Alice's Mitts Pattern

I'm finally writing the pattern up for Alice's Mitts. Here it is.

Use worsted weight yarn. I used one ball of Sensations Tesoro 100% wool yarn that I got a JoAnn's. You need 32 inch circular needles in #7 and #5 for magic looop construction. Do a long tail cast on with the #7 needle. If you want beads, now is the time. Make a slip knot. Thread 18 beads onto the tail yarn. Slide 1 bead up. Cast on 2 stitches, slide 1 bead up. Cast on 2 more stitches. Continue until you have 37 stitches. Now split the stitches into "half" so that the first 18 are on one needle and the second 19 are on the second needle. Put the needle tips pointing the same way and together and carefully turn and slide that 37th stitch from it's second needle onto the first one right beside your slip knot. You will knit these two stitches together as your first stitch and this leaves you with a bead every other stitch all the way around.

Knit 3 rounds even.

Change to the #5 needle.

K1, P1 for 23 rounds.

Change to the #7 needle.

Knit 2 rounds.

Gusset: K17 PM M1K1M1 PM K18.

Knit 3 rounds even.

1-K to marker, M1, K to 1 before marker, M1, Knit to end.

2-Knit one round even.

Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until you have 13 stitches in the gusset between the markers.

Knit 2 rounds even.

Knit to marker, remove it and put 13 stitches on a string holder. Remove next marker, CO 2 stitches backward loop, Knit to end of round. You should have 37 stitches now, plus the holder.

Knit 4 rounds even.

Change to #5 needle.

Work in seed stitch for 3 rounds. Bind off in seed stitch.

Thumb: Using the #5 needle: Rejoin yarn and pick up 2 stitches where you did the CO 2. Knit the 13 stitches from the string. You have 15 stitches. Knit 3 rounds in seed stitch. Bind off in seed stitch.

Finished Socks and Started More

I finished Kathy's Christmas socks on the 24th and gave them right to her. She got to wear them all day Christmas day. They are a pattern I just made up. The yarn is Dream in Color Classy. It's really really soft. Kathy picked it out from my stash. Soft Summer Sky is the color. Very pretty.

So I started socks for my Aunt Martha Christmas night. Her birthday is January 15th. I might even get these done in time to send them to her. She picked the yarn out last May but I don't know what it is. The band came off. I just know it is part cotton. I'm doing a 3x3 rib with a purl row every 5th round. These needed to be pretty plain because of the stripes in the yarn itself. I hope she likes them.

Another FO Mitts

Yay I finished these last night. I can get them sent off tomorrow. They won't get to my sister before Tuesday probably but she really doesn't care. No pattern, I just cast on 36 stitches, with the beads on the tail. I pushed up a bead after every second cast on. This is 100% wool I got last year at JoAnn's and it's really super soft. It comes in some pastel colors plus red, navy, black I think. It's worsted weight so these were done on 5's and 7's and a really fast knit. I like the 3 rounds of seed stitch at the end of the hand and thumb.

Christmas FOs

Got the two required things done. Lily's sweater and Lura's socks. Totally changed up the sweater. Abandoned what I started, downsized the needles and did a totally different idea. Made up a 2x2 rib for the socks switching out every 8 rounds. The sweater is Colinette Skye in Popsickle and is about a size 5. The socks are Colinette Cadenza worked top down and about a size 8-9 shoe.

Christmas might be late

I got sick. In the bed sick for six days. Flu bronchitis fever. Awful. No knitting for 5 days of it. I had already frogged Lily's sweater and started over. I finally finished it except for buttons. I'll get a picture this weekend in the daylight. Plus I had promised myself to finally knit socks for my niece Lura. I'm now 10 rounds and the toe from finishing sock #2. At last. And it's the middle of the night. Taking a break and planning to finish it, go to bed then take pictures tomorrow. These things have to get mailed off to other states. I don't even have the sweater buttons to sew on yet. I dread the idea of shopping on Saturday. If Walmart has no buttons, it's a 60 mile round trip to the next store so I'll be waiting until Monday when I go to work. Hmmmm. The socks have to get washed and dry so they can't get mailed tomorrow either. It's just not fair to get sick before Christmas when it gets in the way of knitting.

Kool- Aid dying with Miss Princess

We interrupt the frantic sweater knitting. The sleaves are blocking now. So I'm on hold until they get dry then I will sew the sweater body together, put on a collar, then make the ruffle/skirt.

Meanwhile, earlier this month my son brought my four year old granddaughter for the weekend to see grandmother. Yay! We got to try dying yarn. We used some Knitpicks yarn and her favorite flavors of Kool-Aid, pink lemonade, cherry, and grape. Grandmother managed to add a bit of lemon- lime, because lemons, cherries and grapes all have leaves. Our first try was pretty fun. I got to help just a little bit. Once I showed her what to do, Miss Princess decided she really didn't need my help much at all. I was merely allowed to moosh the yarn around for her while she squirted the dye. I was allowed to do any messy cleanup of course. Here are some progress pics.

And now for the final results. She's pretty happy with herself. Grandmother is already supposed to be knitting her socks. They aren't getting started until after the sweater is done.

TA-DA! I'm so cute and so is my yarn!

Knitting as Fast as I Can

Whew ! I've been burning up my needles for the last two nights. Christmas is coming and my granddaughter is needing her sweater. I made one for her little sister for her birthday in September. If I don't get this one done now, it will be too late for this winter. I started it Sunday and then hated everything I did. Abandoned that and started over last night when I got home from work. Ugh. My fingers are tired tonight. Last night I started at the waist of the back with a crochet chain and worked up. I got the back ready for the shoulders. Then started the left front. The button band is worked right in. I got about 10 rows done then quit for the night. Tonight I finished that side and got the right side started. I forgot I had to make buttonholes and had to rip out 6 rows. Ouch that hurt! Redid that after calculating what rows to do the buttonholes on in order to get in five of them. I'm just past the half way point. I have 4 more rows then do the armhole shaping. I'll get this side done tomorrow night and get the fronts attached to the back with a 3 needle bind off at the shoulders. Then I can start the sleeves. This is a size 4-5 sweater and I don't have a pattern. I'm writing it as I go. I'm using #9 bamboo needles. I made another sweater with this yarn on #8 needles but it works ok on the larger size also and it's going faster. I'm doing this in Colinette Skye in Popsicle. She picked the color herself from my vast stash of yarns. I think it's turning out pretty cool. After I get this sewn together I'm going to pick up all around the bottom and make a very full long ruffle. Like maybe 6-7 inches long and double the stitch count - maybe double it twice. She is a girly girl. I haven't figured out if I want a ruffle at the sleeve cuff yet. I also haven't figured out what to do for the neck. Guess I better be thinking about that while I sleep. I'm running out of decision time fast.