Clever titles simple aren’t here today, so let’s just get to the business, shall we?
Yarn: New England Shetland by Harrisville Designs
Needles: size one double points from Knitpicks
Guage: anywhere between 8-9 stitches per inch depending on where I measured. This was my first real fair isle project, after all!
Started: December 26, 2006
Finished: February 4, 2007
Notes: First of all, let me say this: fair isle mittens are not that hard!!!! I was surprised at how fast these actually went once I figured out how to hold both yarns. Had I not been knitting these past ten p.m. my guage would have been more even and I would have had fewer mistakes. There are quite a few of them; pattern mistakes mostly, and the tip of my right mitten is kind of wonky. If I wasn’t desperate for a pair of mittens I might have taken my time a bit more, but these were learning mittens and to be honest I’m pretty darned proud of them.
So, if you’re tempted, go for it! Eunny’s pattern is very well written. Get yourself one of those magnetic pattern holders and you’re all set.
More mittens:
One the left, the first completed Target Wave mitten. On the right, Little Man’s current mitten. You see the trouble here?
I have completed the request for orange and white stripes again, so that part is good. Size is my trouble. Granted, the old mitten is too small for him; it doesn’t even cover his wrist anymore. But the new mitten is too big.
Options:
1. Finish this pair for later, make another pair that is smaller.
2. Frog completely and start over with the smaller pair.
3. Attempt to slightly felt (but I’m worried they may get too short).
Opinions?
Lastly, they aren’t mittens but I promised anyway: result of my spinning weekend at the Textile Center.
Unknown wool, two ply bulky:
This had just been sitting around waiting to be plied up.
Blue Faced Leicester carded with cinammon tussah silk:
Blue Faced Leicester carded with cashmere:
Jen put together a great sample bag for us, so I’m taking all the tiny samples we got (the above, as well as camel, pima cotton, samoyed (dog) cotton punis, mohair…what else was there? We got a lot), carding them with the BFL and making a sampler yarn of sorts.
This next skeins are wool from the unknown sheep that Jen helped shear a few years ago. The white and brown are natural colors, the red dyed by her. This was my practice spinning since it’s been a year.
These two skeins I spun on the drop spindle and Navajo plied on my wheel.
This was spun and Navajo plied on the wheel:
I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out, and I got so much out of the weekend. While I’ve had the basics down of spinning, I haven’t had a lot of time to really practice it lately. This gave me time to work on my technique and work out the bugs in my wheel. I have an Ashford Traveler and I’m afraid the poor thing has taken quite the beating from Little Man. He has taken it apart numerous times this year, mostly after Knittybaby was born and he was feeling jealous or in need of attention (he knows where to get me!). Anyway, I’m having trouble getting it to treadle evenly. I’m also having trouble where the flyer goes around but the bobbin won’t spin. Anyone ever have this problem? Everything works, it’s just not as smooth as I remember it.
Navajo plying is also very interesting. Tricky, but it gives an interesting texture to the yarn that I think would be nice to make a bag out of. I’ve never actually knit any of my handspun. I think it’s about time.
Knittymama 