Squirrel and Oak Mittens Completed

Washed and blocked, the Squirrel and Oak mittens are done. Only a few minor flubs, I spaced out on a round or two of the oak mitten and the bottom acorns aren't lined up exactly, but it wasn't something I wanted to rip back for. I wasn't watching carefully enough on the thumb pattern, it doesn't line up on the squirrel mitten, but again, it's not that noticeable. They fit well, the worsted wool worked fine, though if I do it again, I'm going up to US 4's.





My WIP basket with the rest of the java sleeves nearly finished.



Birds in the bush.

Package

Two more books in the Arthur Ransome Swallows and Amazons series arrived this afternoon, a gift from Grandma V. I am excited.

Postage Stamp Quilt Moving Along

Oh, this baby is coming along. I am nearly half done with the border, a traveling leafy/feather pattern, more interesting than the straight lines for the quilt body. I should work to the half way point today, I haven't done any more on it since Christmas Day when we sat around in our pajamas all day and made a frozen pizza for dinner. I made apple dumplings for dessert, though. All other holiday baking and such will be postponed until after the baby comes and I feel up to it, and when there will be guests here to eat it, too.



An orange cat and a black-backed quilt do not mix well. Rather, they mix too well and I struggle to keep the fur off this quilt. Ha. Once I am done quilting and finishing it, the quilt will get washed and put far from this cat's reach. At least I can hope.

More Squirrel Progress

One mitten body done, time to cut on the red line.


Ok, more like putting the stitches on needles and pulling on the red rip cord.


The thumb is free!


Just a bit relaxed?

Java Sleeves, the Fram, and Squirrels

I had doubts about the fit of the Magknits Java Sleeve on a grande sized drink after tinkering with the pattern, but they fit wonderfully. Three sleeves in the Racy yarn done and one in Silky Wool. Two more in the Silky Wool left to go in some yet to be determined pattern. My good friend Rachel gifted me with the two hanks of SW three years ago(!) and when I say I'm not afraid to let my stash sit while I wait for inspiration, you'd better believe I can wait until long after the cows have come home. Those cows are probably dead now.





The Squirrel and Oak mittens are addicting. They are even enjoyable after having to rip back to fix tension issues and re-knit, or having to knit back half a round after forgetting to carry along the other strand (I was thinking of rabbit fur mittens, the Arctic, and the Fram after reading out of our current evening book Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome).

I'm finding that even with the right gauge they would have been a bit snug, though the pattern does say for woman's small/medium hand. I consider my hands small/medium, but I like to have a bit of room in a colorwork mitten like this. I am now knitting them very loosely, a lesson in patience. Still, I am getting close to 6 sts/in, probably 5.75 to 5.5 sts/in but it's enough to give me a bit more wiggle room.


I'm playing with the pattern a bit (oh, as usual) and adding a herringbone cuff. I've left the darker yarn as the K's in the 1x1 rib then flipped the main and contrast colors for the rest of the mitten. The squirrel and oak leaf will be light against a dark background.

New Packages and Projects

Just as I was thinking about my Knitpicks order during my son's turn and transactions in a game of Monopoly yesterday (I'm not skilled enough to knit and play but I still think about yarn and knitting more than I should), the postman knocked at the door with my package. Excellent. Yarn and needles for another pair of IK Fall '06 Father and Son socks in Essential, color Ash, and WotA in Snickerdoodle and Chocolate for a pair of Hello Yarn's Squirrel and Oak mittens. I will start on those shortly. On a side note, the squirrel mitten pattern calls for a DK yarn but I get the gauge with worsted on US 3's and want these mittens to have a little more bulk to them as they're going to Montana. I've seen other's squirrel mittens done with WotA as well as Knitpicks Telemark and other DK and finer weight yarns. I may have to fudge the pattern a bit as my row gauge is a tiny bit off but that's just a matter of adding a few rows.


Presently, I have ploughed through three java sleeves in the Racy yarn and I'm pumping out the last three in Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool on US 3's with a common stranded pattern seen in places like Hats On! by Charlene Schurch in the Ullared Cap. I am enjoying the Knitpicks dpn's, they are 6" which I find easier to wield than anything longer, they have a nice point, and have a nice heft to them. Not bad at all for the low cost. I've worked with WotA before, not a bad nuts and bolts worsted wool, but I've yet to see how I like the sock yarn.

Racy Yarn

After taking a three month break from knitting anything (the baby quilt being top priority, more about that later), it was time to hunt under the bookcase for the missing US 2 dpn and start a few small projects. The java sleeve from Magknits is the perfect quick gift knit. I won't be seeing the family for another 6 weeks or so, which means I have time to crank out a few of them for the coffee loving crowd. I finished one java sleeve last night during Survivor and I'm nearly done with the second one now. A quick steam press with the iron and it's done. A few modifications on the cuff, 4 rounds of 1x1 rib in place of 3 rounds of seed stitch and an extra few rounds and an inc. to add length.


I've had this yarn hanging around in my stash for over a year, I bought two hanks at my LYS at the time in Saugatuck, Michigan with nothing really in mind with it. One in orange/autumn hues and the other in various multi-tones. Very fine gauge, would pair it with something or double strand it. I found that double stranded on US 2's was great for the java sleeve pattern.


The other hank.



I will finish the baby's knit blanket before he or she graduates from high school. Really. It's not a large blanket, I'm just not loving the thought of picking it back up at this moment. I am aiming to have it done before baby's first birthday. Ok, he or she isn't born yet so I'm aiming for the first birthday after the initial birth date. It's various cable patterns with a clover cable/lace section between panels, Dale of Norway Baby Ull on 3mm needles. I'm near the halfway point now.

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