Phedre's ready -- knit as thou wilt!

Where the mittens can't, won't, don't stop:This is Phedre, my newest mitten. Her pattern's just been released and you can pick it up both here on Ravelry and here on Etsy, in plenty of time for your holiday/winter knitting.

Here's her palm, complete with hidden thumb:I'm sure that some of you only have to look at this mitten to immediately get the reference, but for the sake of the uninitiated (among whom I numbered a scant couple of months ago) I will explain. I've already told you about how I can hardly see, do or read anything without thinking of how it would translate into mitten-form, and this mittens is further proof of that fact. Well, I've been reading Jacqueline Carey’s Legacy of Kushiel series, which features the heroine Phèdre. Phèdre's entire back is tattooed with a briar rose motif (her "marque,") which denotes that she has pledged herself as a sacred courtesan. I just couldn't resist being presented with such a distinctive and pretty symbol and I knew, fairly early on, that I would have to work it into a mitten.

PLEASE NOTE: NO SPOILERS PLEASE! I have not yet finished reading the entire Kushiel series! At this point, however, I am nearly finished reading Kushiel's Avatar, which is the third book in the series.

Here are some other things that you might like to know about Phedre:

The pattern is a clear, concise, 4-page .pdf file with large charts and images.

Size: Women’s Medium (or any hand that is 8” in circumference.)

Gauge: 10 stitches = 1 inch (2.5 cm) in Stockinette st.

Yarn: One ball of Knit Picks’ Palette (231yd / 50g) in both of the following colours: Garnet Heather (MC) and Black (CC,) or any other fingering yarn in these colours or colours of your choice, and a 15” piece of waste yarn of the same weight in a contrasting colour to hold the thumb stitches.

Needles: One set of five (5) double pointed needles in US 0 (2 mm) or size necessary to obtain gauge.

Notions: A stitch marker to mark beginning of round (optional,) and a sewing needle to weave in ends.

Skills Needed: Knitting in the round, stranded knitting, the tiniest bit of lace knitting, and chart reading.

I hope you like the mittens! Knit as thou wilt!

5 comments:

KyleeJ said...

WOW! That pattern is perfect and beautiful. I may just have to start knitting mitten other than the 2 needle method. I've just start working with dpns and have yet to work with a chart... hmmm.

gayle said...

Wow!
Every time you post one of your mittens, I think "Oh, this is the prettiest mitten ever!"
Then you make one even prettier...

Adriana said...

Lovely lovely mitten. I think you should bring it to visit me sometime, and yourself, of course :)

Ann said...

Another lovely creation! I can't keep up with you.

BeshterBooks said...

Found this from Jaqueline Carey's website, and I have to say those are the cutest mittens I've ever seen. LOL And I'm stunned you got that briar rose motiff in there. I can't knit, I can't even crochet, but I think that it's beautiful