Fingerless Mitts, Cables, and Gussets – Oh My!

February 20, 2020February 20, 2020Leave a comment

How’s everyone’s 2020 going? Doesn’t it feel like we’re living in the future, even though it’s the present? It’s late February and I’m still adjusting.

After Christmas, I took a small hiatus with projects but all the sales hit and I succumbed to buying some items that helped kick off some new WIPs for 2020. I started a poncho (this one, to be exact), a little amigurumi that is green and baby/child-esque from one of the biggest movie franchises in history, and to keep my brain extra challenged, a pair of knitted fingerless mitts that also has a cable pattern. (For in-progress photos of the green baby, you can check my Instagram, I have a story highlight on that one.)

Not surprisingly, I finished the knitted mitts first, although 2017 Zoe would have found that hard to believe. I thought I might finish the amigurumi doll but I’m taking my sweet, sweet time with it. The mitts presented several new-to-me challenges: making cables and thumb gussets, mostly, although I was slightly worried I would have Second Thing Fatigue. That’s where you make the first of two items and then are exhausted by it and never make the second half of a project. I had that happen to me when I tried crocheting a pair of socks. Turns out, crocheting a ton of single crochet in the round for hours on end is extremely tedious, and I never made the full pair of socks. I was thrilled that didn’t happen with the knitted mitts! Knitting in the round is more soothing and goes pretty quickly, especially working with a chunky yarn like I was. Next time I do a pair of these, I will try “TAAT” or two at a time.

For my mitts, I used a pretty hand-painted aran-weight yarn from Knit Picks called Muse, colorway Vitalize. I liked all the yellows and greens with flecks of red.

For the most part, despite being an intermediate pattern, I found the pattern relatively easy to work up. I did have to do some math that scrunched my brain a bit, since I decreased the number of stitches in order to get gauge. I cast on 36 and I knitted these using magic loop. I’m just not a double-pointed needle kinda gal. I used my brand new cable needle to help me, watched some handy YouTube videos to make sure I was on the right track, and knitted away. There are definitely ways to have more finesse in cabling but for a first-time project, this wasn’t bad at all. My mitts don’t look as refined as some of the other linked projects but that’s okay. It gave me enough confidence keep trying cabled projects.

The trickiest part for me was making the thumbs. I was fine with slipping the thumb stitches onto scrap yarn but I also had to learn the backwards loop cast-on which is so simple it’s hard. At least initially. After casting on those extra stitches, you complete the hand and bind off. (I used Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind-off.) I also had to pick up stitches, which is made easy only with a crochet hook, at least for me. I do not have even or pretty thumbs on these mitts but they’re chock full of lessons learned. The yarn is sorta stretchy because it’s a superwash wool but next time, I think I would like to go with a merino/nylon blend, or something with a tad more stretch. The chunk to the yarn helped me knit them up more quickly, though, so that’s something.

Overall, extremely pleased with these and they’ll be great for the transitional seasons when it’s not too chilly but chilly enough to need a hand warmer. Plus, the fingertips being free means being able to use anything with a touch screen.

If you’re a fellow knitter, I’d love to hear about any successful fingerless mitts patterns you like, cables or not.

Until next time, friends!

Twinning in Tweed

September 30, 2019September 29, 2019Leave a comment

When I last updated, I included a green and brown tweed hat as part of my hat-knitting streak.

I’m happy to report I was able to turn around and make another one with the same colors, just in reverse order of the first. They’re soft and lightweight and absolutely perfect for fall.

So now I’ve got two tweed knit hats that would fit anyone from a child through tween/teen and it didn’t scare me off from working with tweed, even with the neps! 😀

I haven’t listed any of the knit hats in my Etsy shop yet; I haven’t decided if I want to do a whole shop restock when I amass a certain number or whether I want to do a trickle of listings.

I did decide to list the knitted cowl I completed a little while back and an amigurumi squid I completed over the weekend. Check ’em out! Everything ships free within the United States.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. It still feels like summer in my neck of the woods but we’re supposed to have actual fall temps a week from now. I can’t wait!

Knitting Frenzy

September 23, 2019September 22, 2019Leave a comment

I have knitting news!

I invested in a couple of short circular knitting needles last weekend and in one week’s time, I was able to accomplish knitting two hats AND a pumpkin.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

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Remember when I first started learning to knit and all I wanted was to knit a hat? Well, I accomplished that via the magic loop/half loop method a while back, but then once I got my hands on some good shorties (I bought two bamboo ChiaGoo 16″ needles from a local yarn shop), I discovered how much more I enjoyed knitting in the round on the short circular and transferring to magic loop for decreasing. That’s not to say I won’t be using magic loop for sock knitting or making mitts down the road–those are still goals!–but for now, I seem to have unlocked a reliable method to whip out some hats.

I was also on the struggle bus with a rather simple knit pumpkin pattern but after some tries and fails, I busted out the new short circulars again and that helped a lot. (Plus, the designer was kind enough to answer my newbie knitting questions!) I didn’t think the acrylic yarn did as well on bamboo; a bit too much texture going on. But wool glides really well on the bamboo needles. That said, I understand why people amass a collection of different types of needles. I still want to get some more red lace ChiaGoo 16″ needles, among others.

Blue knit hat: women’s XL done in Knit Picks Chroma Worsted. Colorway is Weathervane but I believe it’s discontinued. Simple pattern from the Craftsy/Bluprint class on magic loop with Lorilee Beltman.

Green and brown tweed hat: unisex medium (would fit child/teen/petite woman) done in Knit Picks City Tweed DK. Colorways are Chipmunk and Sage — unsure if either or both are discontinued. Pattern is a FREE one from Ravelry called Bankhead and is quite popular!

Pumpkin: done in Knit Picks Brava Worsted (can you tell I have a lot of Knit Picks yarn to get through?). Colorway is Persimmon and I crocheted the stem in another colorway which I think is Dublin but I’m not 100% on that. Pattern is available on Ravelry and Etsy for a low price. I learned a lot with the pumpkin because I learned how to knit a large tube in the round and then sew up the ends. Nothing wrong with leveling up on sewing skills!

I need to give my hands and wrists a rest but I’m already scheming up what to work on next!

Finished Knitted Objects! Whee!

July 29, 2018July 29, 2018Leave a comment

Friends, I am so happy to post that I have a few more finished projects and this time they’re from needles and not hooks!

I feel as if I’m the world’s slowest knitter, even having learned to knit continental style, but even so, I can actually pick up knitting needles and knock out something that resembles a real thing. I just need a few…months….longer than most people might.

Since around this time last year when I first completed a pretty raggedy rendition of a dishcloth, I’ve gone on to attempt numerous swatches and other projects that have either been frogged or relatively unsuccessful.

It took the better part of six months, but I finally completed a knitted wool scarf for my husband to replace the previous one I’d made for him. Pictures to follow. In addition, I whipped up a few more wash/dish cloths.

Here are the cloths, all made with Knit Picks Shine Sport. Because this a mixture of Pima cotton and bamboo, I prefer using this yarn for wash cloths (facial cloths). Dishie or another mercerized cotton yarn, is sturdier for dish cloths. The Hydrangea and Cream colors are knitted in the same pattern, a “fancy stitch combination” called sugar cubes stitch. I got the tutorial from Very Pink Knits. The bright teal colored cloth is actually done in Tunisian crochet but it has a lot of Tunisian knit stitch in it. It also makes for a gorgeous and sturdy facial cloth.

The photo of the cream cloth shows the difference between the finished cloth without blocking and the cloth after a light wash, some time in the dryer, and some steam blocking with an iron. Side note: still getting the hang of binding off, a loathsome process.

Now, onto the scarf! This thing is 8.5 feet long. Yes, that’s right. My husband really wanted a long scarf and while this seems excessively long, it’s actually an appropriate length. It took four balls of Capra DK from Knit Picks, which is a merino wool and cashmere blend. Particularly as I’m a beginner knitter, I had to be careful with this yarn, because it could be splitty and too much handling meant it would start to felt. By no means is this scarf executed perfectly, but the stitches and the wool helped hide any glaring flaws.

The pattern is easy peasy for beginners (knits and purls only) from B.Hooked Knitting. One side is only knit stitches and the other side switches between knit and purl stitches. It creates a gorgeous textured scarf on both sides. No matter how this scarf is wound around the neck, it will be pretty to look at.

Blocking really helped the wool relax and get it fully shaped. My husband is very much looking forward to wearing his scarf come winter. It’s soft and cuddly and very handsome in the navy.

Tada! I think I’ll go rest my hands for a while.