Newfie Mittens finished!

Yup, here they are. And they turned out super cute! I already have orders for another pair in black and white. I think I'll make a few pairs for the mitten bin in the new year too!

Snowbird Mittens

I started these mittens earlier this week. They are fun and pretty and knitting up very slowly! I think I need to find more hours in the day so I can knit (or sleep less?).

Anyway, I'll keep you posted.

FO - Hint of Spring Mittens

Remember this picture?

I started these mittens last month when the weather was a chilly -28C. I knew even then they wouldn't be a good choice for those cold winter days. But today, ah, now that's a different story! We're slowly inching up the thermometer and into warmer temps like -10C. Seriously a wonderful improvement! These mittens are the perfect accessory for late winter, early spring days.

I love spring. I decided to name these mittens Hint of Spring because that's what we have around here, just the barest hint.

I used 2mm dpns for the ribbing and while I like a tight rib, this pair may be a bit too tight. next time I'll go to a 2.75mm instead. The main mitten was knit with 3.25mm dpns. They are a small ladies mitten for sure and very light weight. I weighed them at work and they are 19 grams each!

This was my first project with Tern by Quince and Company, it won't be my last. I love this stuff! It's so soft and the colour of the Columbine (the pink) is heathered and luscious. A real treat! The ice grey is called Oyster and it's a very cold colour but combined with the pink it's striking. I used less than half of each skein. I could easily knit these again with the colours reversed, I'm just so impressed. Tern is a 25% silk and 75% wool blend that has all the warmth of wool, the shine of silk and it's so soft! I'm glad it worked out so well because I bought 4 more skeins for mittens!

This is the second Strago pattern I've made and I've really enjoyed the colourwork. It isn't complicated to knit but does require a bit of concentration. The finished mitten looks polished and lovely. I'm keeping these!

So this is pair number 4 in my quest to knit 11 pairs of mittens in 2011. I'm sure I'll have no problem meeting that goal although the warm days of summer are coming. I'd like to think that I'll put mittens aside but I know I won't. I've already cast on another pair. 

FO - Prime Mittens

Yup I finished my third pair for the 11 in 2011 challenge. I blogged about them here. I think they turned out great. I love the peacock colour. It's one of the nicest teals I've seen in a long time. The chantrelle was a great light grey/brown/cream and did the trick as a good contrast colour.

I made them originally for B, but he tried them on last night and told me that while they're very nice, he isn't really a mitten guy. So now I know where I'm sending them tomorrow (today is a holiday).

I like them so much I'm already knitting them again, this time for myself.

Queue Revue

today we are taking a peek into my never ending queue...




photo by spillyjane


We all know I know I have love affair with mittens. I like to knit them, I like to give them away, I even like to wear them (good thing since winter lasts a long time around here).

This pattern is a recent find for me, even though it was released in 2008. Phedre is a pattern by the infamous spillyjane (a canuck mitten knitting genius!). It's based on the books by Jacqueline Carey. I read this series many years ago when the Superstar was little. Warning to future readers: this is a graphic dark series. I loved it!

These mittens are a reflection of that darkness, from the black rose tattoo to the blood red mitten. They are perfect!

WIPs - Prime Mittens

I've been working on these mittens by Brooklyn Tweed. I've talked about them in a previous Queue Revue and I bought some yarn for them before Christmas. I'm knitting them as part of a challenge in Nerd Wars (a group and game on Ravelry). I'd like to enter them in the Prime Numbers Challenge, hence the name.

It's been fun trying to note down the prime numbers as they come up in the pattern. There are far more of them than I thought at first. Thank goodness, I thought I'd have to stretch to make it all work.

I'm still struggling with my colourwork. I find that it looks all bunchy and lumpy and I'm not sure if blocking will help or if I just need to practice more. I'm knitting them with Quince and Co Chickadee in Peacock and Chantrell. The yarn is lovely and squishy, just like the thicker weight Lark I used to knit Marsh.

I really love this yarn, and can't wait to try the Tern I bought to make these mittens for myself. Maybe by then I'll have this colourwork tension thing figured out.

Queue Revue

Today we're taking a sneak peak into my never ending queue!

Hi everyone!

I have a few more projects to share from my queue today. I thought I'd focus on mittens as I'm a bit obsessed with them at the moment. I'm in love with a number of patterns from Brooklyn Tweed.

He is amazing and suits my aesthetics perfectly. Simple patterns and  beautiful yarn create amazing hand knits. So here are a few of my Brooklyn Tweed "must knit" mittens.



photo by brooklyntweed

This pattern is called #03 Green Autumn or Druid Mittens (guess which name I prefer?). It's found in the fall 2008 edition of Vogue Knitting Magazine. I love the cables and bobbles on these mittens. Druid calls for a fingering weight which means these are a bit labour intensive but so worth it.



photo by brooklyntweed

This pair of mittens is actually unisex and looks amazing! I was originally thinking of B when I saw these but I'd almost like to knit a matching set for me. Corny I know, but oh, so fun!

These mittens are called Strago and are great because you can easily adjust the size by changing the yarn weight and/or needle size. I'm definitely buying this pattern in the new year!




photo by brooklyntweed


I love this pattern! It's called Grove and I love the cables. Just love them! There is something about a wonderful cabley mitten that says cozy and warm to me, and that's very important here. While its nice to knit showy pretty mittens, if they don't keep your hands warm, they just aren't going to be worn.

Grove is knit in a DK weight on a 4mm needle. Not a bad weight for quick knitting. I can see myself knitting up a few of these as they also could work for a male or female.

Thankfully Ravelry is full of mitten groups and KALs (knit a longs) to help me with my mitten addiction. An unfortunate side effect is the addition of even more mitten patterns to my queue!

Happy knitting!

And hey! What's in your queue?!