Emma's Mittens by Mihn Hoang FO

Pattern: Emma's Mittens (Rav Link)

Designer: Mihn Hoang

Source: Free Pattern on Ravelry

Yarn: Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool

Colour: Nature's Brown Lot:#090401

Needles: 3.75mm and 4mm dpn's

Start: January 17, Finished: January 29, 2011

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the mittens I made Darling Daughter in the weeks immediately preceding casting on for these turned out to be a bit too drafty for winter around here but there is no such problem with these!

(As a bit of background, including the mittens I posted yesterday these are my 5th attempt at getting something that fits and keeps my girl's hands warm in a style she favours so the phrase "...no problem with these" are truly thrilling to finally be able to write!?

I learned my lesson from yesterday's FO and used 4mm needles for yarn that calls for 5.5mm but knit the pattern as written to yield a more dense result that DD tells me effectively locks out the wind.

The seed stitch palms and thumbs are cozier than stocking stitch palms in the just-finished pair.

The cuffs are long on these mitts - not as long as the Patterned Mittens but those are particularly generous...to give you an idea the fingertips of the mitts are lined up in the this shot...

The bobbles and cables on the backs of the hands are warm and, in this rich brown, are very handsome.

I added the accent rows of blue around the cast on edge at the cuff to add a bit of playfulness and keep them from being too serious.

Boy did the texture ever pop after I tweaked the features post SOAKing...

The bobbles really sank down into the fabric. They needed to be pinched and twisted to bring them to attention.

The generosity of knitters who make free patterns available is amazing. In this instance all the details were carefully considered - like having the main centre cable grow neatly out of the ribbing and then twist in opposite directions for each hand. I can't thank Mihn Hoang enough for facilitating my efforts to finally get Darling Daughter's hands warm and fashionable!

And of course thank YOU for dropping by today!

Tomorrow....how about another FO! (Nothing too exciting - its only socks - still it's evidence of more knitting progress around here!)

"Patterned Mittens" by Veronique Avery FO

Wow, I haven't done this in a while...

Pattern: "Patterned Mittens"

Designer": Veronique Avery

Source: Knitting 24/7

Yarn: Ella Rae (Blues), Galway Heather (Brown),Sheldridge Farms W4 Soft Touch (Green)

Needles: 4mm dpn's

Start: November 2010 Finish: January 8, 2011

Modifications: Reworked pattern to accommodate Worsted yarn rather than the finer Shetland of the pattern

Darling Daughter has small, slender hands so custom mittens are great for her. I made her a pair a couple of year's ago but she now realizes her" custom" specs were too wide and too short.

As you can see these, knit on stitches picked up from a long garter stitch cuff knit as a panel and then grafted into the round are more than generous in length.

I played around with a couple of different colour combinations but decided the super bright green was better featured as an accent on the thumb than as the too bossy second colour on the lonng cuff.

The colourwork across the back of the hand is a slip stitch pattern cleverly combined with purl stitches.  The colours carry on straight across the palms in solid stockinette stripes.

The only disappointment with these is that in switching to worsted I didn't take into account I should use a smaller than called for needle size to ensure a nice firm, wind proof fabric. With these a bit too drafty for these bitter January days I immediately cast on for something a bit cozier...and that will be stuff of tomorrow's FO post! Here's a sneak peek of that second pair lying atop the first...

Thanks for dropping by!