Last pairs Vol 2

My last pairs

Finished!

Here are my last two pairs. This colored mitten is for my mother-in-law. The pattern is from Leszner's book "Kirjokintaita ja myssyjä". The yarn is Nalle Aloe Vera and the needles are 2½ mm.

This pair is for my father-in-law. The pattern is basic, the yarn is Puntayarns merinowool, needles 2½ mm.

And here are the thirty pairs of mittens we did this year! They look so pretty all in a row. We did a good job, and I can't wait for next year!

Pinks and Purples

The bloom mittens have been moving very slowly, but I'm finally working on the second one.

I needed something quicker going, too, so I started up some mittens inspired by a friend's first socks:

Pink mittens

I've finished these two pairs of mittens a couple of weeks ago already. The ones on the left are very basic mittens with purls every ninth round (women's size), the Yarn is 7 veljestä Polkka, needles 3½ mm.

The ones on the right are for my 6-year-old niece. The pattern is from Novita Winter 2008. The honeycomb pattern was a lot easier to make than what it looks. The yarn is also 7 veljestä, needles 3½ mm.

Green cables

It's really hard to take a picture of your own hands, but after several attempts I finally managed to take a decent picture. Here's my sixth pair, the pattern is from Novita Winter 2008, the yarn is 7 veljestä and the needles are 3½ mm. A nice pattern, I'm planning to make a hat to accompany the mittens.

Distracted

I was doing so well...

I'm still working on these - have been distracted by travel, work, and other knitting project. Shame on me! Think these are number nine, though, so I think the end is in sight!

Stripes all the way

Here's my fiftth pair of mittens, stripes again. It's from the same book as the earlier pair (Myssystä sukkiin), just a different variation of that pattern. I changed it by adding increases for the thumb, there were none in the original pattern. I used Novita 7 veljestä and the needles were 3 and 3½ mm.

Pair No 4, and the fifth is on the way!

I finished my fourth pair of mittens last weekend. The pattern is from a book "Myssystä sukkiin", the yarn is Gjestal Nagano and Novita Nalle, and the needles I used were 2½ and 3 mm. The pattern was really addictive, and I could use the technique I learned last year in a course about colored knitting. Now I'm knitting another pair, the pattern is a variation of this one, and equally addictive!

Riihivilla Blooms

I started these mittens yesterday, using a pattern and yarn from Riihivilla, purchased in Helsinki's Market Square last December and found on Ravlery! I had to do the cuff twice, since it was too big with the recommended 3.5mm needles, but it's just perfect with the 3mm ones. I tweaked the pattern just a bit because I only have four colors, but I'm happy with the results so far!

It's Been a While!

I didn't do much knitting over the summer, just a couple of pairs of socks, but I finally got back to these mittens (started in April) and it didn't take much time to finish them off. Improvised the cabled pattern, Novita Nalle yarn, 3mm needles.

Pair No 3

I made these basic mittens for my nephew, either for his birthday (in October) or for Christmas. The yarn is Drops Big Fabel, needles are 3½ mm.

More knots

I made another pair of knot mittens, this time from thinner yarn. They look a lot prettier than the first pair. The purple yarn is Gjestal Nagano and the knots are 7 veljestä. They will probably end up as a Christmas gift for someone who has slightly smaller hands than I.

My first pair

I finally started my first pair of mittens this year, and what could be a better time than during the hottest time of the year! This is an old pattern, which my mother learned from an old woman living in the same village. I've wanted to learn how to make them myself and now I asked my mother to teach me. The mittens have basically knots and the ends of the threads are left inside the mitten (which you can see in the picture below). This makes the mittens really warm.

The knots are really simple to make once you got the hang of it. I had some problems first because the knots tended to disappear on the inside. The trick is to tighten the knot well before knitting the next stitch.

I think I'm going to keep these mittens for myself, since they are not quite as good as I would have liked. I'm going to make another pair with slightly thinner yarn (this was 7 brothers) for someone for Christmas.

Spring Mittens!

As the weather's getting warmer, I'm a little less inspired to knit, but I did manage to finish another pair of Solf mittens en route to the USA last month. (It was great fun to visit a yarn shop with Michi while in Boston!) Inspired by Karhu, I used Nalle blueberry yarn (self-striping) this time. I'm pleased with them, except that I reverse the colors on the tvåändstickning edges! Oh well.

I've started another pair with Nalle - this time one of the flower colorways. These are cabled on the cuff and on the back of the hand. Bring on the flowers!

Tvåändstickning and more

Finally figured out the tvåändstickning, with the help of Michi´s video and Hedgehog sitting by my side telling me what to do next.... I intend to knit a hat using this technique, now that I finally know how it works!

Here are the results of the mitten knitting:

The grey ones are the original Solf-vantar, the pink ones are something my daughter wished for herself. She was not sooo excited about the grey colour, but she found the pattern nice. I have to say that I am surprised how well the pattern works with these yarns with many colours.

I also managed to knit something of Novita Seitsemän veljestä Colori. They were quick to knit, but these are for someone with small hands. This pattern is on the reverse side of the label.

Visited a friend in Iisalmi a couple of weeks ago and knitted these there:

They are made of Novita Puro, this colour is Iltanuotio - Evening fire. They are nice and soft, maybe too soft for mittens.

My next project is reproducing something I got as a present about 15 years ago. We´ll see how that project turns out...

Michi: Don't Read This Post

If you're still reading, consider yourself warned.

Two more finishes, but I've decided after this weekend that I'm knitted out. Done. Put almost everything away. Not forever, just for now. Sometimes with an addiction, you just have to do it until you've got it out of your system. Like with Tetris.

I finished up the blue felted mittens. (pre-felting photo here) They're definitely a man's size. I cast on 44 stitches instead of 40, in order to try out a little felted Fair Isling. They're a little longer than the first felted pair, too.

I also finished up the Solf mittens while watching the last night of Olympic events. Once my knitting hiatus is over, I will definitely be making more of these!

Hello My Name is Hedgehog

and I'm a knitaholic.

I can't seem to stop myself. Here's another finish - and I've already started another felted pair! Waiting for them to shrink in the washer felt a little like Christmas Eve! They're made with Novita Huopanen yarn - more or less from the pattern on the band (less, given that I was using Finnish instructions!).

Solf/Sulva Mittens

Karhu and I both bought this kit two weeks ago here in Vaasa - it's an old pattern from Solf/Sulva. Once I figured out the cuff, the knitting was quick - two evenings for the cuff, another for the rest of the hand. I love the way the decrease happens at the top! I'm using the Swedish version of the pattern and it took me a few tries to get it right. The pattern is a little vague (make one - how?), but it might just be my language skills! For the hand, I ended up doing the following (and it looks like the photos): R1: K1FB K4 K2T (S1KW S1PW K these two together through the back) K3 K1FB K1; R2: K all

The cuff involves some tvåändstickning... Took me a while to figure this out, but I finally put a few different sets of instructions together and made it work. I realized first that tvåändstickning is basically Fair-Isling with twisting the carried yarns each time (thanks for the video, Michi!). Then I noticed that the stocking I'm making had a half-version of the braid on the Solf mittens. In that pattern, the braid is done by purling with the carried yarns in front (and twisted each time). THEN I noticed that there are similar braids in Latvian Mittens by Lizabeth Upitis. These braid are also made by purling with the yarn carried in front - twice. So, back to the Solf mittens - these braids are made by turning the work inside out and knitting with the yarns carried behind (on the front side of the work), twisting them, as well. Twice. The knitting version is quicker (for me, at least), but it does leave a hole in the side where the color changes happen. I'm going to cover that up with some sort of tassel, as suggested in the pattern.

Tvåändsstickning

For Karhu... I hope this helps!

Two Old Finishes and a New One

I acquired (as gifts and through de-stashing) tons of Patons Classic Wool yarn from my mom and my aunt over the holidays, and I think that I'm going to make a series of mittens in a variety of neutrals. For the first pair I modified SpillyJane's Quo Vadis pattern.

I don't think these count towards the 10 for 2o10, but I did finish two other pairs of mittens this weekend. The white lovikkas I started in 2oo8, and I just had to weave in the ends and do the embroidery. The grey ones were also started in 2oo8 and needed thumbs. I'd like to embroider something on them in yellow (there are little flecks of yellow in the yarn), but will wait until I decide who to give them to first!

It's ON

I have officially started my first pair of mittens. I chose the Minnesota Mittens from Folk Mittens by Marcia Lewandowski. So far it has involved learning a technique - tvåändsstickning (also called twined knitting, it's a Swedish two-end knitting that gives you a very tight, windproof fabric). Thank goodness for YouTube and Ravelry! Tvåändsstickning is still a bit tricky, as I haven't figured out a good way to keep the two ends of the yarn from becoming hopelessly tangled every couple of rounds, but man, are these going to be some warm mittens! I will hopefully have them finished before my ski trip the first week of March.

I've also had to figure out what the heck a thumb gore is and how to knit one. I think I'm doing ok, but I guess we'll see for sure by tomorrow.

While searching for videos on these new techniques, I came across the following video. It made me giggle and I just had to share. Happy knitting!

#2

These are mittens for my sister, she has her birthday today! Started them Friday night, finished Sunday morning. The yarn is new Novita, Kukkaketo (Flower field) and the colour is called Ruusu (Rose). Just the right colour for my sis.

#3

While I definitely do not recommend tearing ankle ligaments, it has been good for the knitting.

I saw these mittens in Grace Robinson in Freeport, Maine over the holidays, and given that they were knit with Julia yarn (from Nashua Knits, pattern by Kristin Nicholas), I knew right away who I needed to make them for. Julia.

I just did a big yarn storage reorganization over the weekend. What did I learn from this less-than-thrilling task? I seriously need to finish up some UFOs, I want to make more time (and space) for quilting/sewing, and I most definitely need to continue the yarn-buying diet well beyond February.

Pirate Mittens, Project # 1

These are the first official 2010 mittens. They are going to be a birthday present for my nephew Kalle, who turns six in the end of January. The yarn is Novita Seitsemän veljestä, the perfect mitten yarn, especially if you need to finish something in no time! The wooden needles are size 3.5 (European), and I bought them in Sweden last year. Like them, light and very silent!

Project Number Zero

This is my first post, but not the first offcial mitten project. See, I started these felted mittens already in November 2009, so officiallt they don´t count. They´re made of Novita Huopanen and the pattern was on the inside of the label. I had an old scane. The new ones don´t have the patterns any more. Not so practical!

Before felting the mittens were pretty big!

After felting they were the right size. Different person´s hand on the lower picture....

Inspirational Hats

I thought this blog from 2009 might be good inspiration for us - it's by an Icelander who made a hat a week for a whole year! The red and purple striped mittens were made to match a hat I made with red, purple, and orange Peace Fleece - the free Chevron hat pattern can be found here. For once, I made things for myself! They match a great scarf I got for Christmas 2008 from a friend.

Speaking of hats, our own Flikka is collecting hats for women going through chemo here in Vaasa. You can learn more about it on her blog. I think this is a good enough reason to break my yarn diet and purchase some less-scratchy (non-wool) yarn for a couple of hats!

Slacking

Thanks, H, for the invite to participate in this knitting/blogging event. However, you have successfully made me feel a bit like a slacker, as you've already completed two pair of mittens and we're not even out of January. *sigh*

In my defense, I have been finishing up Christmas and baby gifts left over from 2009. Today I finished the second to last of those projects - a bunny, for my friend's first baby. The pattern is from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Really simple, and completely adorable.



I also chose my first pattern for my first pair of mittens... it's a start, right?

On the Couch

Not for psychotherapy, but thanks to a bum ankle. The plus side is that it's a great excuse to knit! I finished my first two pairs of mittens, both from Robin Hansen's Favorite Mittens.

The first are the striped mittens, according to Hansen, a common pattern in Maine and Gotland. The yarn is from Peace Fleece, purchased at Purl Diva in Brunswick. They're a little large for me, and I might try to shrink them a little.

The second pair are thrummed/drummed/stuffed - very warm, but a little small for me. These went really quickly! The natural yarn is from Replot; I would use something a little thicker next time, but it was nice yarn to work with. The pencil roving is also Finnish.

The next pair I'd like to try from Hansen's book is the Rolled Mittens. I might even try to learn to knit 'American' for that project!