NaKniMitMo, pt. 12: The wrap-up

What a month for mittens -- and what a great KAL! I'm pleased to report that NaKniMitMo was my first true (and successfully completed) KAL, and I had a great time participating. I finished my Bloom mittens this morning:They took me one week exactly, from start to finish...and I had more than enough yarn. I'm always worried that I'm going to run out and I never do (this is a very good thing!)

Those of you who keep track of such things will note that I've bottomed out at 3 1/2 pairs of mittens this month:Of course, that's a family portrait of Bloom, Give A Hoot, Wurst and Bavarois, all together at last.

So that's it for me for NaKniMitMo 2009 -- somehow I think seven mittens is plenty. Plus, I'm almost out of January! This is not an entirely bad thing as 30 January is my birthday.

Don't be fooled just because I cast on for a tam today -- there are more mittens on the way. You're shocked, I know.

NaKniMitMo, pt. 10: The home stretch

NaKniMitMO may be almost over, but there's still time for one more pair of mittens!I finished the first of the Bloom mittens the other day while reading and listening yet again.

Here's the palm:I tweaked several elements of these mittens, but I won't bore you with the list here (unless, of course, you'd like to be bored by the list, in which case I will be more than happy to oblige.) The important thing is that I've already cast on for Bloom mitten no. 2, and that if all goes well it will be finished long before the 31st.

In other mitten news, I am going to attempt to release Wurst today. Fingers crossed!

NaKniMitMo, pt. 8: Wurst mittens ever, among other things

Wurst is history:Look at all those happy little sausages dangling down the mitten! If you're hungry for your own pair, watch for the pattern's release the week of Sunday, 25 January 2009.

Of course, there's another pattern in the works, and this one is coming out this week:Yes, it's Bavarois (which hasn't been officially added to the Ravelry pattern library yet,) which might be my most-photographed pair of mittens ever. I just can't get enough of that colour! Here they are next to my current favourite beverage (Perrier with lime) served in my current favourite glass (from Ikea's Busig series) sitting on one of Heather's quilted coasters (I told you I used them, lady!) I can not wait to get this pattern out there -- I am still in love with these mittens!

All Bavarois aside, I don't think I could have picked a better day to finish off Wurst because look what arrived here today:It's Riihivilla's Aarni Bloom Selection -- a sort-of mitten kit meant to be combined with the Bloom Mittens. Of course, a big selling point of the yarn (for me) is that the purpley reds you see above have been dyed with cochineal. I've been mad for cochineal ever since I read Colour by Victoria Finlay, so you can imagine how excited I am to have the chance to work with this yarn. I can see this stuff becoming a...habit.