Category Archives: fingerless mitts

FO Friday – Mitts & a Monster

600Monsters, fingerless mitts, FO Friday, malabrigo 1 Comment
Nathair Mitts

I am in love with these mitts! This was my first Malabrigo March project, the Nathair Mitts, in Malabrigo Rios, the Solis colorway.  The cable was fun to work and though it did require my attention, I was able to work on these while watching TV and at knitting night without any mistakes! The yarn is butter soft and squishy and I will be on the hunt for more.  I only used 40grams to make the pair, so I have a decent amount leftover. Maybe I’ll make a cowl and finally have a matching set of accessories!

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This is overdue. This is a Mixtro monster (yes, another FreshStitches design!) that I made with stash-busting acrylic for the 600 Monsters group.  I finally got the right size eyes and stitched him up, and have sent him on his way. He probably won’t end up with the original 600 in Newtown, but that’s ok – the group promised to find homes for the additional monsters with kids have been through a tragedy or trauma and need a helpful monster to hug. 

Here’s to a great weekend – it’s been a bit of “one of those” weeks!

WIP Wednesday (Post #1001!)

amigurumi, fingerless mitts, malabrigo march, slugs, socks, WIP wednesdays, WIPs, yarn along 4 Comments
WIP Wednesday

I noticed when I logged in this morning that this is post #1001! Keeping things moving, here is what I have been working on this week. I started a pair of Carousel socks. They have been on my mind for a while and they qualify for a Ravelry sock group’s March challenge of “Unusual Construction”.  So far, I am really enjoying working on this. The small section of stockinette seems to move along quickly. On a few rows I have tried knitting backwards and it worked, but I don’t know that doing that saves me any time (and I don’t mind purling). A good friend has commissioned two large slugs for her friend’s children after seeing the “Princess Slug” I made for Lorelai, so you can see the eyeballs and antennae of the first one in the middle. I am just about halfway through the second Malabrigo mitt and I am still loving it.  As much as I am looking forward to spring I am glad that I will be able to have these done and put them to good use sooner rather than later.  

I’ve been reading a bit here and there. Still working through “Case Histories” and I’ve been reviewing the material from the latest Craftsy class I’ve enrolled in, Knit to Flatter. As with my StitchFix experiment, I really want to make sweaters for me that fit and look right. I’m expecting to cast on a new sweater tomorrow, Morning Coffee, as part of a KAL – I think I might be making a few modifications given what I have learned in the craftsy class.  Or, maybe not just yet as I’m still processing all the information. What are you reading and working on?

A cowl, an owl and cables! FO Friday!

amigurumi, cables, Cowl, crochet, fingerless mitts, flittens, FO Friday, FOs, owl, Swaps, testing 1 Comment
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It’s been a good week! This cowl was my first crochet test project! Crystal wore hers a few weeks back to our knitting group and I was absolutely taken with it. I was rather forward in telling her that I was very interested in the pattern – I am feeling a lot more comfortable with a crochet hook and really enjoy the process. Crocheting makes me feel like I am using my brain in a different way, if that makes sense, probably because I still need to stop and think frequently, unlike knitting (usually!). Anyway, the Miss Adler pattern is wonderful for a beginner like me. Once I got through the first set of rows I was flying. Crystal has a great knack for explaining the details and her style is very clear. I can also vouch for her dedication to a pattern – I have seen her work through designs to be published at our knitting group and she doesn’t do anything half-way. She is having a trunk show this weekend and I am really looking forward to checking it out! I used Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend for my version in the Wildflowers colorway. So many lovely colors poking through, very appropriate for spring. I did dip into a second skein, and as my gauge is different, my cowl is bigger, so I will probably wear it folded over as you can see in my Ravelry notebook.

Little Crochet Owl

Continuing with the crochet theme, this is Nel, the tiny owl, that I made for a swap on Ravelry.  He is another Fresh Stitches design and a lot of fun to make. I used Cotton Classic from the stash, and he turned out to be around 5 inches tall.  I hope he is loved when he gets to his destination!

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And finally, the Sweet Fern Mitts, from The Knitter’s Book of Wool.  These are also for a swap and I am very sad to see them go, but I will certainly make myself a pair.  They are just snug enough, and I made them with less than one skein of Berroco’s Blackstone Tweed. I struggled for a while with that yarn, trying to decide what to make with the lonely skein, but I would seek it out again – I loved working with it.

Have a great weekend!

WIP Wednesday

fingerless mitts, flittens, KALs, malabrigo, malabrigo march, malabrigo rios, Nathair mitts, plans, WIP wednesdays, WIPs 3 Comments

I have had a lengthy love affair with Malabrigo. I think it was one of the first “nice” yarns I bought myself in my early knitting days. Over the years I have stashed it, admired it, coveted it, and yes, knit with it. Lately though I have just let it simmer in my stash. I decided to join in a few Malabrigo March KALs and doing so has truly rekindled my affection for this yarn. Here I am using Malabrigo Rios to make a pair of Nathair Mitts in the Solis colorway. These are for me and I can’t wait to finish them. The first mitt is done and ready for a thumb! This week I have finished a cowl that I hope to share with you tomorrow, and two items for swaps have gone out in the mail, so I’ll share those on Friday.  Mentally I’m queuing myself up for a few more KALs which I hope is not jinxing it for me. I am hoping to follow through and participate in the March sock knitter’s anonymous challenge by making Carousel socks, the Flame KAL in the Crafty Diversions group, and the Morning Coffee KAL starts next week. I have swatched for that one and am itching to get started! How about you?

While I wait

beekeepersquilt, fingerless mitts, hexipuffs, WIPs 3 Comments

Trying to keep myself occupied and distracted (without being too grumpy or antsy) this week as I continue to play the waiting game with the lil’nutmeg and the hospital. Thank goodness for knitting! I’m still working away on the hexipuffs:

Hexipuffs in progress

And have also sent off a bunch of mini-skeins for a swap – I am really looking forward to getting the chance to try out some new yarns this way!

Over the weekend I finished the last of my WIPs! Well, the active more short-term ones – if you look at my Ravelry project page there are several WIPs, but most now are in hibernation. I am choosing to ignore the “Neon Nightmare” and the “Beekeeper’s Quilt” as those are truly long term projects, though they are active. This most recent WIP is a gift and has been shipped off to the recipient. Once I know it has been received then I’ll be able to blog about it.

This is a very strange feeling to have my needles “empty” for the most part – no deadline knitting (hoping to pick up testing / sample knitting again in September), a closet full of yarn, a ravelry queue that is ~30 pages (?!) – one could get lost in options and my decision making lately has already mostly fallen into the general “Meh, whatever” category. I did decide to go with another project that has been on my mind lately – Andrea’s Mitts. These slightly cooler days must have me thinking for fall, so I pulled out some Rhinebeck yarn ( silver Delly’s Delights Farm O-So-Soft) and a purple yarn which sadly lost it’s tag (I think I got it in a swap, can’t find it in the blog, phooey). These might end up a Christmas gift, or I might keep them, right now I’m 50/50.

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I started yesterday and am increasing the thumb gusset now. I am surprised as how quick these are working up. So far so good I am enjoying them and I know I have plenty of yarn to make another pair after this if I am so inclined (grey + pink, maybe reversing the purple + grey combo too).

Toddler Flittens

finally, fingerless mitts, flittens, handwarmers, toddler 2 Comments

Yesterday when we were playing outside, I mentioned to the Lorax that I will have to make her a neckwarmer for her pink coat (I’m thinking Scallo-pie, Not-a-scarf or just finishing the Zebra scarf). She pipes up that “My hands are freezing!” I told her that I had some handy dandy hand warmers that she could wear – and that they were just like mommy’s, only pink. I had been wearing my Fetchings earlier in the day. “Sure!” she says. Be still my heart. We run inside and I pulled out the Sucky Thumb Mitts I made last year.

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Of course we had to get right back to playing.

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She kept them on! I think she really liked that her fingers were still “free” and able to grab the ball or throw leaves or whatever. Handy tip to put them on? Making the “Thumbs Up” sign so the thumb goes in first into the right spot. They are a little big, so I am thinking about knitting them again in a DK yarn to be a little more snug.

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I was blowing raspberries at her to get her to look at me while I snapped the picture and she did it right back at me. We’ve got attitude, yes we do! We’ve got attitude, how ’bout you?