I have not been completely idle on the knitting front, although you would never know it from reading this blog. Currently I am working on, or about to start, three projects.
First, a pair of fingerless mitts for Maggie, Matthew's girlfriend, for Christmas. She loves pink. This yarn is actually more of a lavender, but it was the closest I could come, given the limited selection of yarn stores in my neighborhood. But her winter jacket is deep purple so I figure she is flexible in her color choices :-)
The pattern is Eric's Glovelets, from Green Mountain Spinnery. I made a pair of these in 2006 for Andrew's then-girlfriend, but they broke up before I could give them to her. I hope I am not jinxing Matthew and Maggie with the Girlfriend Knitting Curse.
Concurrently, whenever I get tired of knitting merino dental floss on US#0 needles, I add a few [dozen] rows to a new pair of fingerless mitts for myself.
I already have two pairs of fingerless mitts,
and although I love both pairs they are both annoyingly itchy on the delicate skin of my paws. (The Kat™ = Princess) After knitting the Palindrome Scarf and the two Caps for Connor from Knit Picks Swish superwash merino, I had the blazing inspiration that I should use my leftovers from the caps to make myself a pair of soft and itchless mitts. Hence, the gold and gray ones pictured above. I am not enamored of the colors, since they do not blend with a single thing in my wardrobe -- except my gray sweats -- but the colors are surprisingly happy together, and the mitts will be warm and comfortable. So I am happy.
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When we were sitting around eating pizza last Saturday night and chatting about something or other that related tangentially to knitting, Andrew suddenly turned to me and announced, "Mom. I have a problem."
Catching on to the fact that our conversation had triggered his outburst, I asked, "Is this a problem that can be solved with knitting?"
To which he replied, "Yes!" I raised my arms to the sky in triumph!
It turns out that his hands get cold when he runs, and he wants some kind of hand covering. After discussions and expositions on the relative values of gloves vs. mittens and what exactly ARE glittens, anyway, and should these paw covers be worsted weight like my gold-and-gray fingerless mitts or should they instead be knit from fingering weight yarn, he decided on the lighter weight. Today I put all my solid color sock yarn in a laundry basket and let him choose the color he wanted (medium blue; boring, but predictable -- blue has always been his favorite color). As soon as I finish Maggie's and my mitts, I shall cast on for his mittens.
Is 46 grams of sock yarn (231 yards) enough for a pair of men's mittens? His hands are average size for a 5'10" male. I am thinking that it will be close, so I will insert a stripe of some other (drab and boring) color somewhere. I divided the yarn into two equal balls (they really are equal -- I don't know why one looks so much bigger in the photo) so I will be able to judge as I near the end of the first mitten.
Yay for winter running, that has compelled my antifreeze-for-blood elder son to request an objet d'knit from his dear old mother.
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I bought this pattern from the first issue of the Twist Collective, and it is burning a hole in my brain, it wants so badly to be knit. After a quick rummage through my stash I determined that I had no DK yarn in sufficient quantity for it so I would have to buy some. (Darn. Heh.) I eventually decided that Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool would be perfect for the sweater -- the pleasure of wool but absolutely no itch. It would be expensive, something around $125, but oh, well, that's what money is for, right?
A few days ago, however, I made the mistake of opening an e-mail from Webs announcing their year-end! blowout! sale! I looked through the many, many sale yarns for DK weight for this sweater and found two possibilities. I am not familiar with either so I thought I would ask for your advice.
Possibility the first, this Lily Chin Gotham in the light green (48% Pima cotton, 52% merino; total cost around $80):
I am usually too warm so it bothers me not at all that this yarn is half cotton. On the other hand, how would that much cotton affect the hand of the fabric? Would the garment lose its shape too easily? I have no idea.
Possibility the second, SWTC Soysilk (100% soy fiber; total cost around $90):
in one of these colors:
My question is, have any of you used either of these yarn? Would the Soysilk be too drapey, i.e., not enough body, for this pattern? Would the cotton of the Lily Chin Gotham adversely affect the fit of the garment? Inquiring minds want to know.
If you have any other suggestions, please include them in your comments. I plan to research this on Ravelry*, too, but I came to y'all first.
* Not much help on Ravelry, I'm afraid. Only two project from the Gotham and no comments on the yarn; Soysilk is not even listed.
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Belatedly I am posting about the evening I spent knitting with Vicki Knitorious in Appleton a few weeks ago. I was there for a conference, and we met up the first evening. Appleton is an extremely picturesque little city -- the downtown was all lit up and decorated for Christmas and looked like a fairyland. She picked me up at my hotel, and we drove a few blocks to a delightful little coffeehouse/bistro where we enjoyed local beer and delicious pannini (mine had cheese and ham and apple slices, iirc) and yummy dessert. And knitting.
Yes, that is the beginning of Maggie's fingerless mitts and the scarf that Vicki made for her nephew. This is the phactual photo; the artsy shots are here. Now you see why Vicki has a second career as a professional photographer and mine is as a county supervisor. :-)
Thanks, Vicki -- let's do it again sometime!
