What I Knit Monday Night
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010Fun with Color
I have worked on this new project maybe just a few times. The book is Color by Kristin (author: Kristin Nicholas). The project is called Mother-Daughter Mittens. I am doing the stitch count for the daughter size, though my gauge is slightly larger than specified because my main (green) yarn is a bit fluffier than the other yarns.
The main part of the mitten requires a lot of concentration (and I still made a few hiccups). However, this photo was taken Monday night. I did a bit more with the project on Tuesday, but have no further photos at this time.

I am planning for these to be “topless” mittens, so that my fingers will peek out above the middle joint. The pattern chart shows two sets of leaves, and I took one out to get the flower on the back before I bound off. It worked perfectly for length. It did mean that the thumb colors switched part way up, but I think that looks quite fun.
I’m not sure how much thumb I will knit, that may take some experimentation. A thumb is no big deal to knit a few times, anyway.
Coming Right Along
Since I took this photo, I have finished the main colorwork. I also made two ridges at the top edge, to echo the look of the cuff edging a bit. I did a little embroidery as well, some of which I like and will keep, and some of which I will take out and try again.
It’s very fun knitting, though this sort of chart does not have the soothing rhythm of a short, memorizable repeat. I like short repeats a lot, as far as knitting process goes. However, the look of this is worth some focus, especially considering the project is so small.
Yarns… these Make Me Happy

I’m using four colors of Nashua Julia yarn, three of which you can see here (there is a turquoise added now, thanks to friend Cynthia). The deep teal blue and the magenta I got at City Knitting in Grand Rapids, which closed their doors a few weeks ago. The lupine/periwinkle was given to me by nobody less than Kristin Nicholas herself, at Stitches East a few Octobers ago.
Maybe that green looks familiar? It is leftover yarn from the Yarn Garden Keys and Coins Andean-Style Hat. It is Cascade Cloud 9, which is wool/angora in a worsted weight. Really warm, really soft, and exactly the right color, when I know nowhere in Michigan to get any of the several nice greens available in the Julia yarn.
Both yarns are rated as worsted weight at 5 stitches/inch. However, the angora puffs up and gets fluffier as you work with it. The Julia is smooth. shiny, sleek and strong (I hurt my hands trying to break it rather than cut with scissors). It is wool, alpaca and mohair. The drape from the alpaca is noticeable, and the strength and color depth clearly bow to the mohair content. Nice stuff.
Happy Hands
I really enjoy hand sewing and embroidery. I had some fun tonight putting a few French knots around the tulip/flower shape. More photos as I progress!



I met April, Isabel and Brandi for lunch last week. We exchanged Christmas gifts. I did actually knit this gift… wristwarmers for my 5 yr old friend.
So around the same time I made the hug for her, I made some wristwarmers. She loved them. I held two colorful yarns together to make them, but they were a bit small even then.
here you see my sweet one wearing her new pair. I used two multicolored yarns together, again. Both are primarily turquoise. One has bits of color that stick up from the surface, the other changes slightly with time.
The great news? After finishing the
Then, I delivered patterns and a sample to Rob at
match the gauge. I have progress photos which I hope I will have time to share with you. I’m so busy having lunch and tea with friends on this “vacation” that I’m not sitting at the desk with multiple photos…
Score! I found one completed sock (it had been a sample at Rae’s yarn shop). Inside that sock was a small ball of yarn (the same yarn is shown at right).
May I introduce to you, the “












