NaKniMitMo, pt. 7: The slow process of sausage-making

Wurst mitten no. 1 plods on:As you can see, I'm well past the thumb (that's that red/green stripe on the left-hand side of the mitt) and I'm closing in fast on those finger decreases. So why does it feel like this mitten is taking forever?

I know that colourwork actually seems faster than plain knitting, and it's true -- it seems that every time I stop and glance down at my work there's a whole new row of happy little sausages smiling back up at me. It just feels slow for some reason.

As far as I can recall, I have experienced this effect once before -- with Swedish Fish, of all things. Now, I suspect that that's because both mittens feature a simple, very short (row-wise) motif that's easily memorized and quickly worked. As such, I suppose that the problem is with me expecting the mitten to grow at a crazy-fast rate (as opposed to the normal rate, at which it is currently growing.) Combine the two together and there you have it -- one slow seeming mitten. At least, that's how I see it.

Do you think the KAL would let me weasel out of knitting Wurst no. 2 immediately after no. 1? Or should I just force myself to get it out of the way while I have the chance (and no excuse?)

I have ideas for other mittens! Let's see if something comes of them!

NaKniMitMo, pt. 6: Everything is orange

I finished my Bavarois mittens last night! KALs are good for me, see?It feels so good to have knit both of them right in a row. Half the time when knitting mittens I knit the first one and then just make up excuses about why it doesn't need a mate. But since I plan on wearing these (and yes, because it's NaKniMitMo,) I'm feeling particularly efficient (or masochistic, take your pick,) so full pairs are the order of the day.

The pattern for Bavarois should be available in the next couple of days, for those of you who are waiting for such things. You will be notified!

Has anyone noticed that practically everything I've knit lately has been orange or gold or at least a warm shade of beige? This is easily spotted if you take a peek at my Ravelry projects page. I have no idea where this sudden orange obsession is coming from or how long it's going to last, but I suspect it's far from over just yet. Unsurprisingly, there is much orange yet lurking in my stash (I looked.)

Which leads me to my next NaKniMitMo mittens:Meet the new mittens (working title: "Wurst.") Because I just can't bear to live in a world where stylized sausage links have yet to appear on colourwork winter wear, and I know that some of you just might feel the same way, too.

NaKniMitMo, pt. 5: first one done

The first Bavarois mitten is history!This means it's time to start the second one, a prospect that is not seeming all that bad. Usually I run from second mittens, having (most likely) burnt myself out on the first one, but these ones are different. The nice stretch of plain Stockinette on the palms takes the edge off all that twisting.

Here it is flat:I was going to go with a gusset thumb but I bailed at the last minute. Going with a peasant thumb is another one of the small mercies that these mittens have to offer. They're not so bad!

If you're eyeing these hungrily, I am happy to report that I'm in the process of writing up the pattern. I mean, if anyone wants it.

NaKniMitMo, pt. 4: Bavarois!

The new mittens grew a bit today -- look!They've also acquired a name: Bavarois. Yes, that's a a dessert -- here's a recipe. Yes, I would like to try some.

Back to the mitten. I am in serious danger of actually finishing this mitten tonight! At the very least, I will polish it off tomorrow. And then...the second mitten. Wow, if there's one thing that this NaKniMitMo KAL is good for, it's getting me to actually knit the mates to my mitts. This is not a bad thing! It's nice to put a project "to bed" every once in a while!

NaKniMitMo, pt. 3: Bavarian delight

So now that the Give A Hoot mittens are behind me, I've moved on to my next pair. "Big needle mittens" won out over "little needle mittens," but as far as I'm concerned, "big" is a subjective term. To me, 3.25 mm is a BIGNEEDLEMITTEN that I can cram a crapload of pattern onto. Observe the fruit of today's labours:This is as far as I got on my new mitten pattern this afternoon. What you're looking at is the cuff of a mitten that is going to end up sporting a whole lotta Bavarian-style twisted stitches. This technique, if you're not familiar with it, features a lot of very tiny, very twisty cables which just happen to be the tiniest, twistiest, loveliest cables you can find on any side of the Black Forest (the Black Forest being where all those hams and cakes roam free.) I, for one, am impressed that I made it this far into a twisted stitch pattern this quickly, even if I was a little twitchy afterward. It's not so bad, and definitely worth the results.

And yes, for those of you who are fans of eyes on owl mittens, I dug through the button stash today. Is this better?Please note that the eyes are not actually attached to the owls, but they should be soon.

NaKniMitMo, part 2

It turns out that I wasn't just playing the wishful thinking card after all, because finished my Give A Hoot mittens today:And, since I finished the second mitten (incredibly) in one sitting I now actually know how long it took me, from cast on edge to tip of thumb! The grand total is four hours -- while reading (and listening; yes, I am a Jane of many talents.) The point is that the first pair of NaKniMitMo mittens is done and now I can move onto one of my own (new!) mitten patterns.
The question now is "big needles or little needles?", as I have a pair of each in the works, but have yet to start either. "Big needles" will go up faster, but "little needles" is colourwork and that just flies off the needles once I get started. I'll have to see what I'm in the mood for.

ETA: Ah, but are the Owl mittens only truly complete when they have button eyes? This is the question!

NaKniMitMo, part 1

Never let it be said that I'm not up for a good ol' KAL from time to time, especially when that KAL involves mittens. Ok, those of you who know me well know that there's no better way to turn me off a pattern than a KAL, replete with deadlines and stress and other fun things like that (why does the Mystery Stole 3 KAL of a couple of summers ago come to mind?) This one, however, is different, mainly because nearly every month is NaKniMitMo around here. A whole month devoted to the celebration of the mitten? I didn't have to be asked twice!

I have a wealth of mitten projects lined up for this month (yes, including TWO NEW SpillyJane patterns,) and so far I'm moving along at a good clip. Let's see how many I can bang out in a month!

Just last night I started Give A Hoot and this afternoon I polished off the first mitten:I suspect that this is a new personal best for me: a mitten in less than 24 hours, with eight of those taken up by sleeping? Amazing! Oh, the things that are possible when one is using 5 mm needles and not teeny 2 mm ones. But a mitten in less than a day? I can get used to this.

With any luck, the mitten's mate should be turning up in some form (hopefully completed) tomorrow. Watch, now that I've said this, I won't even make it past the cuff. We'll see!

Also: check the new user pic! Check it!!

Incoming!

I released another piece of Xmas knitting into the wild the other night! This means I can show you this specimen:This is the Interlocking Balloons scarf from Scarf Style, a scarf I had previously totally overlooked. It's the perfect guy-gift scarf! It's not boring and repetitive like some of the other guy-scarves out there, and it kept me busy for the better part of two weeks. I'm also pleased to say that it was very well-received, which makes me really happy.

Once this bit of Xmas knititng was out of the way, I decided that a small "break" was in order. In the interest of preserving my sanity I decided to start a sock pattern that didn't originate in the depths of my brain. Yep, with Red Bird Socks' Bird Foot, I'm just sitting back and enjoying the ride.Sure, I stalled around the beginning of the heel flap, but I'll pick them up soon, mainly because I just want to wear these socks. The extremely tacky (and annoyingly inescapable) working title -- The Richest Socks in Babylon -- stems from the combination of listening to too much Thievery Corporation and the "exotic" colour choices (KP Essential Sock Yarn in Pumpkin and KP Essential Kettle Dyed Sock Yarn in Bourdeaux Kettle.) I know, I know. Anyway.

So where does this leave me? Oh, with three mitten patterns in the works (technically four, if you want to be picky about it,) and a couple of sock patterns that also want out of my brain. It's getting crowded in here.

Xmas knitting ate my life

Yes, in the mad dash to finish my of Xmas knitting (some of which I can now actually show you,) these two new pattern releases fell by the wayside. You might have even been watching for them, wondering where they got to. Well, here they are: Trestle, and Guardian, available for purchase when you click their respective links...or grab them over in the sidebar to the right.

In case you've forgotten about them (or just don't feel like scrolling down,) I am happy to provide you with some visual aids:

One more time, Guardian...

...and Trestle.

Onto the Xmas knitting! The pattern is Ysolda's gorgeous Rose Red. This went to live with Adriana earlier this week.

Right-side up...

...and the equally-attractive underbelly.

Patons Classic Merino comes through for me once more. Also, considering that I knit the entire thing on entirely too-short dpns (circs and I tend not to play well together,) I think it came out ok.

I should also mention that there are new things in the works. When are there not new things in the works?! Recent correspodence with the aforementioned Adriana over the past couple of days has set things in motion. There will be things to see soon!

That's how I roll.

If only you could've seen me this past Saturday -- driving around downtown Detroit, my neck craned at an odd angle, twisted up under the windshield (on the passenger side, of course,) all to get a better view of this:A seemingly innocent Art Deco tilework detail on a poor, unsuspecting skyscraper. Little did it know that the deed had already been done! Gee, this is starting to just sound dirty.

In any event, the building in question is Detroit's Art Deco masterpiece, the Guardian Building. Built in 1928, it is a remarkable building and the jewel of the Detroit skyline...and now it's been immortalized as a Latvian-style colourwork mitten.These are the Guardian Mittens (Ravelry link.) That's the tilework motif there on the cuff, and the palm motif is taken from a diamond pattern on an ironwork grill closer to ground level. Yes, the cuff features three "terrifying" rows of three-colour knitting, but it's not so bad (and totally worth it -- I am in LOVE with the cuff.)

The pattern should be out any time now, and it will include instructions detailing how to knit these as fingerless gloves (handy for those who are also in love with the cuff motif,) as well as an alternate (but equally Art Deco) colourway for those who don't want to sport the exact colours of the actual building on their hands (yes, I do understand that not everyone wants to look like a building from the 1920s.)

Taking something huge, public, gorgeous and built of brick and tile 80 years ago and turning it into something small, wearable, gorgeous and made of wool in 2008 -- that's how I roll.