necessity mittens

These were all set to be a regular pair of Arden handwarmers, but while knitting them, I noticed my fingers were uncomfortably freezing and so made a snap decision to make them into mittens instead.  Numazu is bitingly cold in the mornings and evenings, and the lack of insulation in our apartment makes the cold that much more pervasive. 

I tried to take good notes on how I worked the decreases on the top - even mentally congratulating myself on being so thorough, as I often have this problem with mittens - but  it was several days before I made it to Mitten #2, and I quickly realized that my scribbled notes meant next to nothing at times. Oh, well.  Still, the mittens at least look roughly the same - it's just for me, anyway, so I'm not too fussed. 

The primary changes I made for this pair of mittens was knitting at a tighter gauge using size 6 needles. Then I started the thumb increase at Row 50; and then continued the cable pattern to Row 94, where I began decreasing, binding off after Row 100. The thumbs were worked for 10 rows of purl stitches, and then decreased in two rows. I might write up the decreases in more detail eventually, but I think it will require much deciphering of my poor, confused notes. In the meantime, I'm just happy to have something to wear while I ride my bike through the wind and the cold!

Also, random important life lesson: I cannot pose for mitten photos to save my life.

arden in hat form!

The matching hat for the Arden hand-warmers is up on Ravelry! 

This hat uses the same cable motif and is shaped at the top by decreasing the pattern into a 1x1 rib. The smaller cables can be worked without a cable needle, which makes this hat knit up quickly.

Arden Hat is available in two sizes, a smaller size to fit an approximately 20” head, and a larger size to fit an approximately 23” head. In-between sizes can be easily accommodated by switching to smaller or larger needles to get a tighter or looser gauge.

Materials:

• 210 yards worsted weight yarn. (Large sized hat pictured used one skein of Malabrigo Worsted in Tortuga)
• Stitch marker, cable needle, tapestry needle.
• Size US 7 circular needle and DPNs or size needed to achieve gauge. 

This pattern has been test knit in all sizes - thank you again to my awesome test knitters!

download now! 

hat soon!

The last test knitter completed their test of the hat pattern I wrote to match the Arden Handwarmers, so hopefully I should be able to put it up for free download soon. There's been some discrepancies in the fit of the smaller size that are worrying me a bit, though, so I want to have a better sense of what's going on before I release it into the wild. Above is me trying on the size large I made for Iain; it's got a bit more positive ease than I'd prefer, but as our heads aren't actually that far apart in size, I can still wear it comfortably and worry about it not falling off.

The sweater in these photos is Francis Revisited, which is an absolutely gorgeous pattern that I hope to knit again. I was on a huge madelinetosh kick this summer, and so knit this very loosely in tosh dk (duchess); now that it's finally cold, I find myself wearing it all the time. I love how it looks, though the tosh dk is starting to loose its sheen a bit now that it's been washed. Also, the ends keep getting unwoven - does this happen to everyone, or am I just bad at sewing in ends? At any rate, I would like to knit this in something softer and fuzzier, though - with the ridiculous amount of yarn piling up and our time in Numazu dwindling - purchasing something softer and fuzzier may have to wait. 

So anyway, here is Iain modeling all his new knitted goods. Despite the fact that he's pulled the hat down over his eyes, I swear the hat fits him!

new pattern: arden

New Pattern up on Ravelry today! 

Arden is unisex elbow-length hand-warmer that uses a single skein of Malabrigo Worsted. One large cable is accented by single ribbing and smaller twisted cables, which can be easily knit without a cable needle, making Arden a fast, engaging project.

Arden is available in two sizes, a smaller size to fit an average woman’s hand and a larger size to fit an average man’s hand; the smaller size has a hand circumference of 7” and the larger size has a hand circumference of 7.5”. Both sizes of hand-warmer measures 7” around the arm, and are 15”/ 38 cm long when lying flat and un-stretched.

Two notes on fit:

• If you have small hands, you may prefer working at a tighter gauge by going down a needle size and/or using a lighter worsted weight yarn to ensure a closer fit.
• These mitts are elbow length, but it’s very easy to shorten them if that’s too long for you - some test knitters left off one repeat of the cable pattern for shorter mittens.

This pattern has been test-knit in both sizes, and includes written and charted directions.

Materials:

• 220 yards worsted weight yarn (I used Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Paris Night)
• Size 7 DPNs or size needed to achieve gauge. 
• Cable needle, tapestry needle, stitch markers.

download now!