I’m Knitting As Fast As I Can

Cheryl knows me too well. Notwithstanding the numerous calls for clemency in the comments, I lifted the stay of execution granted to the Manly Mitt and frogged the whole thing down to the cuff on Wednesday afternoon. Heartbreaking, but necessary and so freeing.

Like the mythical Phoenix, however, a new Manly Mitt has risen from the ashes tangled yarn.

This iteration uses the stranded stitch pattern from the Manly Mitts design coupled with the striped thumb and thumb gore from Elli’s Herringbone Mittens With Poms design.

Dang, you can sure get a lot of knitting done on a holiday from work. Makes me almost want to quit my day job.

Stranded mittens are not my forté.

I had high hopes for the pair I started on Sunday, but they weren’t meant to be.

I originally cast on for the Selbu Mittens in the book, Folk Mittens, but quickly discovered the thumb instructions are completely wrong. A quick check on Ravelry confirmed that there is extensive errata, i.e, the chart and the written instructions have been wholly replaced.

Not wanting to mess with that, I found this nice manly pattern on Knitty. But I didn’t like the thumb so I used a peasant thumb instead.

Unfortunately, now that I’ve opened up the thumb and knit to the point where I should begin the decreases, I’ve come to the bitter conclusion that the mitten is too small for its intended recipient.

I’m nothing if not a pragmatist. Plus, as Elizabeth Zimmerman once wrote, “Nothing is horrider than a tight mitten.”

This means, of course, that the mitten will be frogged.

Tomorrow

Really

What is it about handspun yarn that makes the most mundane project seem special?

I knit these fingerless mitts on the plane from Salt Lake to Boston last week. There are more photos on the project page on Ravelry. The project was based on this pattern I did for Knit Picks a couple of years ago, except I knit them in the round instead of flat and I also adjusted for the different yarn weight.

Admittedly, they look a bit odd until you put them on. Then they fit . . . well . . . like a glove:

The yarn was spun from some luscious merino roving I got from Copper Pot Woolies. (Yes, Beth, the yarn is a tiny bit purple; but it’s orange, too!)

I spun it worsted with a short, forward draw and then wet finished it to really soften up the colors and forestall the inevitable pilling that comes with merino.

In all honesty, I wasn’t sure about the colors in this roving until it was spun and plied. Then I loved it. Proof, yet again, that you should trust the wonderful people who blend batts to concoct something that will look fantastic spun up.

Best of all, I have more of the same fiber in a different colorway just waiting its turn in the spinning queue.