WIP Wednesday: Christine's Cable Mitts

So, on Monday I mentioned that:

1) I have an issue with startitus at the moment

2) I'd cast on a project that wasn't quite ready to be declared yet

So here it is...

This week's work in progress is... a pair of fingerless cabled mittens!

I ditched the original idea for a picot cast-on (too bulky) and replaced it with a twisted german (my default variant of long-tail) cast on. This is much better although mine is perhaps a touch tight on this project.

The pattern is improvised, I'm writing it as I go and I might make it available once I'm done. I've taken a cable I found in one of my knitting books, altered the row counts a bit and then transposed it onto the fingerless mitten pattern I used with this yarn last time. I've shortened the cuff rib and am considerably lengthening wrist/arm portion before starting the thumb gusset. The cable is knit in a (slightly more contrasting than intended) colour using the first method for intarsia in the round described on Let Me ExplaiKnit. So far, so good (except the colour which I am both personally unsure of and also unsure the recipient will like - she chose the purple, I bought the pink later and it was the only colour the market had that went with it even vaguely although I have since discovered a much paler pink is also produced, I suspect this would have been a better match - the yarn doesn't rip well so I figure if the pattern works I can always knit another). Like the original fingerless mitts, this is a pretty satisfying quick knit because of the relative bulkiness of the yarn.

So that's my home project, as mentioned yesterday my portable project is still the Socks for September which are progressing very nicely at a rate of around one chart repeat (10 rounds on both socks) per day.

Both these projects can also be found on Ravelry:

• Socks for September
• Christine's Cable Mitts

Merrily We Sock A-Long

Last Tuesday I started my September Socks, my first attempt at participation in SOCKDOWN - a challenge to knit a pair of socks a month (except August - everyone needs a break now and then) as part of the Ravelry group Sock Knitter's Anonymous. The options for September were:

1) Any pattern in black or white or both (but not grey).

2) September's mystery sock pattern in black or white.

3) Any pattern by Kristen Kapur

Now I really like Kristen Kapur so I picked the lovely Make-Up Socks and off I went. I cast on and knit two toes on Tuesday and then started the charted section of the foot, all was going well - by Saturday evening I had two repeats of the chart on each foot. And then I realised, the reason I couldn't see the pattern emerging (and I was beginning to think this should definately have happened by now, was that I had overlooked something very simple in the chart. This symbol here:

It's a symbol that means knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side. When knitting in the round (as for a sock), one is always working on the right side. Which stitch had I been doing?

*coughs* Why that would be a knit stitch.

Ooops. Not sure why I'd ended up knitting those stitches, it's not the first time I've knit from a chart and it's a pretty common symbol :) Still, at least I spotted it, so on Saturday night I ripped back both socks and by Sunday morning I was ready to go again. This morning I finished the second chart repeat on both socks (again) and they look much, much better:

What lovely socks these will be!

September Startitus

Something about the 20-somethings of September must breed startitus. I was just going to write a little blog post wondering how I got from having all my projects under control, even being an entirely monogamous knitter for a while, to this...


Six projects on the go, plus one I haven't actually put into Ravelry yet because I cast on over lunch today and I'm not sure I'm happy with the cast on yet. Plus a hat I'd love to start (yarn currently sat on my desk at work) and some sock yarn in the post...

And then I realised, when was last time I blogged about startitus? The 24th and 29th of September last year... it's an annual event - does that make it OK?

Off it goes...

My Ravelry Blog Swap box is off on its way to its destination:

FO: Helix

One not-so-little snail creeping across my carpet:

And outside, where perhaps he might better belong:


Pattern: Garden Snail by Hansi Singh.

Yarn: A selection of blue mystery yarns from ebay and Patons Linen Touch in Mandarin from Lancaster Indoor Market (a leftover from the Infolab Baby Sweater).

Mods: Dropped the needle size a bit to reflect the DK weight yarn being used. Used even smaller needles for the body as previous knitters had noted a size discrepancy between the shell and body. Some pattern interpretation required.

Project: online at Ravelry.

Ravelry Blog Swap: Bonus

As promised, here's the bonus item from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway). Remember back at the start when I mentioned that there was 'a roll of paper that looks suspiciously like it may contain some sort of knitting pattern'..? Well, here it is:


And inside was the pattern for Lori Law's Sleepy Hollow Socks, which I first discovered whilst reading the Yarn Harlot's post about her finished pair. What I really like about these socks is that although they look fantastic in a solid, the pattern still seems to show up in a more variegated yarn.

Now, I've only just started a pair of socks, so I shall be good and hold back for now, but perhaps I need a good rummage through the sock yarn boxes to see which yarn is calling out to be a pair of Sleepy Hollow Socks :)

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Thanks to Fiolinn for a set of lovely surprises which have brightened up the last eight days (and will undoubtedly brighten up some more as I get to use them in a variety of creative endeavors. Thanks also to Eskimimi for organising the swap and to my exciting swap partner for being so fun to buy for - I'm planning to mail your box this weekend!

Ravelry Blog Swap: Day 7

Final parcel (almost - look out for one last bonus post tomorrow) from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway):

And the label read:

Inside was a yummy Zauberball and a really wee lavender bag *sniff*:

Now this didn't photograph so well (not helped by the late hour at which the picture was taken) but it's a simpler colourway than the one used for my honeymoon socks, a dark aqua blue and black in long stretches. Not quite sure yet whether this is crying out to be socks or a shawl...

Thanks Fiolinn!