep Hand Puppet. All that this little creation lacked was ears, stuffing, a face, and the weaving in of ends and blocking. In the midst of much on-the-go time, I grabbed a few minutes here and there, and soon I was done.

After seeing just how little time it took for me to finish this, I could be a bit disgusted with myself for having put it off for so long. I recall what stopped me way back when. It was the missing portion of the directions for the ears. It just put me off, and so I set the project aside until I was ready. I am so pleased to have picked it back up and put in the time and effort to complete my new little friend.

Much of my knitting of late has been for others, but this is for me. At least I think it is. Sometimes I hear that small voice or the little tap on my shoulder that lets me know something I made really belongs with someone else, and ignoring that leaves me unhappy. For now, though, this is mine, and it I am enjoying this simple hand puppet very much, possibly more than any one person should.

UM...Meow?

Does it mean that I will bring bad luck when I cross people's paths while wearing this? Black cats may have a bad reputation, but they get good marks in my book for keeping me company.

I also love that I have so much company with time confusion. I enjoy the time change not only for this reason, but also, because for a few more days, I will almost feel like I am somewhere between on-time and ahead.

Everything :: About You
China :: Doll
Essence :: Ecstasy/Nothing Lasts Forever
Immediate :: Gratification
Obstruct :: Bowels
Force :: Hand
Constellation :: Project
Intuitive :: Simple
Complain :: Whine
Train :: Wreck

Bright Enough for You?

As I had been feeling the need for some colorwork, and Helen let me know of a need for mittens, I did not need more prodding to cast on for this pair. I chose bright colors and a fun pattern (pattern six, for those of you wondering--creative names, yes?) from Mostly Mittens by Charlene Schurch. I found my rhythm quickly and was soon through the thumb gusset on the first mitten. Then, I lost the love. I began to think that the mitten was too large. I wanted to be able to contribute, but did not want to start over. My mind began to wander, and I thought about charity knitting; the importance of quality work that meets the needs of the group receiving the knits.

Then I began to think about Caps for a Cure. I have been knitting along with them for a few years, and do a little bit of moderating work on the Yahoo list. We really do have a great group. We change centers every two to three months. Each round is sponsored by a member who has personal contact with the treatment center, assuring that the caps are going where they are needed and wanted, and learning about any special requests or requirements. For example, some places love the fun fur hats and cannot get enough of them. Other centers note that caps made in the colors of local sports teams are particularly popular. This orange Hermione Hearts Ron cap was perfect for our last round, which went to the University of Tennessee.

Anyway, I knew that the mittens were nice, and I decided to keep knitting them. If they were not the right size for this donation drive, I would figure out what to do with them later. I thought about a relative who has tiny, cold hands, long winters, and could do with something bright in her life, so that was a possibility. When I finished the first mitten and I still was not sure, I looked for a volunteer. I used both a niece and a nephew to check for sizing, and it turns out that I was wrong. The fit was good, so I did not delay in casting on for the second.

They are a cute pair of mittens, are very warm, and might be bright enough so that neither one goes missing.

Not Feeling It

The head of the puppet benefited from a rip and re-knit. Now it sits and waits. I am just not feeling it, and for finishing work on projects likes these, concentration and desire are requirements. They take much fiddling and fussing, and are totally worth the effort, but when the heart is not in it, setting the piece aside is best.

Since it was a no-go with Sini, I began a pair of mittens. I chose bright colors, and a fun, yet not terribly complicated pattern. I made it through the cuff, completed the thumb gusset plus a bit more, and now I feel like ripping out everything and tossing it back in the stash. Since I know the mitten looks fine, and that part of it is that I am off my game, I have not done anything just yet. However, it only has another day or so to go, as I do not want another thing to linger on the needles just waiting.

The upside of the meh has yet to reveal itself. Perhaps I will catch up on household chores, or maybe I will exercise more. Either of those would be fabulous. I could possibly finish reading a book or two, and that would be good, too. Ah, the options spread out before me in waves, or perhaps that is just sleepiness finally settling in on me.

Like Watching Wool Dry

Yeah, that about sums up the excitement level and what I am doing right now. Beach Glass is blocking, but it should not take long before I can get it in the mail. Well, there is my track record of not getting packages off to where they ought to go in the timeliest fashion, but since there is no deadline or expectation of the arrival of either, I think I will be fine. Oh, and speaking of that, I received a piece of mail the other day. All that was recognizable was my return address label and the uncanceled stamp. It had gotten wet, and the mailing address washed away. It was a birthday card for a friend. To add insult to injury, it would have been on time, and I rarely ever accomplish that.

Ah, but I am getting off track a bit, or am I? Did I have a point? Oh, I did have a list for Ten on Tuesday, but I had read the topic incorrectly, and had Ten Reasons to Not Love Bacon. Once I realized my error, I had lost any enthusiasm for making a new post, but was hungry for bacon, and feeling bad about myself.

Since I like all of the Estonian Hand Puppet patterns, I decided to go with the most popular, and I am working round and round on Sini. The colorwork pattern is easy to remember, and making my way through the rounds seems faster than what my progress shows. I have begun thinking about making more of these, as they are so cute. A plan to spin and knit one out of alpaca amuses me, but I do know that I can sometimes be amused easily.

Fairy Tale Mittens

Spring is likely to be here at any moment. In fact, it could sproing right past us all and directly into summer. How did I reach this conclusion? I finished my mittens. This has been a difficult winter for many, and for them, I should have completed these weeks ago. However, there are those of us who feel a little less-than joyous about Spring, and waiting until August seems like a better time to finish. It has been an awesome responsibility and enormous pressure, and the closer I got to the end, the more the obstacles popped up around me.

When we last left the mittens, they were finished except for thumbs. Then, they needed to wait while I did not medal in the Ravelympics with the giant lace. At my next knitting opportunity, I brought the pair back out, and spent most of my time socializing. It was important. Then the needle disappeared. As in, I am holding it to slip the stitches from the waste yarn, and the needle is gone. I cannot find it anywhere. It is not in my hair, around my neck, in my knitting bag, on the floor, in my knitting already, in the book, under the chair cushion, tangled in the yarn, or shoved between the pattern and the notebook. I looked up, down, all around, and even enlisted the aid of a fellow knitter. I crawled around on the floor once again, lifted the flap of the chair, reached into its scary coils and swiveling parts, grabbed what felt like it could be the needle, and coaxed it out carefully. I thought that I was either breaking the chair, or destroying my needle. It felt like it was going to be a bad outcome, but I was wrong. I retrieved the needle, and it was fine. Then I managed not quite two rounds on the thumb before the coffee shop closed. I figured I would finish the pair before bedtime. I made it as far as the end of the thumb, and my eyes and hands were too tired to kitchener.

The next day, we are about to head out the door, and I figure that the bright sunshine would be a perfect time to complete the first mitten and get a nice start on thumb of the second. We make our way to the interstate, and I reach into the knitting bag and cannot find my tapestry needle. If only it were in a cute purple pouch with other knitting notions. Oh, wait--it was! I just did not see it at the time, and ended up leaning my seat back and closing my eyes for a bit. I discovered that it had been there all along when I was getting things out of the bag to sit and knit for the evening. I felt special, but moved on from the experience. Then, I make it about a half-dozen rounds into the thumb when the skunk makes its presence known. It had to have been just a few feet from the front door, but I did not open it to investigate. I have already learned that lesson. Anywho, either the air cleared enough, or I just got used to the stench, and I finally was able to sit down and finish.

Despite the possible meteorological implications, I am glad to have my new mittens, and plan to wear them as much as possible.

Pattern: Mitten 28 from Mostly Mittens: Ethnic Knitting Designs from Russia by Charlene Schurch
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette Black and Fairy Tale (I had trouble capturing Fairy Tale's true color with the camera)
Needles: US0/2.0mm

Ten Thumbs on Tuesday

The bulk of my mitten knitting for this pair is done. They just lack thumbs, and I hope to add those in a day or two. Since I normally only carry yarn in my left hand, colorwork can leave my right hand a bit fatigued. Then, last night, because I mistakenly I ended my mitten three rounds too soon (making a few modifications), had to un-kitchener, pick up the stitches, Russian-join, knit the omitted section, and re-kitchener the tip, I am ready to set this project aside for a little bit.

Speaking of thumbs, I continue to be entertained by my amazingly green thumbs over in my PVZ Zen Garden. Yes, I caved and bought the full game, but am glad that I did. While it did eat much of my weekend, it was perfect for when I could not sleep and could not concentrate on anything more demanding. Even if it devours my chances at Ravelympic gold, I made the right choice.

I am glad that Carole keeps coming up with Ten on Tuesday topics since the official site has not been updating for a while. Thinking up ten of my favorite places to knit was easy.

Sporting events--I do not enjoy sports, but I can enjoy being with others who do without losing my mind.

Coffee shops--It is wonderful to sip a tasty beverage while clicking along with needles. Whether it is a small local place or part of a large chain, I love knitting at the coffee spots.

Cars--While Bruce drives, I love to knit during a long road trip. The stitches add up even on short trips across town, too.

With friends--Technically this is not a location, but wherever I am with fun people, whether the stitches flow or not, it is always a great time.

Medical facilities--It makes the inevitable wait seem shorter, relieve stress, and provide a necessary distraction.

Outside--This does not happen often, but when the weather is just right, knitting in the sunlight and fresh air is a wonderful way to enjoy the great outdoors.

My living room--Sitting and knitting at home is still one of the best.

Social gatherings--Sometimes I need a little help in the social settings, and knitting helps calm my nerves, relax, and enjoy time with others.

Yarn shops--It is inspiring to sit and knit among all of the pretty colors, fibers, and other knitters and their projects.

Lines--Waiting at the bank, the post office, the store, or anywhere else with knitting in hand seems to make the line move more quickly. Even if it doesn't I don't mind the wait as much, and play little games in my mind estimating how much I will knit before it is my turn.