pepperknit

A lot of us on the East Coast and Midwest in the US woke up this morning to snow, with the threat of a lot more overnight tonight—but it was just unseasonably warm a few days ago! Such is the way with winter, huh? You think it’s on its way out, and it comes tearing right back in. I suppose it was to be expected—March does come in like a lion, right?

Get your hands ready for the last burst of winter—and keep your fingers warm on those spring (or fall) days when it’s not quite warm enough to be without knitted goods—with the Merion Mitts, my latest pattern!

Knit in the round in a worsted weight yarn on size 5 needles, the resulting mittens are squishy and warm. The seed stitch palm is a little treat to yourself, and the Maypole pattern up the back will have you thinking about May Day. It’s just around the corner, I swear. But you’re going to need something to keep your fingers warm in the meantime.

via Ravelry for just $6!

Available in two sizes—women’s large (modeled by Ashley) and small (modeled by Pam)!
Instructions include the Maypole pattern both written out and in chart form!
Clever decreases preserve directionality for a professional, finished look!
Look amazing in Malabrigo and other worsted-weight yarns!

It’s no secret that I adore the Pomatomus sock pattern. It was the first pair of socks I ever knit, and then I went and engineered a pair that had mirrored scallops—my most proud knit to date. The whole Mermaid/Nereid fingerless mitts done up with the Pomatomus scallops was definitely too much to resist. But who was worthy?

I was heading down to Charleston, South Carolina, last weekend for the graduation festivities for my cousin Meaghan. I’m closest to Meaghan of all my cousins, despite the age difference, so I wanted something a little special. Since she went to College of Charleston, right there near the beach (college? at the beach?! oh how different our experiences were), the fish-scaly qualities of Pomatomus seemed all too fitting. Also, her mother’s side of her family generates ginormous feet, so there was no way I’d have time or energy to knit socks.

My friend Gina Wilde outdoes herself whenever she takes dye to yarn, but I can’t tell you how much I love this colorway—Koi Pond—in this yarn—Alchemy Yarns of Transfomation Bamboo. The sheen of bamboo coupled with the ruby reds and fiery oranges, all married together with the twisted ribs? A veritable orgy of perfection.

Details after the jump.

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It feels as though it’s been forever since I revealed an FO ’round these parts. I’m happy to say that though I didn’t take a photo of the set, these babies are off the needles and on the hands of their recipient.

A while back, Laura quit her blog for various reasons, of most concern to me her hand’s repetitive stress injury. So sad! And then when she posted this picture to Flickr, lamenting her lack of a pair of Endpapers to soother her hand pain, well, I just had to step up and give my friend a hand.

She mailed me her chosen yarn–red (Koigu) and pink (Idon’tknowwhat)–plus two skeins of blue sock yarn for just me to have (thanks!). It couldn’t have arrived at a better time, because I was about to leave for Portland and needed some plane knitting. I had two legs–La Guardia to Chicago, Chicago to Portland. I cast on (using size 3 needles) in La Guardia and had actually come to nearly finished by the time we landed in Chicago, but I wasn’t happy with how it was turning out.

The pattern calls for a purl “seam” stitch on either side, which you can see in the photo above. I guess this is because the design doesn’t actually fit the width of the mitts; it didn’t feel cohesive to me. Plus when you pull the mitts on, it’s hard to get the seam to sit exactly along the sides, and why have this challenge to getting the mitts on attractively? When I got on the plane to Portland I asked the advice of my seatmates, two sweet women who actually weighed in (rather than smiling politely and turning on their iPods), and so I frogged the whole thing and started over. I had finished the first one–well, up to where I needed scissors*–by the time I got to Portland, and that evening I finished the first one entirely and cast on for the second.

I went into a panic that I had knit the first one so fast, so I made a little side trip to Knit/Purl to buy new yarn in case I needed it. (Of course, I only knit a little more during the rest of the weekend so this trip ended up being more for souvenirs.) Knit/Purl is a delightful store, with a large selection of yarn and books and other supplies, plus their own Shi Bui yarn line. I bought two skeins of baby blue Shi Bui.

That glorious wall on the left is the Koigu. I swooned. I took only a quick walk over there and back to my friend’s place, as it was blustery and cold out. I tried to stop by another yarn shop in the area but it was closed.

Anyway, back to the mitts–I decided to nix the purl seam stitch, just let the pattern jog at one side, and I was decently pleased with the result. I knit the second one on the way home–from Portland to Chicago–and then finally wove in the ends and got it in the mail in the second week after Thanksgiving. Laura received them, and they fit great. See her wearing them here.

*Many thanks to Big Alice for pointing out that fingernail clippers are allowed on flights! I brought them with me on this trip to Singapore and they’ve been a lifesaver, as the pattern I’m working on now involves lots of starting and stopping.

1. Lamentation.
On the bus this morning, when I went to put my knitting back in my bag, I discovered, much to my horror, that only one mitten was present and accounted for. I had shoved them into my bag but not worn them to the bus stop, and I could have lost it at any point along the walk–I got out the iPod, futzed, etc. I was so sad; these mittens, my Manly Mitts, have been hard workers since I made them a year and a half ago. This was their FO shot.

2. Speculation.
At the prospect of not having anything more than a crappy pair of gloves I knit two years ago that I don’t find especially warm, I started thinking about my next pair of mittens. People are all into the Anemenoi pattern, or however that’s spelled, but I’m not paying for a pattern that I can easily make up and customize to myself. And after all, I could just apply a new design to the Manly Mitts structure and I’d be perfectly happy. In fact, a long time ago I bought some light blue and some dark brown Lana Wool Gatto with the intention of making a hat, and I never did that, so why not use it in mittens?

3. Jubilation!
I got home around 9 tonight, and what greeted my weary eyes? Oh, but one of the happiest sights ever!

Can you see it? Just sort of a blob sticking out into the path, on the left, near the middle? It’s small in this shot, but I wanted to capture exactly what I was looking at when I opened the door. Because even just this glance made my heart leap with joy. (Yes, yes, I have a looong and narrow hallway, I know, I know.) It’s my other mitten! It must have fallen out as I was getting ready in the morning–I’d not had both on me at all today!

But now I’m not sure what to do. I kind of got into the idea of a new pair. And I do need to use up the stash–but do I need two pairs of mittens? I could give the Manly Mitts away; they’re in very good shape. I’ve never been thrilled with the colors of them when paired with my coat . . .

This makes for 3 FOs in 3 days. (Do I get a turkey, like in bowling?!) I don’t know how this happened. Well, yes, I do–I knit only really small things!

Pattern: Fetching, this time for me.
Yarn: I honestly have no idea. I’m sure it’s 100% Merino, but that’s all I know. I made myself my hat out of this years and years ago (maybe 3?), and I had started a few pairs of gloves with the rest of the yarn, but always stopped at a certain point for whatever reason. I don’t especially love the hat, but it’s the best one I have for myself that I’m happy to wear in public.
Needles: US 6 wooden dpns that I hardly knew I owned
Started: 7:30am today Hang on, stupid. You knit one of the mitts (sans thumb) last night!
Finished: 8:30pm today; I think they took just over 2 hours total 3 hours. Maybe Definitely less than 4. My commute is more than half an hour each way, so I got themthe second one mostly done on the bus, and then I just had to deal with the thumbs and the sewing in of ends for both when I got home.
Modifications: As I said, I have no idea what this yarn is, and so I don’t know how much I used. But I have plenty leftover–I actually think I could get another pair out of what remains–and so I was able to make proper-sized thumbs. Well, I only did 3 rows instead of 4, because I wanted them short.

I’m wearing them now to type. It’s bitterly cold out there, as many of you on the East Coast know, so I’m not going to be wearing them out and about for a while, but I can wear them while typing or knitting.

The pair for Tamar was sent off today, and I have to admit I was quite sad to see them go. Now I have a pair for me!

What next!?

Alright, I’ve finally succumbed. I didn’t really mean to, but circumstances made it the right thing to do. What’s that? Yes, I knit a pair of Fetching Mitts.

These are a gift for my dear friend and frequent commenter Tamar (not a knitter, more of a make-fun-of-Minty-er). She’s one of those people that are warm, loving, ironic, sarcastic, and deserving of warm hands. A fellow yoga friend was wearing a pair of fingerless mitts last weekend (interestingly, ones that she purchased at the same boutique that I got the idea for the Bainbridge Scarf from), and Tamar raved over them. Now, despite her size (short!), Tamar has ginormous feet, so I’ve made it clear that I wouldn’t be knitting her a pair of socks anytime soon. But fingerless mitts! Those I could handle.

I thought about designing my own pattern, but really, why reinvent the wheel? I had a skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in a rusty orange–a perfect Tamar color–and the pattern was right there. So here’s the wrapup (wow, it’s been a long time since I finished something based on someone else’s pattern, I don’t remember what details I include . . .).

Pattern: Fetching from knitty.com
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Needles: US 6 wooden dpns that I hardly knew I owned
Started: Around 11pm on Thursday, February 1
Finished: 11am on Saturday, February 3. Probably took 3 hours total?
Modifications: As has happened with other people, ekeing out a pair of mitts from one ball was impossible. When all was said and done, I had to have only two rows for the thumb instead of the proscribed four, and there was no way in hell I could have gotten all four rows for each thumb. And a picot bindoff, eating up yarn like it does? No way, no how. I did a basic bindoff instead, and in the end I think I had about 1 foot of yarn left.

The Cashmerino is delightfully squishy and soft and hopefully warm; the ribbing will stretch to accomodate Tamar’s hands, and I will be putting them in the mail on Monday! Love you babe, hope you enjoy them.