Pattern: Green Autumn Mittens by Jared Flood in the Fall 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting
Yarn: Classic Elite Fresco in Pea Pod

Monica: I always like to start the new year out by finishing a quick project. Okay so these were not the first project I finished this year but were ones I was able to take pictures of so I could post them. I’m calling these my Zit Mitts because they have zits on the left mitten. I started knitting the bobbles on the pattern but after I finished one set you couldn’t really see them. And I was too lazy to rip them out so I just left them so they look like weird bumps. I think the yarn is too fuzzy for bobbles or maybe I should’ve knit bigger bobbles. The yarn is a combination of wool, alpaca and angora. Not much angora though so it wasn’t flying into my face while knitting with the yarn.

I’ve been eyeing the yarn since it arrived at the shop and the minute I saw these gloves on the magazine I knew I wanted to make them out of the yarn (because I didn’t have any green fingering weight in the stash and these mittens had to be green). These aren’t as thick as the mittens I just finished but they’re perfect for the weather here. It was actually pretty chilly yesterday because it was cloudy and the temps were in the high 30′s. I wore a sweater, a hat and these mittens! Should’ve taken a picture but I was on my way to battle the crowds at Costco. (Why is the food court area always so crowded?)

Filed under: FOs, Gloves/Mittens by Monica

Pattern: Bird in Hand Mittens
Yarn: Cascade 220 in dark purple and medium pink

Monica: I started out knitting these on size 3 needles because I measured my wrist and matched the requirements of the pattern. I was almost done with one cuff and started working on them with my knitting group and one of the knitters said, “Those are huge! Are they for you?” At first I didn’t realize she was talking about my mittens because I was in my happy oblivious denial stage of my pattern. But then I put them on and sure enough they were too big. So I didn’t have any other needles with me and I didn’t have another project with me and didn’t want to go home so I scrounged around the stash of extra needles and found some in size 1 and I cast on for the cuffs. Much better. Then I switched to size 2 needles for the main part of the mittens. I started out knitting the braids but after I got through one round I decided purling 2 rows was much easier.

So the birds on these mittens are supposed to have embroidered eyes, beaks, wings and legs. Mine only have eyes because that’s all I could do before I finally gave up. If I had read everyone’s tips on knitting these I would have realized that I shouldn’t close off the thumb until after I finished the embroidery. So now instead of birds I have blobs on my mittens.

These still need blocking.

New Year’s Resolution #6555343: Read all tips and patterns on all projects ahead of time even though I really want to cast on and start knitting them right away.

New Year’s Resolution #6555344: Carry extra needles with me when I’m knitting with my group.

New Year’s Resolution #6555345: Carry extra projects with me always just in case the one I want to work on doesn’t work out.

Filed under: FOs, Gloves/Mittens by Monica

Pattern: Transition Gloves from Shibui Knits
Yarn: Koigu KPM #1013 (purple) and #2166 (blue)

Monica: It’s October and I’m still wearing shorts because it’s still hot and sunny here. I should probably dress up for my photo shoots but I had a chance to take pictures and didn’t think about changing. So pardon the attire – look at the gloves instead.

These are a present for someone who’s got longer arms than I do so hopefully they won’t go up that high on her arms. I had to reverse the colors on the second glove or I would’ve run out of the purple yarn. (Since I’ve had this yarn for a long time in my stash there’s no way I would’ve been able to get a second skein with the same dye lot.) I modified the thumb gusset section because I couldn’t get the instructions in the pattern to work for me. I did find the hand portion a bit tedious and kind of wished I was knitting another pair of Endpaper Mitts. But I’m glad these are done and I like them and I can move onto the next present.

Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Knitting, FOs, Gloves/Mittens by Monica

Monica: I had all these single skeins of Koigu that I bought on many whims many years ago. I also bought a grab bag of Koigu that had lots of single skeins. I started buying Koigu whenever I saw the yarn because they were so pretty and not that easy to get. There was no other yarn like it. But now my Koigu drawer is overflowing I thought I’d start using the single skeins up by knitting Endpaper Mitts for everyone as presents.

So I took a look at what I already had to see if I could just use it up without buying any new skeins but I couldn’t because the colors didn’t go together. So I went to the yarn shop and got some more. But as I kept knitting, the colors didn’t contrast enough so I ended up having to buy more. And then I had these single skeins that didn’t go with anything else and so I had to buy more and the vicious cycle continued. In the end, I ended up buying 5 new skeins of Koigu! Of course this isn’t new for me since I once bought 12 skeins of yarn to use up one. (I lucked out on the dye lot.) So here is what I’ve finished so far:


I already gave the pink ones away after I re-knit the second one. My gauge has stayed similar on all of these even though I ended up knitting them individually. I didn’t want to deal with 4 balls of yarn twisting around and driving me crazy. All of those yarns are Koigu except for the blue/yellow combination – the blue is Shelridge Farm. I’ll try to put the Koigu color numbers on my Ravelry page.

I have enough to make one more pair of mitts and now that I’ve memorized the pattern for Endpaper Mitts I’m going to switch to another pattern.

Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Knitting, FOs, Gloves/Mittens by Monica

Pattern: Blue Sky Alpaca Fingerless Gloves
Yarn: Reynolds Soft Sea Wool #221 Charcoal?
Needles: Size 5 circs

Lynette: This happens to me ocassionally when I knit for other people. I really like these fingerless gloves. The yarn was so enjoyable to knit with. It’s springy and has a wonderful texture. I was chatting with Monica and Barb yesterday about where I’d wear them and suddenly I felt like having a spot of tea. I will knit a pair for myself soon and find someplace nice to show them off. It’s a good thing I have about 14 more skeins.

Pattern: Weekend Knitting Warm Mittens
Yarn: Lion Brand Thick & Quick in Charcoal
Needles: Size 10-1/2 DPNs

I knit these a few weeks ago and forgot to post about them. I usually wear leather gloves during the winter but thanks to my negligence for not putting them away, Hershey had a few expensive snacks. After buying my third pair, I refused to buy another. Our winters have not been kind and these mittens are actually very warm although a bit large. I have to make sure I don’t leave these out for Hershey. I think she gets enough fiber.

I’m on my way to my son’s basketball playoff game and I’m taking my Hot Walffles knitting with me.  I hope you’re having an enjoyable weekend.

Filed under: FOs, Gloves/Mittens by Lynette

Lynette: My daughter is leaving for France in a week so I thought I’d better start knitting those fingerless gloves I promised. When Florine was here in October, I let her wear a pair of my fingerless gloves during the homecoming game and she liked them. I would’ve given her that pair, but Monica knit them for me. She deserves own own.

On Monday night, I pulled out my dpns and cast on. I preceded to rip back about 5 times. The pattern is a simple 4-row repeat although it looks a bit more complicated. I could not for the life of me get my stitches to line up using the dpns, and I kept losing the pattern. So I whined to Monica and our friend Barb that I didn’t think I’d have them finished in time and I should switch patterns.

That night I went home and looked for size 5 circs and on Tuesday morning I cast on again. It was majik! I knit an entire mitt in one sitting. Unbelievable. So it wasn’t me and my lack of “lace” knitting skills. It was the dpns that made me question my knitting skillz. Stay tuned for the finished pair. I just need to add the ruffle.

Tonight I’m casting on for the Hot Waffles fingerless mitts. She deserves two pair.

Filed under: Gloves/Mittens, WIPs by Lynette

Monica: My niece was visiting us this weekend (sporting her Koolhaas hat) and she saw my Endpaper Mitts lying around the house. She really liked them so I said I’d make her some. I was all set to make her another pair when she saw the yarn I was using to make my mom a hat. I had a ball of Rowan Plaid leftover and she wanted a set of fingerless gloves out of those instead. I was at my in-laws and they don’t have any knitting patterns lying around their place and they have dial-up internet access so there was no way I was going to look online for a pattern so I decided to just wing it.

Pretty basic but they are warm and cozy because this yarn is so nice. I still have a little bit leftover from the 1 ball of yarn but not enough to make a matching hat. They only took me a few hours to finish because of the big needles and bulky yarn.

Filed under: FOs, Gloves/Mittens by Monica

Pattern: Craftoholic’s Mermaid Gloves based on Pomatomus Socks
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM Color #P46

Monica: Like everyone else, I fell in love with Craftoholic’s gloves when I first saw them and added them to my long list of knitting projects I want to make before I die. But it wasn’t until I saw these gloves in person that I dug into my stash to pick out the perfect yarn. I bought this yarn thinking I’d make some nice socks out of them but once I started knitting with them the resulting fabric wasn’t thick enough for me so they work out perfectly as gloves. I had exchanged a few emails with Jen about mirroring the pattern on the second glove so that they are symmetrical. In the end I decided to knit both gloves the same way instead of mirroring the pattern. I experimented a few times but that day my brain wasn’t functioning well so I couldn’t figure it out.

Jazz Hands!

Filed under: FOs, Gloves/Mittens by Monica

Monica: I finished these for my mom:

Pattern: Peek a boo Mittens from Heartland Knits
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Wisteria

I set a goal to finish them while I was in Chicago last week. I was working a lot so I squeezed in some knitting whenever I could. And I got to meet this girl in person:

I almost stuffed her in my purse but Lynette was watching me very closely to make sure I wouldn’t take her.

Filed under: FOs, Gloves/Mittens, Puppers by Monica

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in Chocolate and Nature’s Palette in Owl’s Clover (pink)

Monica: The pattern calls for a tubular cast-on which I didn’t know how to do and I was very anxious to get started on these so I just did the basic long tail cast on. I didn’t have access to the Internet or my books to get instructions. I don’t like the way my stitches look with K1, P1 ribbing so I took a page out of Cookie’s sock patterns and knit through the back loop in the ribbing. I was very happy to have these done and used them this morning as it was only in the 30′s when I was outside. Stop laughing my Chicago friends!

Speaking of Cookie, have you seen the socks and yarn she’s been posting on her blog? I would love to see it all in person at Stitches West but I can’t go this year. I’ll just have to settle for when she posts leftovers (like there’s going to be any) on her blog. So leave some for me!

Filed under: FOs, Gloves/Mittens by Monica