colorblock rikke, bitsy & bobbsy (II), mistake rib hat
21 finished objects: 13 hats, 2 sweaters, 2 scarves, 1 cowl, 1 pair of mitts, 1 pair of socks, 1 toy. a slightly ridiculous amount of hats. an unprecedented amount of sweaters. 1,561 yards, though that is a very approximate conjecture. as opposed to last years 16 finished objects: 4 cowls, 4 hats, 2 mitts, 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of slippers, 1 pair of legwarmers, 1 camisole, 1 sweater, 1 baby blanket. so less diversity than last year, but more FO’s.
rosy fingered dawn, honey block hat, belafonte
goals for 2012:
publish one pattern
knit one sweater (doesn’t have to be for me!)
finish 20 knits
knit for pleasure
knit selfish
go back to spinning. maybe 6 skeins?
with an olive, winter is coming, bough
welp. i failed at a few of those. no patterns published, as i never could choose one to start pursuing! and i didn’t spin 6 skeins, though i did actually start making headway on that goal! i think i got 2 skeins spun up? but the balance on my spinning wheel got a little wonky, and i still need to get that looked at.
what the frack-tal, reduced circumstances, pops hat
but i accomplished more goals than not! 21 FO’s, one more than i hoped for! 2 sweaters! knitting for pleasure and knitting selfishly. this was kind of a big deal for me. in 2012 i experienced a bit of… knitting malaise. primarily due to taking on projects i did not have enough interest in. so i tried to be more careful about the projects i took on this year. i tried to make sure that even when i was knitting for others, that i was making choices consistent with what i wanted to be making. and it worked out! i’m still knitting a little less than i used to. but my peak was when i spent a minimum of 10 hours on a train every week. i don’t commute by train anymore. and now that i’m more active in the producing of PoPS, i don’t know that i can expect my output to equal those heights. and that’s okay. it’s just an adjustment.
stripey magee, tinker bell mitts, el pescador
this next year:
– de-stash. i want to have a stash that inspires me, not weighs me down. i don’t mind how i de-stash. it doesn’t all need to be knit up, i can donate, gift away, whatever. right now my ravelry stash claims i have 93 yarns in my stash. let’s aim for… 85 by next year? i would also like it all to fit in the closet i have allocated for it.
– try a new technique. i made a toy for the first time this year! one of the things i love love love about having knitting as my favorite hobby is that there are always new ways to challenge yourself, to learn more. if there’s a ceiling to what you can know about knitting, i’ve never glimpsed it! that said, i certainly can get sucked into remaining in my comfort zone. so this year, i want to make sure there’s at least one adventure! maybe brioche stitch? i’ve never done that. or stranded colorwork with more than 2 colors per row? maybe it’s time to get over my intarsia aversion?
– work from some new designers. while i was doing the round up, i realized how many designers i admire but haven’t knit from! so i’d like to try at least one design by joji and alicia. i’ve admired both of their styles for quite a long time now, but never made anything they’ve designed!
once upon a midnight dreary, ne me quitte pas, sloe berries
and i’m keeping the following:
– knit 20 objects. this is just a goal, not a resolution. i’d be happy with less, if they were a little larger in scope this next year.
– keep spinning. i was really loving getting back to it before i got interrupted.
slow news day, turn a square, clean slate cowl
i think that’s plenty to accomplish, honestly! i wouldn’t mind publishing another pattern, but i’m still not sure which one to pursue, so i’m not going to toss it on the official list. what did you knit this year? which was your favorite project? are you making any goals for the new year?
lifeline mittens by belletrism
lifeline pattern ($4.00USD) another fabulous example of how the knit doesn’t need to be intricate to have wow factor. handspun or special yarn really elevate a knit, or a gift! i can’t tell you how frequently i stop back to stare at this picture. so beautiful! i think i’ll tear out my handspun cowl that i was never really sold on and use that yarn for a pair of these mittens…
hellskitsch‘s chocolate bark mittens
from the splitbark pattern ($6.00USD). i love the unexpected juxtaposition of the garter stitch with the offset honeycomb cabling, all amplified by this perfect yarn choice. neutral and unexpected!
cozy mittens pattern free from marthastewart.com
these quick and rustic mittens are a free pattern from marthastewart.com. i’d be willing to bet you could crank out a pair of these in one evening. set the tree to twinkle, pop in ‘it’s a wonderful life’, and i bet you could have a pair of mittens to show for it!
timothy hay & fluffy bunnies by urbanizer (blog post)
early grey mitts ($2.00USD) are sweet and simple. little mitts to warm your hands and give a chance to use up partial skeins and play with colors! i have a pair of these (made by the self same urbanizer!), and these get loads and loads of wear! last year, when it was bitterly cold, i found out the ease with which they slip under other mittens/gloves, and how much that extra layer of insulation helps!
thoroughbred mitts designed and knitted by aliciaplum
thoroughbred mitt pattern ($4.00USD) a lovely parallelogram textured mitt pattern. a totally neutral knit, i can’t imagine anyone they wouldn’t work for!
need more ideas? check out last years quick knits: mitts & mittens, or the year before!
if you wanted some cabled mitts, i’ve been loving the vancouver fog mitts forever (free!), and still intend to make them. if you want a little more of a challenge, there’s the cam cable mitts ($6.50USD), with an unusual cable, and patterning on the front and back. other textured mitts include raw honey ($4.00USD). if you’re jonesing for a bit of bobble in your life (but not too much!), there’s the emerald mitts. the most unusual techniques i’ve seen are on these cool zimtstern mitts (free!), which are started at the thumb, and use surface crochet to give the effect of radiating stars. if you’re looking for something a little more feminine, there’s the lovely katinka mitts ($6.00USD), or astri mi astri.
tinkerbell mitts <– ravelry project page
pattern: princess mitts from knitter’s book of yarn
yarn: rowan calmer
needles: US size 7 (4.5mm)
this is my third time knitting up princess mitts (sir janks’ mitts and moss mitts)
these took me a long time to knit because… well… cotton. i just don’t like knitting with it. calmer is by far the best cotton yarn i’ve knit with, but…. it’s discontinued. it’s 25% acrylic, which gives it a lot more elasticity, so it doesn’t hurt my knuckles as much to knit with it.
you can find calmer online still, which is what i did. these mitts are for my lovely mother-in-law, who is extraordinarily sensitive to wool. i’ve knit for her before with bamboo (wow! so long ago, i did not know how to take pictures of knits AT ALL), but i knew that wouldn’t suit mitts at all (too little elasticity, too much desire to drape). i was searching for blue, and i found this colorway called tinkerbell, and i just knew it was the right choice for my disney-loving mama-in-law!
what are your favorite non-wool/cashmere/alpaca yarns? are there any hidden gems out there that i don’t know about? or do your knuckles start aching just thinking about working with plant-based fibers, too?
w00t! sneaking in an FO under the wire. i gotta say i’m glad. i try not to judge things by numbers, but i have significantly fewer FO’s for 2012 than i have in many many years, and it’s been bumming me out. so i’ve been busting my butt trying to finish a few that were languishing just before the finish line. by a stroke of good luck (or bad, depending on how you look at it), i couldn’t sleep well last night, and ended up giving up on sleep and worked on finishing these instead.
kalin’s mitts <– ravelry project page
pattern: my own. i grabbed a few key numbers from pink sonata, but those ended up being more points of reference as my gauge was completely different.
yarn: koigu kpppm (lavender), and sandnes garn lanett (navy), less than a skein each.
needles: US size 2 (2.75 mm)
notes: cast on 56 sts, a few rows of stockinette for a rolled edge. corrugated rib, stitch pattern lifted from some fair isle mittens. if i were to do this again, i would leave a single column of the navy on each side of the thumb gusset, for a cleaner graphic quality.
the rectangles (for some embroidery) are 18 total wide (with one row of lavender edging), set five stitches from the thumb (could’ve pushed it another couple of stitches).
turned facing for the main portion of the hand. cast on more stitches than necessary for the thumb, as i’ve learned that i tend to knit thumbs a bit too tight. this worked nicely! ez’s sewn bind off for the thumbs.
i have some slipper socks reallllly close to being done, but sewing the soles on has been a trial and error process. i’m going to work on those some more today. cross your fingers for me, and i might have another FO for 2012! i’ll do my annual wrap up sometime in the next week.
if i don’t pop in for another post later today, have a great new years, you guys!
welcome to round 2 of quick knits leading up to the holidays! if you are anything like me, and knitting pairs of things means you need to knit something in between the first and the second, you should probably start working on your pairs now! thusly, it is time for the mitts!
[annepaalandet‘s mitts; worsted weight yarn, less than 200 yards, on size US 6 (4mm) & US 7 (4.5mm) needles.]
pattern is in the blogpost in the original norwegian, or, for those of you who don’t read/speak norwegian, translated care of google. the translation is a bit rough, but between the translation and the pictures, you can get all of the info you need. i have faith in you! anne is working on translating the pattern, and i will update this post as soon as it becomes available! (free free free!)
these are awesome and basic mitts. the nice thing about such basic mitts? you can modify them any which way you want! toss some cables on those puppies! how about stripes? embroider initials or flowers. or duplicate stitch some polka dots on the stockinette body (ooh, i want those!). sew a couple of buttons that serve no purpose but add a little style! or, heck, toss a random offset buttonhole near the edge of the ribbing, and give your buttons some function! why not?
[sushipie‘s hornet mitts; worsted, less than 200 yards on US 5 (3.75mm)]
bramble mitts (free!)
for those of you who get the cable urge, but don’t feel like going to the fuss of figuring it out yourself! feeling a little pressed for time? shave off a repeat at the beginning and save some yarn.
[redribbonfox‘s latte mitts & blog post; worsted, around 200 yards, on US 5 (3.75mm)]
susie’s reading mitts (totally free-stylin’! as a quick note: this project was made using an archived version of the pattern, but the pattern link is to the current version.)
love these mitts. they are the perfect mix of engaging and mindless. they start out with a fun picot edge, transition to a bit of easy stockinette, and end with the same fun edge.
[lolotte1409‘s plomb mitts, sport, 210 yards on US 4 (3.5mm)]
dustland mitts. $6 (USD).
i love these textured gender neutral mitts. these are another one, where if you are feeling pressed for time, or unsure if you have enough yarn, you could subtract anywhere from 1 to 5 of the different textured stripes from the arm.
[antler mittens; aran, around 200 yards on US 8 (5mm)]
antler mittens ($5 CAD).
excellent gender neutral cozy cabled mittens, for those of you who like over the finger coverage (nothing like grabbing the steering wheel in a cold car that has sat out overnight to make you want finger coverage!)
want some more suggestions? try last years post on quick knits: mitts & mittens. or, if nothing has caught your fancy yet, check out zombie vixen (free pattern, for your cousin/brother/niece who llllllloves the walking dead), muckle mitts ($5 USD for some colorwork fun), straightforward mitts (free, with a fun undulating twisted rib pattern), the woodsy association ($10 for 5 different options. make the badger ones for a hufflepuff friend!).
did i miss any of your favorite go-to quickly knit mitt patterns? share in the comments! thanks to all the knitters who were so accommodating with permission for me to show their work!
OR: what i got!
look what ness made me:
pretty pretty mitts! (ravelry project page, ness’s blog post)
the lavender-grey-blue is the yarn what made me swoon, by the way. it’s madelinetosh tosh dk in ‘steam age’, and it might possibly be *perfect*! the alternating stripes are fangrrl yarn sherlock worsted in buckwheat, which ness recently waxed poetic about, so i was very flattered that she would use that yarn for me!
ness also threw in some nail toys for me, knowing the massive crush on coral that i’ve been nursing this year, as well as my penchant for fancy nails! can’t wait to try them! as soon as i get decent-ish results, i shall shares pictures!!!!
thank you, ness!
my cousin sara was talking to me about trying to find some colorwork mitts on the manly side, as she is hoping to make some for a friend, so i thought i’d whip up some inspiration for her!
chinook mitts by jared flood, available for $5.50 online.
vagabond mitts from misa erder, available for $3.99 online.
latvian fingerless mitts by veronick avery. this might be a harder find, it looks like it’s a book only pattern. the book is knitting classic style: 35 modern designs influenced by fashions archives. check your library, or maybe inter-library loan it!
vicars field mitts by karina westerman are available free online.
ix mitts are convertible! they are $6.00 online.
there’s loads of beautiful colorwork mittens that could be easily modified into fingerless mitts with a little finesse and know-how. or even with brute force or trial and error!
burnham by leila raabe are double sided, and either pattern works, though i’m partial to the crosses side, as opposed to the diamonds. this pattern is available for $5.50 online.
heart of the mesa mittens by grace schnebly. i’m using my own as a model, the colors are a tad more masculine… they are available for $6.00 online.
carlisle mittens, also by jared flood (okay, i’ll admit it! whenever looking for any ‘masculine knitting’, i start with jared flood or his brooklyntweed collections.), available for $5.50 online.
and of course colors have a lot to do with it… brownscale, greenscale, bluescale and greyscale are all very masculine. grey & black, or grey and a deep mustard-y gold, or silver grey and burgundy, or brown and a deep blue with just a hint of green, or brown & green… it all depends on the guy.
and these are just for colorwork inspiration! masculine cabled mitts is a whole different can of worms. what’s your favorite ‘masculine’ color combo? have i overlooked any fabulous colorwork mitts?
psst- i’m about to embark on a very busy weekend with limited internet capabilities, but i’ll be wearing 30 for 30 outfits, and i’ll be documenting them! see you on the other side!
FO: they’ll always have fresno <–ravelry project page
pattern: fresco fair isle mitts
yarn: queensland collection kathmandu dk in natural and rowan felted tweed dk in grey-green
needles: US size 4 (3.5mm) for the fair isle body of the hat, US 2 (2.75mm) for the brim.
modifications: well, this pattern was originally mitts, and this is a hat, so…. i cast on four sts, and increased 8 stitches every round until i had 144 stitches. this created a very flat top. i centered the larger pattern at the top of every quarter of the hat. the top was a bit of a gamble, but fortunately it all worked out.
i did actually intend for the colors to be swapped, with the darker colour as the dominant. i thought that casting on in the darker color would make this happen, but alas! i did not wet block this hat, as i normally would, as i was a bit under the wire to finish this. i spritzed it with some water, and steam blocked it with an iron, which is blissfully quick, even if it requires a tad more attention than wet blocking.
the felted tweed is a little lighter weight than the kathmandu dk, so i picked that with my left hand, and threw the natural with my right, hopefully counteracting its natural tendencies a little. i can’t say that i have particularly noticed this in my past knitting, but as this is something i have read far more experienced and scholarly knitter than myself talking about, so i thought ‘why not?’
pop in later for my 30 for 30 outfit!
i keep seeing february photo challenges floating around the interbone, and i’m super tempted by them. but i’m going to resist, because i think the 30 for 30 challenge is enough for this month! but hey, check out robbie‘s. his is crafty oriented, so that definitely appeals to me. i also found this one on pinterest, which is more general… maybe i’ll give one of those a go? i feel like my knowledge of my camera does not do justice to it’s abilities, so maybe i could use one of these challenges as a way to work on that?
FO: made upon request <–ravelry project page
pattern: manly mitts (free pattern!)
yarn: stonehedge fiber mill shepherds wool (my favorite!)
needles: US size 6 (4.0mm)
my grandpa dropped a very heavy handed and amusing hint to me when he was admiring jake’s well worn mitts. needless to say, i picked up on the hint, and made him his own pair.
the pattern is good. basic, manly. these were the traits i was looking for. i kinda wish that i had continued the pattern across the thumb gusset… maybe if i make them again!
i la-la-love this yarn. stonehedge shepherds wool is soft and beautiful, and it’s got great spring. i’ve mostly used it for hats, so it’s durability will be more effectively tested with these mitts. i almost never react as strongly to yarn as i do to this. i could literally write it an ode. maybe i will? anyways, if any of y’all run across it in you various travels, i highly recommend it.
stay tuned! coming up: first outfit from my 30 for 30!
we were watching nativity! on christmas day and i saw these cute fingerless mitts. you can almost always count on british films to have abundant knits and woolies!
they’d be easy enough to make. the market mitts from my mitts quick knits would do just fine! so would some toasties, for that matter! one skein as the base color, and a little leftover yarn from some other project for the edges. i’ve been loving that tiny edge that a little contrast provides (as you may know from the cowl i made recently. and on pinterest in these mittens, and i’ve also been loving the dipped quality of these mitts and these mittens)
ifandany 