woolythyme

mittens, mittens....

I didn't have anything else I really wanted to knit, so I opted for the mitten lining, which I was avoiding like the proverbial plague.  I thought it was going to be fiddly, tedious, and would still result in flared cuffs. Wrong.  Wrong.  Wrong.

The linings of these Snowfling Mittens were really a breeze to knit, and of course, they are l-i-n-i-n-g and only visible as a mere peek of colour. Super fine finishing wasn't a high priority.  And besides.  The lining is CASHMERE!  It's decadent.  The 'tactile' was going to out-weight the 'visual' any day.

Peek!

 

 I can't begin to tell you how lovely these are.  The kit was from  Tanis Fiber Arts and when I received it (nearly two years ago) I was sort of disappointed.  The green was not the colour I had hoped....I loved the apple green lining, but didn't think it looked that great with the main mitten colours.  I knit them in what was undoubtedly a I-have-nothing-else-I-want-to-knit-right-now funk.  And then they sat for well over a year in time out.

This is obviously why I'm not----and never will be----a designer.  I have no vision.  My colour sense is also obviously lacking (probably why I tend to steer towards black and grey).  These are hands down (pun intended) my favorite mittens of all time.

So, I'm not real sure why I have more mittens on the needles right now.

Mayflooer mittens from Fair Isle Style.

But, I do.  

Grey and grey.  I picked the colours myself.

a big garter stitch hug.....

I really love garter stitch.  So much, that I actually loved making this blanket, in spite of the fact that it was bulky yarn (a lot of it) on BIG needles (yuck), using acrylic yarn (BLECH).  I should have hated this whole project....but, I love the mindlessness of the stitch. And the squishiness of the finished product can't be beat.  This is one BIG cuddly hug.  

Here's the 'recipe'.

8 skeins of ivory Lion Brand Thick and Quick 

5 skeins of CC--grey, ivory, beige mottled Lion Brand Thick and Quick.

  

CO 100 stitches on a size 15. 

Knit 3 skeins of ivory. 

Knit 2 skeins CC.

Knit 1 skein ivory.

Knit 1 skein CC 

Knit 1 skein ivory.

Knit 2 skeins CC

Knit 3 skeins ivory.

Bind off.  And cuddle up.

And I had exactly -0- yarn left over. 

So, now what?

Snowfling...that got flung in the UFO pile last year....was dragged out and the thumbs are now on.  This is a lined mitten, so they are still waiting for me to get excited about knitting a lining.  Not sure when that's going to happen.

Stay tuned.

Meanwhile...look who is on Santa-watch!

 

choosing the next project.....

Mitten Garland Advent Calendar...mitten #1.  

It all started with what was to be a major 'pattern purge'.  You know, toss all the duplicates, the printed patterns that are also in my Ravelry library, the patterns that fall in the 'what-was-I-thinking-when-I-bought-that' category.  Two entire shelves of my cupboard are taken up with patterns (and that doesn't include pattern BOOKS).  That's prime real estate in my world.

My first mistake was starting with the 'Christmas' folder.  Yep.  Oh!  Look!  A squirrel!!!  and I'm off and running. 'Purging project' is discarded...and I'm stash-diving....looking for red and white fingering weight yarn.  Red is a rather 'rare' colour in this household....white, not so rare, but one that gets used up quickly.  It took me almost as much time to locate some yarn as it would most likely take to knit this little mitt.  

I found a teeny bit of red.  This is a teeny project.  Check.  I never did find any fingering weight white/ivory...but came up with what looks like maybe a teeny ball of light dk or sport.  Close enough.

It's lumpy and bumpy with the different weights of yarn, but still pretty cute.  The thumb was very fiddly....I hate fiddly, but it was only a few rounds and you can stick out a few rounds of most anything, right?

The problem....this cute, tiny little mitten is #1 of the ADVENT series.  23 more mittens to go?

I don't think so.

I'm out of yarn.

 

Next project?

I think I'll go purge some more patterns.

twiddling away my week....

Lars, Lars, Lars.  I'm afraid you haven't left room for Thanksgiving dinner.....and I'm NOT knitting you another, roomier sweater.  You have a couple weeks.  Time for some serious exercising, or you will be banned from the Turkey Day table.

Lars (aka Sven...from Carol Anderson) was a very fun little project.  Followed by Black Tea (Thea Colman) which is still blocking.  Two finished projects this week!

I wonder how many I could have finished if I hadn't spent an inordinate amount of time....

shining a mag-light through life savers...

and turning the Pittsburgh skyline into a little ball.

Don't ask.

 

 

a happy coincidence...

Hubby's BROWN socks...(remember these?!?...the ones YOU all convinced me I needed to take on the plane a couple weeks ago) and Dan BROWN's latest novel.  It's been awhile since I've grabbed a page-turner.  I love to knit and read at the same time when it's a mindless, quick action story, but I can only knit very simple things; plain ole vanilla socks fit the bill.   So, these left the safety of the car where they were poised to be a long-term, knit-and-grab-when-I-get-stuck-at-the-railroad-crossing (which happens more than you would suppose).

The book was fast paced, this time staying in Spain...a country I've never visited.  But Gaudi took center stage, and his work I'm very familiar with....and the reason Barcelona has always been a dream trip.  So I enjoyed it.  I didn't like the fact that I found the story a bit predictable.  It was no Da Vinci Code.  

And the best part?  

As I finished the last chapter, I found myself ready to kitchener the toe of the second sock.  The book and the socks ended at exactly the same time.

THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!

(and you thought Brown and BROWN was the coincidence, didn't you?!?)

I want it all.....

Janesville Jacket is finished.  It's pretty perfect for a cool fall day; the only problem is....we have yet to have that 'cool, fall day'.  I think we're close.  

This has been 'hanging over my head'....I volunteered (yes, I really did) to knit 6 shawls for a dear friend's daughter's wedding.  I finished the prototype...sent it off, and I received the 'A-OK' that it was just what the bride had in mind.  So far, so good.  Five more to go.  The only problem....BIG, CHUNKY yarn (which I hate) using BIG, CHUNKY needles (which I HATE even more).  But, now, the knitting is done...the finishing won't take too terribly long and the wedding isn't until December, so I'm sort of free from this project---at least for a bit. 

What to cast on?  Do I want to finish a UFO? (no) I've put the Ghana socks in the car for stop-and-go knitting.  They are guiltlessly out of sight.  Now what?

Enter, the chevron cowl.  I had a mini-package of Wonderland yarn assorted colours...and one large skein (in grey, what else?)  This is simply a basic chevron pattern, done in the round.  I'll knit until each of the mini skeins is gone, separating each section with the grey....and then I'll kitchener the ends together.  Reversible...no ends to weave in.  Pretty mindless.  My kind of project.

It's moving along nicely.  I was happily engaged in the whole thing.  Yarn is lovely.  

And then, I went to the mailbox Friday, and found the new issue of Making: no4 Lines.

I'm not going to turn this into a spoiler alert post, but YOU NEED TO RUSH OUT AND BUY THIS ISSUE ASAP.  This cowl is going on the needles soon---real soon.  As are a pair of socks, a shawl, a pair of mittens, and the sweater!!!! I really need it in my closet. This list doesn't even include all the sewing things I might like to try! I have loved every issue of this magazine, and when I receive each issue I declare it is my all time favorite....

this time I really mean it.  I want it all.  

shhh.....our little secret, OK?

 

The unending scarf (Wheaten by Anne Hansen, I LOVE this pattern!) finally ended this weekend.

 

'Unending' because

• it spent 3 1/2 years on the needles
• I was rather ambivalent about the choice of yarn (this often happens when I insist on knitting from the stash, knowing from the get-go that the marriage of yarn and pattern will not be a happy one)
• Over the years, I unsuccessfully tried to pawn it off on various friends and family to finish, which reenforced my conviction that this would rank as one of the ugliest things I've ever knit (and believe me, I've knit some doozies in my day!) when they all turned me down.

But I was really convinced that this would never end when I discovered....... a mistake.  I was probably 6 or 7 rows away from it, with an entire ball of yarn yet to knit into it.  Ordinarily, this is NO.BIG.DEAL.  I rip things out all the time.  This time.  I didn't.  On purpose.  

Yes, friends-who-know-me-well....I just heard you gasp.

I'm not proud of this streak of perfectionism I carry.  Believe me, it does not carry over into other parts of my life.  But, in my head....knitting should just be done right.  Or as right as I can manage. Please note:  this is NOT an inherited trait, since my daughter knits by the 'good-enough-no-one-will-ever-see-that-boo-boo' philosophy. But this time I didn't fix my mistake.  Instead, I spent more time looking at it as I sprinted to the end of the project than it would have taken me to simply fix it.

My eye goes to it every time I look at the scarf.

See what I mean?  The fact that this happened on a colour transition only makes it worse.  (I missed 4 twists.  I twisted the first cable just fine and then apparently went to sleep for the rest of the row....I hate when I do that! And who knows what is going on with that second cable from the left?  I think I blocked something funny.)

Now, that it's done, though, I can embrace the project, the colours, and the mistake. (never thought I'd say that!) Probably because I defy anyone to find it in the first two photos!!!  (Viva the busy yarn!!!) 

 

How do you deal with knitting mistakes? Are you...

    Compulsive?  

    Laissez-faire?  

    What mistakes?!!??
 

 

rainy days and monday.....

My computer and I are sitting in front of a window that faces onto our front porch...where I have been watching part of the hummingbird migration pausing to feed at the feeder.  Those little guys (most of them are guys...ruby-throated) are queued up and waiting (literally) in the bushes for their turn.  I was sort of thinking about trying to grab a picture or two...when seven (that is SEVEN!!!) deer....four does and three fawns... just ambled across the front yard.  (I live on the corner of a rather busy street...busy from the standpoint of our little town, anyway.)  

I, obviously, missed the picture of the weekend.

 

Looks like you are stuck with the knitting wrap-up photo.

The candied-cuff socks are finished.  I must have made these before because ravelry has designated them -2.  I love getting old.  Every day is a new adventure.

The strigidae mitts are now a pair, complete with thumbs.  These I know I've knit twice.

The mass of garter stitch is my attempt to copy a wedding shrug/shawlette for a friend's daughter's wedding. (If this posts the way I think it will, the photo is in my Pinterest feed in the sidebar.) It is only fitting that I do this, since I made my friend wear a really dorky brown bridesmaid dress in our wedding....46 years ago.  I'm hoping daughter can look back on her wedding pictures in 40+ years and think....gosh that shrug was cute!!! (instead of...what was I thinking?!?)  

 

the bread saga continues....

I actually had two loaves of bread to take to book club.  (phew)

Where we left off.....my mixer was going to knead the bread for me....for 20 minutes.  Check.  And the motor didn't blow out or anything.

The dough was not looking exactly as Vivian described, but she kept saying how sticky the dough was ...and 'do not add more flour'!!!  I didn't.  I'm following directions, remember?

Let dough rest 10 minutes.  Check.

Incorporate 1/4 of the caramelized onions into dough by pulling each of four 'corners' of the ball (does a ball have corners?) of dough over the pile of onions in the center.  Let rest 15 minutes.

Repeat three more times.

Let the whole sticky mess (my words, not hers) rest and rise an additional 2 hours and 40 minutes.  (I'm seriously running out of time by now.)

Dump risen dough onto floured board (boy am I glad I didn't leave out the 'floured' step! sticky, ooey, gooey!) and divide in half.  Let rest 10 minutes.  (This bread got a whole lot more rest than I did.)

Shape into round loaves.  At this point, I had two sticky lumps of dough oozing all those caramelized onions.  No way was I going to be able to shape them into doughnut shaped loves with a hole in the center.  I skipped this step.  But, I did let them rest again.

Into the oven....each on its own baking sheet, one in the upper third of the oven, one in the lower third.  15 minutes...switch.  Another 15 minutes.  (Have you been counting how many pots, pans, baking sheets this recipe tooK?)

Ready or not.....Just a quick photo op and I'm out the door to deliver bread for the dinner.  (If you aren't following this whole thing...read the previous post!)

Everyone liked it....most everyone wanted to take some home.    To me, it needed more flour and more baking time. It definitely didn't need to rest any more.  

It was OK.  

Would I ever make this again?  NO.

In the amount of time it took to make this, I could knit another pair of these.

 

 

it's my birthday and i'll knit if i want to....

Pixel-rising socks are done.  Fini.  Finally.  6 months....most of which was spent in time-out for no good, apparent reason.  I like them.  A lot.  And probably what I like most about them is the fact that they used (used up in a few instances) some very small, orphan left-over balls of yarn. Left to their own devices...those balls were totally worthless, but together...they made a pair of socks.  Teamwork in the stash.  

Makes me smile. 

I guess it's no secret that I've been slogging through stash and UFOs lately....and finding nothing very exciting.  I sort of felt as if I was teetering on burnout.  Knitting like a mad woman for the past twenty years...and as an off-and-on-again-but-pretty-steady-knitter for another 40+ before that (shame on you...you don't have to do the math)?  Burnout?  Surely, not yet.

But, today....two knitting friends to the rescue!!!!  (Knitting friends are like that...you all know, right?)

A local friend stopped by this afternoon with the BEST magazine...Pompom's 5th anniversary issue.  She said it screamed my name....and she knows me well.  I want to knit just about every single item in this whole issue....and will most likely order some Shelter soon to put one of these promptly in the 'in process' queue.  As I'm on Ravelry putting the finished 'pixel socks' in the 'finished' file (I get immense pleasure clicking from 'in process' to 'finished'....and today IS my birthday, so I'm grabbing 'fun' everywhere I can find it!), I noticed that I had a message from a dear virtual friend...

and she sent me Strigidae!!!!!  I love the name as much as the pattern...(it's the proper name of a north american order of owls).  I've already sent the stash flying as I dug out some yarn for a birthday cast on...

after all....it IS my birthday, and I'll knit if I want to...

 

and I want to.