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. 11: It gets WURST

It's out! Go on, do your Wurst!Now you can have your meat and wear it too! Happy little sausages trail down both the front and the back of these unconventional mittens. Pick the pattern up here on Ravelry or here in my Etsy shop.

Want more Wurst-info?

The pattern is a clear, concise, 4-page .pdf file with large charts and images which I will send via your PayPal email address as soon as I possibly can!

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

Gauge: 9 stitches = 1 inch (2.5 cm) in Stockinette st.

Yarn: One ball of Knit Picks’ Palette (231yd / 50g) in each of the following colours: Suede (Main Colour -- MC,) and Salsa (Contrast Colour – CC.) Alternately, any other fingering yarn in these colours or colours of your choice may be used. A 15” piece of waste yarn of the same weight in a contrasting colour to hold the thumb stitches is also required.

Needles: One set of five (5) double pointed needles in US 1 (2.25 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, chart reading, twisted stitches, colourwork, and grafting.

I expect to finish my Bloom mittens today! Look out!

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.

Procrastinatin'

What I'm supposed to be doing:Clockwise from top: sewing the ends in Helgi's mittens (aka. Nana's birthday present this year, and I'd better get moving since the party is in a couple of hours;) finishing that first Wurst mitten; sewing the ends in and writing up the pattern to Bavarois.

What I'm doing instead:Knitting a large, random swatch that I am going to abuse in several interesting ways until it does what I want it to do (and I'm still not quite sure what that is, but I'm fairly sure it will be some sort of bag, case or pouch.) The results will be liberally applied to my Etsy shop. This is serendipity at its finest!

Now I have to go sew ends in. Fun.

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.