Vinternatt Mittens

Here are the Vinternatt Mittens, front and back, from a kit by Nordic Fiber Arts done in Strikkegarn on size 4 dpns I believe. I was initially worried there wouldn't be enough contrast with the colors I chose but I now like how they turned out. I decided not to baste the hems for a picot edging (I'm thinking these mittens might work for a boy) and just let them roll instead. I did them in a size small and had an entire skein of the blue color left over.


STUFF TO TRADE

I'll trade any of the items below for some fingering or sport weight 100% wool yarn (no superwash) in any solid color such as Brown Sheep's Nature Spun.

1. 4 issues of Stranded - the newsletter devoted to knitting colorwork by Bonnie Franz. Each issue is devoted to a single country and includes around 5 patterns. The issues for trade are January 2003 - Norway, Spring 2003 - New Zealand, Summer 2003 - Egypt, and Autumn 2003 - Shetland issue which has a pattern for Sanquhar toddler gloves. I'll trade these four issues for four skeins of yarn.

2. Zoe Mellor's 50 Baby Bootees to Knit: Packed with Patterns for Litle Bootees and Snuggly Socks for Newborn to Nine Months - this is a hardcover/spiral bound book and I'll trade it for five skeins of yarn to cover shipping.

3. Four issues (issues 9, 10, 11, 12) of Dawn Brocco's Heels and Toes Gazette - Winter 2002 to Fall 2003. Patterns include Striped Fulled Slippers, Christmas Booties, Shetland Lace Socks, Bi-Directional socks, Beaded Faux Cable Anklets, Handspun Cabled Socks for Men, and some Noro Kureyon Harlequin Slippers. I'll trade these four issues for four skeins of yarn. Email me if you're interested.




I've been making another Spontaneous Scarf to spend more time on the floor with Snickerdoodle who isn't feeling well again. He does seem to do better though when I spend a lot of quality time with him.

Frostrosen & Nordasno Mittens

So far I've done four of the Nordic Fiber Arts mitten kits. Here are the Frostrosen mittens done in Rauma Finullgarn. I've also done Rosebord, Solhav, and Nordasno. I love the designs but the fit of these mittens is odd with excess mitten at the fingertips. I tried to change the design to make the mittens the right length with less-than-wonderful results on the Nordasno mittens as seen here.




Recently I found out that this extra length is apparently traditional. From Carol Rasmussen Noble's Knitting Fair Isle Mittens and Gloves,

" It was during World War II that women's mittens were introduced into Shetland with the influx of Norwegian refugees. Norwegian people usually wear mittens with stars on them; gloves are less popular. Suddenly in Shetland, mitts became popular and have remained so.

Rather than making a mitten that really fits the hand well, Shetland knitters make them very long to accommodate their design preferences - they need more room on the mitts to include the double motif they're so fond of...

To wear the mitts properly, you pull them down a ways on your arm, and they tend to flop a bit at the fingertips."

Well there you go. It seems Shetland (and I'm assuming Norwegian) mittens are supposed to be too long in the hand. Who would have guessed?

I really like Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves and am thinking of making the Tartan fingerless gloves next. They are the perfect project for knitting while watching my favorite tv show set in the gorgeous highlands of Scotland, Monarch of the Glen on BBC America.

Nordasno Mittens

These are the Nordasno mittens from Nordic Fiber Arts in Rauma Istra I believe. I could tell that the mittens were going to be way too long so I chopped off the pattern repeat on the top and just started decreasing. They fit the recipient perfectly although they do look a bit weird.

Although my self-imposed Lenten yarn and knitting book "fast" has been difficult, I do believe I'm going to extend it past Easter. I do like the idea of having less yarn and the credit card balance will appreciate it also.

I have often worried about running out of yarn which is silly because I have enough yarn to last me several years. Even stranger, I sometimes worry that not buying new yarn and patterns will make me lose my interest in knitting. It is good to challenge these erroneous beliefs. One thing that has helped is to keep a list of future projects to refer to when I wonder what to make next. I started putting future projects (yarn and pattern) in a drawer in our armoire to keep me motivated with new ideas.

Solhav Mittens

I'm almost finished with the Dale of Norway Sirdal cardigan. All I have left to do is the front steek, knit the button band, knit the collar and attach the buttons. It is such a relief to finish a big project!

Although I have no new projects (unbelievable!) I have two less WIPs. I decided to rip out the Best of Show socks as I wanted my size 0 RCN double pointed needles. Plus let's face it the socks used three colors a row. Then I used the needles to work on Kalev's mittens from Folk Knitting in Estonia. I got to the yarnover braid and took them to a friend's house where I somehow screwed up on the row. I like the other methods of braiding in that book but the yarnover braid is quite difficult to rip out. I ended up with almost ten less stitches after I did the braid. So I wisely decided to cease the project and get back to my other projects.

DH & I went on a hike yesterday and as it was quite cold and windy, he wore his Solhav mittens. These are from a kit from Nordic Fiber Arts with Rauma Strikkegarn. They turned out nice and puffy and are quite warm. Here's the photo: