It's officially winter here in the Yukon, and my hands are cold. So despite the crazy list I've given myself to knit for Christmas gifts, I said screw it and made myself a pair of mitts!
Our new LYS had this great super bulky skein of
Malabrigio Rasta, and I fell in love with the colours. I wanted a simple pattern to show off the yarn, and Ravelry lead me to
Really Quick Mitts, which is designed specifically for this yarn. This pattern was easy to knit, and yes, really quick. I wish the LYS had more of this yarn because I'd just make these mitts for everyone.
This yarn is so thick, I needed to use thicker needles as well, and I don't have 9 mm needles in double points. That meant either ordering online, or finally learning
magic loop. Hmm yeah, time to learn a new skill. And you know, it wasn't nearly as hard as I made it out to be in my head. Funny how we psych ourselves out about these things, eh?
Because I can't just follow a pattern, I decided to knit this between their small and large (the only two sizes). I basically just cast on 14 stitches (S: 12, L: 16), and then followed the directions for L. Surprisingly, I only used half of the ball of yarn, so either I have ridiculously short hands or...I don't even know. Anyways, I explained my mods on my
Rav project page.
These mitts are really warm. I didn't realize how warm until I was playing outside to take these pictures. Took all these pictures playing with the snow, then took them off to take a few other pictures, and then froze my fingers off. My boyfriend didn't appreciate me warming them up down his back.
This picture is dedicated to
Michelle, who lives in Texas and makes mittens anyways. If I could send you some snow, I would. Come to the Yukon and play!
While taking these pictures, I looked up at the setting sun, and noticed that the sky matched my new pretty mitts! Aw so pretty.
And for a bit of fun, here's some of my outtakes from trying to be fancy with my camera's zoom. Heh, oops.
Love the yarn, it's so pretty! Magic loop is great isn't it? I use it all the time now, as using straights or DPNs is starting to bother my thumbs, wrists, and elbows (I think I'm getting arthritis, boo!).
ReplyDeleteI like it! I mean, I like dpn's, but magic loop was fun and I want to try knitting two things at once on them (socks, mitts, sleeves, etc). :) Sorry to hear about the pain while knitting though. I have another friend who has pain in her shoulder when she knits English style, and is trying to switch to Continental style, which has helped. Do you think it's the method of holding the needles that's causing the issues, or maybe the weight on your hands?
DeleteI'm sure it's the weight, as using circulars almost completely eliminates the pain for me, unless it's really, really heavy. I do knit continental when I'm doing fair-isle (I pick the background and throw the foreground) but otherwise knit English. It might be worth a try switching to Continental though, because I know it's faster once you get the hang of it! Now to find a good Continental purl...
DeleteInteresting. I don't notice pain like that, but my hands can get a little sore sometimes, because unless I force myself, I can be a very tight knitter - especially for cabled projects.
DeleteI should also look into Continental; I'm such a slow knitter, and I crocheted off and on for the last 25 years - holding the yarn in the left hand should be intuitive for me. I've also used it for colourwork, but never got into it for regular knitting.
How I wish I could come to the Yukon!!! Maybe I should take a picture of a mosquito biting my bare leg in November and dedicate it to you, Heather. Ah, winter in Texas :)
ReplyDeleteYour mittens look great. I love the way Rasta looks. Seems like the perfect chunky yarn for accessories. And I'm so into the pinks and purples right now.
Nah, we get enough mosquitos in the summer, I don't really need that reminder in the winter. :D Granted, just posting pictures of people in shorts and non-snowy backgrounds would probably be enough to make me a little jealous come March or April...
DeleteI love the pinks and purples, out of nowhere it seems. I wear reds for accessories, for the most part, so I don't know where the pinks are coming from. But when I saw the skein hanging in our shop, I knew it had to come home with me. :)