Camp Out Races...

Camp Out Fingerless Mitts, [ jenleigh's ] version.

Camp Out Fingerless Mitts by Tante Ehm

Knit using both Noro Kureyon (colorway 217) and Silk Garden (colorway 337).

Knit on size US 7s.

Modifications below.

Baby Girl is due December 25th.  I. Kid. You. Not.  And I'm starting to panic a bit (a lot...) about having everything ready in time.  Furniture is due to arrive November 19th so we have a timeline for finishing up last minute touches to the nursery.  And I have a box full of layette and goodies waiting to be washed and put away.  (I'm stressing myself out thinking about it!)  But I still want to make sure I get Christmas knitting finished!  Handmade is just way better...

Because I'm limited for time this year, I decided to let Noro do the hard work for me, and I'll just take all the credit!  I love these Camp Out fingerless mitts by Tante Ehm.  The pattern is really simple and fast.  Not to mention the mitts turn out so lovely knit up in Noro, and are a knit that is sure to get lots of wear during the winter months.

The mitts shown Center are knit in Silk Garden, the outer mitts in Kureyon.

I still have a couple more pair to knit, and have been modifying the pattern slightly as I go along.  Here are my notes from my project page on Ravelry:

Believe it or not the pair of mitts shown in the browns and the pair shown in the yellow/turquoise mix come from the same colorway! I knit one pair from the center pull of 2 balls and the other from the outer of the same.

• I knit all 3 pair on size US 7s, but the Silk Garden came out quite a bit larger (shown center), which is GREAT because these mitts are really small. I personally like the Silk Garden version much better, and the color changes are much more dramatic. Not to mention the mitts are way softer.

• I also modified the sore thumb. There wasn’t much allowed for the thumb in the original pattern which made the mitts tight around my hand (I have really skinny hands). So I just added a second row of knitting between decrease rounds for the thumb and the size worked out much better, and there is more room for the hand.

• I still have a couple more pair of these to knit and I plan on either increasing 2 stitches either side of the wrist or finishing with 2 garter ridges because they are really tight.

Using a Basic Knit bind off makes these mitts nearly impossible to put on so instead I opted to: (k2tog, sl st back to left needle knitwise, k2tog) and repeating () to end of round. I’ll use this same bind off with extra wrist stitches or a garter ridge edge.

Even after blocking the Kureyon mitts are really small. If your want a little wiggle room I would recommend sizing up to a US 8.

I have some baby things finished and photos taken so I'll be posting them soon!  I hope everyone is well!

Happy Knitting!

In Bloom. Spring Patterns & Yarn Giveaway!

BLOOM Fingerless Mitts and Cowl, NIK 2012

Earlier this year I was fortunate to receive some Orange Flower DK silk/merino blend.  It's fantastic.  So incredibly soft and the colorways are gorgeous!  And I'm thrilled to be able to feature it in two new designs for Spring 2012.

BLOOM consists of two patterns:  fingerless mitts and cowl.  Both feature the Apple Leaf design and showcase Karin's amazing colorways Green Tea and Porcelain Blue.

BLOOM Fingerless Mitts & Cowl, NIK 2012

And for  those who purchase BLOOM by midnight (central time) March 31st, I will enter your name in a drawing to receive two FREE skeins of Orange Flower DK silk/merino blend in the gorgeous Green Tea colorway! If you've been fortunate to knit with Karin's yarn before, you know how luxurious a gift this is!

I hope you enjoy these new patterns for Spring!  Enjoy!

Weather Forecast: A Wintry Mix

 

Wintry Mix Mitts by Grace Schnebly

Knit using Ultra Alpaca Light in winter white, prune, and pea soup.

Knit on US 1 dpns.

Ravelers see my mitts here.

I was fortunate to receive an early draft of this pattern a couple of weeks ago, but I hate to in any way suggest I was test knitting this, as neither Grace nor Alice need test knitters.  They have each other covered on that front!  But I was excited none the less to get a copy and tried to work on it as much as I could while finishing up Christmas knits.  (Yes! The Top-Down Raglan is complete and I'll get photos this next week...yahoo!)  And you know it's a great pattern when your trying to finish up other projects in order to get back to working on it!

When Alice showed me the chart I knew they were going to have a hit on their hands. And the Ultra Alpaca worked in such a small gauge is perfect for these sampler mitts!  I put together some colors left over from a pair of Fiddleheads and ran the colors by Alice, in which she exclaimed, "No! Grace is doing those!" So I went back and picked colors that are perfect for both winter, and for me.  I love the prune mix which is more like blackberries, combined with the pea soup mix.  By far Ultra Alpaca Light is one of my favorite yarns for colorwork projects.

 

This is a great pattern, well written and easy to follow.  And each section is so pretty that you can't wait to knit another one!  The pattern is knit with negative ease which really makes for a great fit.  Sometimes patterns are great until you block them and you end up with a soggy mess.  I really like how the Wintry Mitts retain their shape and won't stretch out over time.

The only modification I made was in knitting a round in my ribbing color before starting the ribbing for the thumb and top of the mitt.  And only to avoid my other contrasting color from being visible in the purl stitches in the first round of ribbing.

I've started my second mitt, but as we're heading out of town tomorrow to visit family over the holidays I won't be able to work on it until my feet are steady on the ground.  (Car sickness...) So I've got some travel knitting for the 1000 mile hike back to the South.  But I plan on taking it with me and finishing while there.

 I'm so proud of the girls at KathrynIvy.com and the great knits and patterns they are bringing to us!  It's so much fun to watch knitting friends really hit their stride with designs and I'm looking forward to what they'll come up with next!  Happy Knitting!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ashley DATE: 12/31/2009 03:33:50 AM can I please have the pattern to the cap'n crunch neck warmer please the link is broken:(
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Leslie  DATE: 01/02/2010 11:20:20 AM Such beauties! You're on a roll. Happy New Year!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Beate DATE: 03/02/2010 10:21:05 AM Your colours and pic. are great.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jennifer DATE: 03/04/2010 12:22:39 PM Thank you! =) This pattern paired with Ultra Alpaca Light is really a lot of fun. The colorwork smooths out nicely!