Finished Mitts

The mittens are finished!

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Baby Me Boo Aran weight.

Needles: 4mm dpns.

Pattern: 36 Stitch Mittens by Elizabeth Zimmermann, in Knitting Without Tears

Mods: The results are fine - very wearable - but with some not so great points. They are too baggy (I did get gauge). The thumb is that awful restrictive unnaturally positioned one at the front of the palm. The weaving at the top is a little awkward. I would tweak this pattern a lot if I were to make it again. I would do it in DK instead of aran, to get snugger mitts. I would add a thumb gusset. I would try different grafting methods at the top, to see if it’s tidier.

36-Stitch Mittens

This is the first of the pair of mittens I'm knitting - the pattern is '36-stitch mittens' from Knitting Around. I like the pattern - it's pretty simple, and very well explained in the book. There's a nice detail whereby you decrease sharply for the cuff so that it sits snugly on your wrist. I'm not a fan at all of this type of thumb - I do like a good gusset! - but it's fine here because the mitten itself is baggy enough so that it's not claustrophobic. The yarn is Misti Alpaca Baby Me Boo - I looooove it! It was a souvenir from California. These mittens are to keep my knuckles warm while cycling, as even in this spring weather the wind can be biting, especially at night, and when you are charging into it! I'm up the ribbing on the second mitt, and looking forward to wearing the FOs.

Famous Following

Look what I got in my mail! :D

I'm looking forward to posting here myself soon - I have all the yarn and needles ready to cast on for an adult Tomten. Just looking at the pattern now - I'm a bit scared. Jared Flood's mods seem to have been spread out over a few blog posts, and I'm also going to be knitting it as a gift for someone who isn't locally available for me to measure. But it will all be fiiiiine, right?!

slowly but surely...

It may appear to some folks, that there has been no further progress on my EZ mitts. This project had many false starts, then there was an issue of working out the numbers, I really should have paid more attention in math class. So, once I figured out how to count, these mittens are starting to take shape.

The next challenge will be the thumb gusset since it involves more math and more counting...

Hello

Ah, Elizabeth, how I adore your writing.
EZ's books are the ones I turn to again and again to read for pleasure - yes, even the patterns. The instructions are wonderful to read, so natural. It's like having EZ there chatting away to you over a cup of tea.
As for the knitting, well, there's something very exciting about casting on and starting a pattern with a curious construction that I can't really visualise until I've made it.


Baby Surprise Jacket, Rowan Wool Cotton

It's like going on a knitting adventure.
With most patterns, I like to have a clear picture of what's going to happen, but I find that that isn't always possible with Elizabeth's, and it's a case of knitting blind instead. The extreme sports of knitting, if you will.

Of course, it's not always like that, and some patterns are so simple and intuitive that you wonder why you need a pattern. For those, Elizabeth has her more basic instructions. Either way, everything is to be determined by you - yarn weight, colours, adding patterns or designs, and the needles that you need to use to get gauge. I especially love this. And hate it too.


February Baby Sweater, Rowan Felted Tweed, Gull pattern omitted.

There seems to be this idea that there's a magical knitter out there who always 'gets gauge' with the recommended needle size given. That's nonsense. The needle sizes and gauge given in a pattern are based on what the designer or test knitters used. They're a good guess about what size will work for the average person. But really, you need to use a needle size that gets you the gauge given in the pattern, not the needle size that the designer used. As an example, I knit most socks on a 2.5mm needle, because that's what works for me. Others use 2mm needles as standard, or 2.25mm. They are all correct. I love that EZ forces you to go and find the needle size that gives you the gauge you need, rather than telling you.

This is also why I hate it. I like having a starting point. I'm also lazy about swatching. Ravelry is great, as I can find someone who has made what I want to make, using the yarn I want to use, and I can see their needle size and go from there. I also know the needles that work for me for different yarn thicknesses, and might start there too. All of which is probably the right way to be going about it, now I think of it. So I retract my dislike, and instead thank Elizabeth for making me do the right thing.

Perfect Pi Shawl

It's done! It's done!
I've finally finished the Pi Shawl, and it's fantastic!
The edging took almost as long as the shawl, but in the end it's totally worth it.
Here it is pre-blocking. I think it measured approx 45" across:

I put it into a bath of Soak to get it nice & clean & wet to block it, and look what happened!

The red dye came POURING out of the yarn! My heart was in my mouth that I was after ruining it, after all the hard work!

Thankfully it doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear:

*sigh* Isn't it beautiful? It's not perfect, but I love it. It measures approx 52" after blocking. I ran out of yarn again after buying my extra wheel, so I gave up approx 3/4 of the way through the 576 pattern repeat and just began the edging.

Pattern: Pi Shawl by Elizabeth Zimmermann from Knitters Almanac

Yarn: Ístex Plotulopi Unspun Icelandic, 4 wheels of brown & 2 wheels of red

Needles: 4.5mm Addi Clicks and dpn

My only comment is that I couldn't close the hole in the centre after Emily Ockers cast on, as the Unspun Icelandic just came apart in my hand when I tried to pull it. So, it has an extra design feature in the centre. :)

A true labour of love project, but I'm going to be lovely & warm watching the tv this winter!

February Baby Cardigan

There was less swearing once I got into knitting it.

And it's finished,


I have to say it was a bit of a trial occasionally and is a prime example of having to read the pattern several times before launching yourself at it. Buttonholes are necessaryand you need to be thinking of them almost from the off. I used Weezalana's notes a lot while knitting and did knit the sleeves in the round as well. Once you get into the swing of the pattern it is relatively easy.

This is for my cousin's baby who was born this week. It's knit in James C Bret's Pure Merino, a machine washable yarn, the buttons are from my stash. I hope she likes it.