FO Post: Red Pennies

Right before Christmas, a customer was at the yarn shop, wearing the nicest-looking pair of fingerless mitts. I asked her about them, and she went on and on about how wonderful the pattern was, and how cozy the resulting mitts were.

Almost ever since I started working at the yarn shop, I'd been eyeing the Biches et Buches yarns in the colorway Norwegian Red. But I knew that I couldn't afford enough of it for anything other than a small project. Well, at last the meeting of yarns and projects happened!

(the color is actually much darker, but this is the best I could get with my photography skills)

Project: Red Pennies

Pattern: Penny Gloves, by PetiteKnit

Yarn: Biches et Buches Petit Le Petit Lambswool and Biches et Buches Le Petit Silk & Mohair, both in the colorway Norwegian Red

Needles: US size 2.5/3.0 mm

Modifications: None

Notes: I can highly recommend this pattern. It's simple and straightforward, and also very understandable. I don't know how many of you have knit PetiteKnit patterns, but they can be a bit of a challenge sometimes, which seems to be a result of translation from Danish to English. But this pattern is so basic, there isn't a lot of room for complicated language. I think that this would even work for a somewhat new-ish knitter who has maybe made a hat in the round, and wants to try the next thing.

The next time I make these for myself, I may go up to a sizes US 3 needle, but I'm gonna wait and see how these are to wear. Right now, they just fit; but it might be with wear, they stretch a bit and are just fine. We'll see. 

I'm so pleased with these fingerless mitts. They look just the way I wanted them to, and the color just makes me happy. I think I see at least another pair in my future, probably just with fingering weight yarn, since I'm not overly fond of mohair.

Now to work on all of the other things in progress ... 

FO Post: Late But Finished!

Hello from a snowy Philadelphia! We are supposedly getting a big (for us, especially recently) snow today. I'm planning a cozy day with the kitties, I just hope that things don't get too bad since The Tim is at work, and his job involves a lot of driving around. Yikes.

Anyway, on to the FO:

(unblocked, because I barely had time for a photo before they where taken by the recipient!)

Project: Replacement Iron Horse Mitts 

Pattern: Iron Horse Mitts, by Emily Butzi

Yarn: Yarn Addict Sock, colorway OOAK (One Of A Kind)

Needles: US size 3/3.25 mm

Modifications: None

Notes: I made a pair of these a few years back for The Tim, when he requested fingerless gloves, "but the kind with part of the fingers covered." Last spring, he asked if I would make him a new one because he had lost one of them, and he really likes them and wears them all the time. 

Needless to say, the rest of the skein of the original yarn I'd used was long gone, and I didn't have anything very similar in my stash. So I decided that if I came across anything that resembled the old yarn, I'd get it, because he thought they were a good color. Fast forward to October, when there was a little mini-festival of yarny things at Loop over the Rhinebeck weekend. Yarn Addict was there, and when I saw this shade of green, I knew it was pretty close to what I had originally used, so I snapped it up!

I originally planned for these to be a Christmas gift, and they were ... kind of. I think I previously mentioned the scarf I had also been knitting for The Tim, where I got well into it and then realized I'd been missing a huge part of the instructions! Well, then I just put that aside, and was putzing around doing very little knitting while doing everything else for Christmas. Finally, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I finished the last finger on the first of the mitts. So I took the one of the previous pair he still had, and wrapped them up as "One Old, One New, Both Kind of Similar." Well he was thrilled, which was good, and the good thing is that the yarn I'd bought in October is about as close in color as I could hope to get with a replacement pair.

The Tim could not understand why I was still planning to knit a mate for the new one, since he "only needed one, and they match pretty well." Bless his heart. I pointed out that if I finished the second one, he'd have a spare in case he lost another one. That made sense to him. 

So yesterday I finally finished the second mitt. He is thrilled to have three mitts now - a pair and an extra! Which makes me happy. He is extremely knitworthy, you know?

The pattern itself is well-written, and the result is a nice, cozy item. The "fingers" are not hard, just a bit fiddly, and there were a couple of spots where I needed to fill in a bit of a gap where I had not picked up stitches all that well. But overall, I'm pleased with them, and would recommend this pattern, which comes with two sizes (Women's and Men's, I guess).

So with this FO, I have my last project of 2023, and my first project of 2024. 

Which of course means I can start something else, right? 😊

*****

I hope all of you have a lovely weekend, and can stay warm and safe. If you are in the opposite hemisphere, I hope your weather is nice and not extreme in the opposite way of ours! 

I'm looking forward to just staying put and being cozy. All of us will be home, so it will be especially nice. I love when it's snowy and we can just all be here together.

See you next week!

Here You Go - A Tuesday FO!

Hello and Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a good weekend. Ours was nice - the play was a good production, not the best we've seen but it was enjoyable, and nice to have a night out. Then Sunday night I got a text saying that I was excused from jury duty on Monday, which made me happy. Since I had already arranged to have my shift at work covered, I just took a mental health day yesterday..

BTW, I got a lot of comments - not all of them nice - about jury duty giving me anxiety. And yes, I know jury duty is important, and it's not that I've never done it, etc. The main reason I get anxious is because my first time on a jury was when we lived in DC and it was a federal drug case. And yes, it was interesting, but also very intense, scary, and not very pleasant in any way. I always dread ending up with a serious case like that again. In any case, they didn't want me this time, so I get credit for at least a year. Fine with me.

***

But now on the most important thing - I have an FO! And not just any FO, one that means that other than stuff for The Tim and/or the kitties and/or anyone else I decide to knit something for at the last minute, I have finished my holiday gift knitting. 🎉

Project: AJ's Fingerless Mitts

Pattern: Manchester Mitts (Adult), by Kristina Schmidt 

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Wool, colorway Rosemary

Needles: US size 6/4.0 mm

Modifications: None

 

Notes: This is a wonderful pattern. First of all, it's very clearly written, and also quite easy. Using worsted weight yarn, you're finished before you even have time to get bored with the knitting! I made the Medium size, as these are for a teenage boy, and they also fit me. They were a bit tight on my hand model, but he has large hands anyway, so that didn't surprise me.

I highly recommend this pattern for a quick knit that gives you a great result. The thumb gusset adds to the overall attractiveness of the finished items. I can see this becoming a go-to pattern for me. Plus, I have enough yarn left for two more pairs if I wanted to make more.

So the gifts I needed to finish by November 30 in order to send to the recipients in time are done with plenty of time to spare. I'm so glad I got an early start this year and stuck with it.

Now, I'm hoping to finish the Christmas socks for The Tim for his birthday, then make him a replacement pair of fingerless mitts for Christmas, and who knows if I am on a roll, maybe something else? It could happen!

Here's hoping any knitting you have with deadlines goes well for you this year. This is the earliest I've ever finished things. It helps that they were small items, but nonetheless, I don't have to worry about hurrying to beat the calendar.

An FO and Ruined Christmas Averted!

As I'm sure you could tell from reading my blog over the past month or so, or if you had talked to me in person, awfulness and stress at my work increased a hundredfold during the month of December.  To the point where, if I dropped my comb in the morning while getting ready, I'd have a ten-minute crying jag and just want to get back into bed. 

The only thing that saved me was that it was Christmastime, which you may also have noticed, is a time I really do love.

Anyway, by the time I got into December, the only 2017 projects that I had waiting to be finished were the fingerless mitts I was making for The Tim, my Holly Berry Socks, and my For the Birds sweater top.  I was really hoping I'd get them all completed, but I *definitely* wanted to finish the mitts, since they were a gift.  With everything else going on and other preparations, I didn't get to them as soon as I'd thought I would.  But since I only had the thumb on the second one to do, and then weave in the ends, I wasn't really too worried.

Well, I did successfully finish them, gift them, and they have been admired and already worn a lot.  All's well that ends well, right?  

It was *getting* to that ending that is the story ...

Project:  Tim's Christmas Mitts
Pattern:  Iron Horse Mitts, by Emily Butzi
Needles:  US size 2 (cuff ribbing) and 3 (remainder of mitt)
Yarn:  Reflections at Roclans Out of the Dyepot Merino Fingering; no colorway or dye lot listed, but the color is (obviously) green.  I think I received this yarn a while back in a swap.
Modifications:  The pattern is written for US size 2 needles throughout; I wanted a tight cuff, so I used the size 2 for that and size three for the rest of the mitt, so they would be comfortable but not restricting.

Notes:  Well, as you can see, they fit The Tim's hands and look just fine.  (You will also notice he is incapable of having a photo of a knitting project that he is wearing just be a normal photo.  No, that won't do.)  I will say from the get-go that the pattern is worth purchasing, and is really, really well-written and understandable, making it an enjoyable project.  And the yarn is truly wonderful - soft, strong, not splitty at all, and just lovely to use.

So ... back to getting these finished.  Saturday, December 23, I woke up at my usual time, which is hours earlier than The Tim gets up.  The last day of work had been the day before, and I was feeling so great, and so happy, and so relaxed, that I decided I would knit that last thumb right then.  That would give me time to weave in the ends, give the mitts a mist to block them, and then later that day or the next, I could wrap them up.  

I pulled out the first one, so that I would have it at the ready and not frantically start looking for it at the last-minute.  Then I pulled out the one that only needed the thumb.  

The second one was SO SMALL and SO TIGHT that it wouldn't have even fit one of the cats!  I kept setting it on top of the other one, and putting my hand over it, like somehow that would make it grow.  I really couldn't register what was happening.  At least not right away.

Apparently, I was so distracted, anxious, and depressed when I had been knitting the second one, I had made a fingerless mitt for a gnome, or leprechaun, or any other tiny character you can imagine - and I didn't even notice it!

Now - even two days before then, this would have caused me to spiral downwards quickly, lose my s**t altogether, and it would have ruined ALL of Christmas for me.  But given when it happened and my state of mind, I just laughed really hard until I cried.  And I couldn't wait to tell The Tim the story.

I wrapped up the one mitt, put the other one out of my sight, and just forged ahead.  When he opened it on Christmas Day, he said, "Oh wow, this is great!  I'll admit I'd hoped for a pair, though."  We had a good laugh over it, and later that afternoon I cast on the second one again.  In two more days, it was completed, correctly sized, and without any drama.  

So far I haven't been able to find the mini one I put out of my sight.  I know I didn't toss it, because I wanted to show it to him eventually, but right now I have no idea in the world where it is.  

And that, my friends, is the story of this FO, and how it happened at a time when it became a funny story, rather than a tragedy that ruined Christmas ... :-)  A true example of how timing makes all the difference.

Have a good last weekend of Christmastime!

A Proud HO!

I recently heard several podcasters refer to a half-finished project as a HO and found it so amusing, I decided to adopt the term.   Because I will always glom on to something that amuses me.  Work with me here, people, I have to take it where I can find it.  :-)

I have been off work today for medical stuff.  I left the house around 9 a.m. this morning and got home about 15 minutes ago.  That's a long day of prodding, poking, scanning, and whatever else they felt like doing.  Fortunately, it's all routine to guarantee that nothing NOT routine shows up.  But it is still tiring.  Having said that, it's still better than a day at work for me, which is sad but true.

Anyway, I mentioned previously that I was moving along on the fingerless mitts requested by The Tim.  Before I left for my appointments this morning, I'd been able to add the middle finger.

Once I had knit the ring finger, I knew what to expect, so the middle finger didn't take long at all.  Even better, after that it was a pretty short road to a HO:

I just finished weaving in the ends and closing a few gaps a big ago, so the poor thing is pretty wonky-looking, but it looks like what it is supposed to be - YAY!  I tried it on my hand, and it was too big enough that I think the finished pair will fit The Tim just fine.

Someone (Bonny, I think?) asked me about the pattern.  I initially started with a couple of free patterns from Ravelry, but to be perfectly honest, they were not well-written, and since I had never made fingerless mitts with separate fingers, I wasn't able to extrapolate what I should really do (others might not have a problem, but my mind doesn't easily handle that sort of thing, especially if I've never tried before).  So I ended up purchasing the Iron Horse Mitts pattern, and I'm really pleased that I decided to do that.  Though I do think the original pattern designer might have used more than one color of yarn, since it occasionally refers to the Main Color (MC) and Contrast Color (CC) but the mitts in the pattern photo are one color, so once I determined that I was truly not missing something important, I was good to go.  I won't be adding leather palms to them, because I don't really like them that way, and also we try to avoid leather when we can.

I'm very pleased with the first one, and will get started on the second later today or tomorrow.  I think it will be very doable to have them both completed well in time to give as a Christmas gift.  It's also a good feeling to know that I was able to do something new (to me at least) successfully, so it's a real boost for the day!

Down the road, I may even make a pair for myself ... :-)

And It's All Good

Hello there - I hope all of you had a good day yesterday, whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving.  Ours was lovely.  We all spent the day relaxing, particularly the kitties, who could be found in various permutations of this all day long.

Not that we were any more energetic - though we did get up a few times to move along things for dinner.  And dinner was really yummy, with of course lots of leftovers, which is part of the reason we always cook so much - we love Thanksgiving leftovers!  The Tim's pumpkin pie was especially good this year.  Apparently he did something different, but was not willing to disclose the secret.  As long as I get to enjoy said pie, I really don't care, you know?

He's been at work all day, and I have had a both productive and relaxing day.  I got up later than my usual time, but still nice and early to head out for a chest x-ray.  It's walk-in, and I have learned that if you get there shortly after they open, you are in and out almost before you can hang up your coat.  That taken care of, I came back home for a cup of tea, and a little break to get some laundry going, and then ventured out for some gift cards.

If you are in the Philadelphia area, and want to go out on Black Friday to do some shopping, but don't want to deal with the ridiculous crowds, I can attest to the fact that in Center City, there are more people than on a usual weekend day, but no crazy crowds, since most people would rather go to a mall.  So I headed to Lululemon and Lush for some gift cards for my Arizona great-nieces and -nephew.  I stood in line a grand total of *maybe* ten minutes combined for both places.  I was home again in under an hour.  As the day goes on, it does get busier, but as I said, there are never crazy crowds.  And the kids that I was buying gift cards for fall into the category of people who would rather choose their own gifts, and I know they like both of those stores.  So it's win-win as far as I'm concerned.

Then I had the chance to work on some knitting.  Since The Tim wasn't home, I decided to work on the fingerless mitts I'm making for him.  I had gotten to the point where the thumb gusset was finished, and wanted to see if I could get another chunk knitted today.

I'm pleased with how they are coming along.  (Can you see my reindeer stitch marker in the upper left?)  I've still been trying to work on them when he's not around, and though it's working well, today I screwed up a few times, so what could have been A LOT of progress turned out be an acceptable amount.  I got the hole for the pinky finger set up, and the ring finger finished.

The pattern is not overly difficult.  Like most things, it's fairly straightforward, if you pay attention and read what you are actually supposed to be doing!  Apparently, I felt that was only partially necessary ... until suddenly things weren't quite working out like I had expected.  So it was time to do some un-knitting, and then setting things up the way the instructions read.  At which point I was able to go along quite easily.  My next chance to work on them when he is not around will be on Sunday, so maybe I can actually finish this first one, who knows?  In any event, I'm happy with what I've been able to get done so far.

So that's been today.  We'll have some leftovers for dinner, and then probably watch some shows we've recorded, and it will have been a good day.  I'm always happy when it works that way!

You Might Want to Sit Down for This One ...

Because in this post, I am actually going to show you that this blog is not just a "pretend" knitting blog - yep, I've got something to show you!  And, wonder of wonders, there are others to come!

So if you are still with me, let me show you my last FO of 2012.  This was finished on November 11, but various photo sessions did not work out, so rather than show you The Tim wearing this hat that was knitted for him, it was time to rely on the old medicine ball ...

A few years back, I knitted a Turn a Square hat for The Tim for Christmas.  It was a big hit, and was the first time I had knit something with stripes.  At the time, I had no idea what the Jogless Stripe method was, so if you looked closely, you could see where one color changed to another.  Neither of us cared, and to some extent, neither of us still do.  (*Note:  Rather than link to a specific version of the Jogless Stripe demo, I'll leave it to you to choose from the many available if you just Google the term.)

Anyway, The Tim mentioned really liking the hat, and when I found myself with a) some yarn that didn't cry out to be anything else, and b) in need of a birthday gift, I thought I'd go ahead and knit another.  This time, though, I decided to give the Jogless Stripe method a try, and I must admit it does look nicer when the item is finished.

Anyway, here you go:

The top

The side/front/whatever you want to call it

The details:

Project:  Turn a Square Squared

Pattern:  Turn A Square by Jared Flood

Needles:  US size 5 and 7

Yarns:  Brooklyn Tweed SHELTER (gray) and Classic Elite Inca Alpaca (yellow)

Modifications:  None

Comments:  If you haven't  made one of these, you really should.  The pattern is free, you don't need a lot of yarn of either color, and it goes really quickly.  Plus, it's well received.  The Tim started wearing this one, and gave me his original one to repair, as it had become unraveled!  I asked him why he didn't give it to me to repair sooner, and he said, "Because I just like wearing it too much."

**********

And to "officially"close out 2012 (now that it's April!), here is a shot of all of the projects completed last year:

Not a lot, and not necessarily world-shattering, but a) I'm happy with it, and b) it's not a contest!

And now that we have closed out the last year, we can move on to things completed so far in 2013 ...

Some other time, that is.  :-)

Now That It's March ...

What better time to show a completed gift from 2011??

As you may recall, The Tim had asked me to make him a pair of fingerless gloves, after seeing all of the Fetchings I made for my nieces for Christmas.  I decided I would give it a try, using the Dashing pattern, designed by the same person.  Of course, I decided all of this on Christmas Eve ...

But even though I knew there was absolutely no way that I would have them finished the next day, hope springs eternal, and I was certain I'd have them by January 6 - the last day of Christmas.  Not. Even. Close.  Oh well, by that time I had one finished, so surely it wouldn't take long to get the other one knit.

Except that I got pneumonia.  I was so out of it, there is just no way I would have been able to knit at all, much less pay attention to any pattern.  So ... they were finally finished, by the third week of February.  Better late then never.

Of course, since we have had a non-winter winter, it meant that his hands weren't freezing most of the time anyway, and that is the only good thing about this winter, as far as I'm concerned!  In the end, he really likes them, and has gotten some use out of them on chilly mornings.

If you look closely, you can see the cable in the pattern:

The yarn is kinda fuzzy, so the cable is hard to see in these pictures.

Pattern:  Dashing, by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn:  Classic Elite Montera, Gray
Needles: US size 7
Modifications:  I made them shorter than the pattern called for, since the way they were going, they were plenty long and I was running out of yarn!  If I knit these again, I would probably not use such a fuzzy yarn, since the cable is really hard to see, even in person.  But overall, I'm happy with them, and he likes them, so it's all good.   :-)

Oh - and yes, that's an accordion in the picture.  We have three of them, as well as one concertina.

One of the accordions was purchased on a trip to Canada.  But that's a whole 'nother story ...

Slow and Steady

... not that I'm ever a speed demon in anything I do.  Well, actually I am a fast reader - you know, one of those people who sit impatiently waiting while everyone else finishes reading directions at a normal pace?

But I digress.

As I've mentioned in the past few weeks, I've had a hard time concentrating on knitting and reading, because I've been so "busy" coughing and blowing my nose and feeling exhausted.  Now that I'm finally getting some of myself back, I can finally enjoy those things again.  And I even finished a knitting project that I started before Christmas, and that languished for weeks with just a little bit left to do.

A co-worker of mine, who is also just a great person, was thrust into the Interim Director job when the Evil Boss left at the end of last June.  Well, she has managed to not just hold things together, but make positive changes, and bring everyone together as a team.  She's done an amazing job, and though I know that she's had a lot of sleepless nights and worries, I - and my co-workers - all think that she has been good for the library and archives.  Her birthday is in November, and at the time, I thought I'd make her this item, but then realized that it would be unrealistic, given other things I had to do.  I didn't want to give it to her for Christmas, because I didn't want to create an awkward I-got/made-you-a-gift situation.  Then it was going to be a New Year's gift.  Well, guess what?  I'm wrapping it up to give her for Valentine's Day.

Here is a crappy photo - time, weather, and someone to help me photograph it just wasn't happening; but trust me, it looks a whole lot better than this in real life!

It's very cushy, and I think she will like it.  I know that red is her favorite color, and she spends a lot of times outdoors, both with her daily commute, and on the weekends, so I know she'll be able to use it.

For those interested, here are the details:

Pattern:  The Climb and Swirl Cowl
Yarn:  Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky, colorway Cranberry
Needles:  US size 7
Modifications:  Nothing major, but it ended up a few inches shorter than the pattern, because I knit until I ran out of yarn.  It's still a nice size to cover the neck and the lower part of your face if you want/need it to do that.

I can highly recommend this pattern as well as this yarn.  I enjoyed knitting this a lot, and hope the recipient will be happy with it.

I'm hoping to have another finished [belated] gift to show you soon.  I started a pair of Dashing mitts for The Tim for Christmas.  However, starting in the middle of the afternoon on Christmas Eve does not allow for finishing them in time for the next morning (well, at least not for me).  But I finished the first one right before I got sick, and the second one is well underway.

I was originally a little dismayed that my first two FOs for 2012 would be things I'd hoped would be the last FOs of 2011, but since it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, I'm over it.  Life's too short and all that.

OK, that's all for now, folks.  Enjoy your weekend!