Sunday, January 03, 2016

fo: Rock-Paper-Scissors...Shoot!

I love doing KALs.  They're great motivation to finish a sweater and so much fun to knit with other people.  I've met some fantastic people during KALs, and I always feel a little sad when they're over.

Often the organizers will have prizes for people who finish their projects during the KAL.  While these aren't the reason I join them, it's a fun perk.  During the last Holla Knits KAL, I received a pattern for fingerless mitts I'd been eyeing up for ages.  I was so excited about them that I cast them on almost immediately.

That was in May, and I only just finished them last week.  Oops.

Rock-Paper-Scissors SHOOT
Rock Paper Scissors!
Pattern: Rock, Paper, Scissors...SHOOT! by Annie Watts
Yarn: Sandnes Garn Sisu Solids, fingering weight
Needles: 2.25 mm and 2.75 mm*
Mods: none (surprise!!!)
Here's my Ravelry project page

*For the second mitt, anyways

I finished the first mitt pretty quickly, but then waited a long time to start on the second one.  That's...probably where I ran into trouble.

See normally, I use my Ravelry project pages to record everything, because sometimes I have the memory of a goldfish (I assume they have a short memory - I'm no damn elephant, that's for sure).  When I went back to check the needles I needed for the second one, I'd neglected to note the size.  There was, however, a set of needles in with the yarn I was using, so I used those.  As my main needles.

Rock-Paper-Scissors SHOOT
The mitt on the right is smaller than the one on the right.  Oops.
Considering how much smaller the second mitt turned out, I suspect they were originally the ribbing needles.  It makes the mitt on the right hand much snugger, but it's not too bad, and I prefer a snug mitt anyways, especially on my dominant hand.

I haven't actually blocked these yet though, so they might grow a little bit anyways, and the stitches should even out.  I probably should've waited to blog about these then, but oh well.  I had good light and free time this afternoon, so photos got taken.

Rock-Paper-Scissors SHOOT
Oh you can see it much better here.  So much smaller! 
Aren't they great though?  I love the pattern - people always get a laugh when they realize what they are.  I'm hoping to play rock-paper-scissors with friends at the next knit night!

The pattern itself was good - very clear and the chart was easy to follow, or as easy to follow as such a detailed chart can be.  I admit though, I was ready for these to be finished.  I like colourwork, but this was a bit intense on such a small circumference.  I'd bought this yarn a couple of years ago specifically to make a pair of detailed colourwork mittens, so I call this job well done.

Have you ever knit a detailed colourwork pattern like this before?  I know there's a lot more complicated patterns out there, but I'm pretty chuffed about this one.  Ooo and who wants to play Rock-Paper-Scissors?

8 comments:

  1. Love the color combination on these. The only colorwork I've done so far is stripes, but I think this is the year I tackle a stranded project. I'm thinking a hat, because as you say, doing colorwork on mittens is intense because of the scale. A hat seems like a good compromise on size. When you do colorwork, do you hold your yarn in one hand or one color in each hand?

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    1. Thanks!

      Hats work well! I've done a few colourwork ones. :) I hold one strand of yarn in each hand, knitting English style with one and Continental with the other. It's easier than you probably think it is.

      You gotta keep the strands loose though - one way that works (that I did here because I'm tight on DPNs) is knit it inside out. Basically you're knitting on the other side of the circle with the whole thing inside-out. Like this:

      http://bowerbirdknits.blogspot.ca/2006/01/how-i-knit-inside-out.html

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  2. Love the mittens - might have to fry them. I love colour work and made http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fingerless-gloves-musica last year (twice).

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    1. Oh wow, that's a fantastic pattern! Way to go, knitting it twice!!

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  3. Adorable!! These are such great mitts.

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    1. Thanks! I'm so happy to finally finish a pair of fingerless mitts for me. :)

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