Thursday, December 11, 2008

This and That

Hi Knitters,
See that mitten? That is size woman's small that doesn't come close to fitting my woman's small hand. (Note to self: don't photograph your wrist ever again.) The Collector couldn't even fit her little hand in this mitten.
Here is size woman's large with some modifications to make it even larger. It fits fine now. The pattern is the Plum Blossom Mittens that I have linked and talked about before. Here's the thing, I started doing the fair isle flower pattern (you can see it in the corner of the sheet) in another mitten I started but I had some concerns. The concerns were that first, it would be way too small (I was right), second, there were long skips in the fair isle and it was a major pain to carry and twist along the contrast color in the round on 4 double pointed needles. I just wasn't having any fun with it. That's when I stop. I need to have fun while I knit or forget it.

I was going to duplicate stitch on the bloom and I even started on one of the mittens. It did not go well and it didn't look particularly good, so I pulled it out. I have an idea that I think will carry on with the theme of putting the palms together and getting that one image. I will share it as soon as I am done.

I still recommend the basic mitten pattern just be mindful of the size. I had to make the largest size and I had to make it a lot longer on the cuff and the palm before decreasing for the top. You can try it on as you go and then you can't miss with the length. 

It is a simple and easy pattern and I learned a thing or two. It has the coolest thumb ever. You knit an I-cord on 10 stitches and then to close up the ladder you chain up the bars with a crochet hook creating stitches. You pull the end at the top of the thumb through the last crocheted stitch. I thought this was genius and I loved it and I love that I learned a new trick. The other cool thing is that the thumb gusset was done in the simplest way at the end of the round. These mittens are so easy to make and it is a good pattern.

One other thing is that the yarn, Valley Yarn's Berkshire Bulky, is fantastic. It is soft and beautiful and it only cost $4.99 for 108 yards. That is a steal. I will use it again and again. I will definitely be making some stripey pairs for gifts, they are so fast.
Now for some odds and ends. These are the cutest little hair clips I bought at Anthology. I have to get down there again soon. These are The Collector's clips. The popsicle clips are like a ceramic type piece and the owl clips are fabric covered buttons. You can find them here online. I never tire of owls for some reason. I thought you might enjoy these bits of fun. They are the perfect stocking stuffers.
I pulled out my Yuletide Gnome for the season. Can't beat that beard. Hey, I found the pattern for you here. Before this pattern was more difficult to get your hands on but Alan has made it available as a single sheet now. Smart move.

When I see that I am getting a lot of hits from Japan I know Sunny has been up to something. Sure enough, check this out.

I just received a copy of Knit Two from Kate Jacob's publicist at Putnam publishing. I will try to read it soon and let you know what I think. It may not be for awhile but I thought you might want to get your own copy if you are a fan of her first novel. It was released on November 25th. I am interested in reading Knit Two and I am crossing my fingers for a happier ending this time. I still liked the first book but I just wish it wasn't so sad.

One last thing, the new winter Knitty is out. It looks like there are some fun patterns with some big-name designers included like Norah Gaughan, Nicky Epstein, Stefanie Japel and more. Wow, what a line up.

Carry on, Knitters.
best, susie

9 comments:

Sarah said...

Hey Susan! I just wanted to let you know that after a little knitting hiatus (why is it taking me this long to settle in after moving 7 months ago???), I'm knitting the Inca hat from your book, for my 4 year old niece, and it is SO darling! I can't wait to see it finished; it's one of my favorites from your book!

:)

Alice Regan said...

Thanks for the link to Allen Dart! What wonderful works he has done.

Your mittens look really cute, even though the first ones are a bit small.

Unknown said...

I;ve been wanting to read this book too! I hope it's good.

amyandco said...

Susan, I totally agree with you on the Plum Blossom Mittens. I made them with worsted yarn thinking that they could fit my two year old....Nope too small. I'm not sure about the stranding with bulky yarn either. I only carried two stitches at a time, twisted to make sure my carries were small (what a pain) they are still pretty thick! I think the pattern is adorable, but it seems on ravelry we are not the only ones having issues :) Love your blog, your work is very inspirational! Hope your holidays are perfectly wonderful!

Francie said...

Thanks to your earlier link and inspiration, I am also knitting the Plum Blossom Mittens in the Valley Yarn suggested. After reading some Ravelry comments I also decided to skip the Fair Isle and finish with duplicate stitch. I haven't gotten that far yet. But my woman's small glove fits loosely. I thought most Ravelry commenter's were too small because of the Fair Isle. I'm using size 11 DPN. I did the two color cuff but doubled the length (8 rows). It's a great simple and fast pattern. And I loved the I-cord thumb too! I look forward to seeing your finished mittens.

Susan B. Anderson said...

Okay, I just looked on ravelry and it does look like many are having similar size and fair isle issues. I forgot to mention that I was knitting exactly to gauge and using the same yarn as the pattern called for. Some of the ravelry projects did come out nicely with duplicate stitch. It is a good option, just not for me.

best, susie

Anonymous said...

Hi Susan,

Thank you for mention about my site... your candy cane hat is such an eye catcher!

I've posted about your hats and blog every now and then without asking you... hope you don't mind. I just keep knitting your design... LOVE every items. And all links you post are very useful for my idea resource! THANK YOU.

Happy Holidays,

Sunny

Jessica said...

Hey Susan.

I went and got your book itty bitty nursery.

I looked up picking up stitches to knit the picot edgeing. I found the "Pick up and knit" section. I read it over and over. Looked at the illustrations and am still completely confused. What am I not understanding or doing wrong. I so badly need a video for this. Can you just come over for a visit :D. I want to get this project done for a Christmas gift but have no idea how to do this.

Any help would be great.
Jessica

Kathleen said...

OMG...that gnome is adorable. I went right over to Alan's website and ordered the pattern. Very handy indeed, the whole downloading thing. Did you see the Nativity scene. Amazing! Have you tried that one?? I am so tempted. What a keepsake.