Category Archives: mitts

Gifted Knit 2016 Part 2

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Still catching up on 2016 knits…

The other gifted knit was a pair of felted mittens for one of my grandson using a generic mitten pattern that I tweaked, made larger and then felted.

The wrist ribbing was knit with Lions Brand Wool-eze in a dark green that won’t felt and the hand part of the mitten was Cascade 220 in Primavera that did felt.

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Before felting, I drew around on of the mittens so I could see the difference.

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I felted the mittens by hand so they aren’t as “solid” and machine felted ones but I think they will do the job of keeping his hands relatively dry and warm.

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I filled two bowls with water, one cold and the other one HOT.

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The mittens soaked in the cold water for several minutes.

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Then dipped and swished in the hot water.

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Cold water…

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“scrubbing” the mittens to felt the yarn…

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…then back into the hot water.

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Add hot water periodically to keep the temperature contrast.  I had to wear rubber gloves to protect my hands from the heat.

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and repeat again, and again, and again until the item is felted to your liking.

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They didn’t felt as small as I thought but then again, I did this by hand.  Machine felting would have definitely been better but this was a small project and I wanted to have more control over the process.

The process took about 20 minutes of switching between the two bowls and rubbing the mittens together to get them to felt.

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They are a bit big but he can grow into them.

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If any one is interested in the pattern (I made up as I went along), just leave a comment below.

 

Gifted knits 2016 Part 1

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Fingerless mitts were on the needles of knitted gifts for my granddaughters this year.

The twins wanted mitts just like the ones I knit for their mother. I used some stash yarn I purchased years ago for sweaters for them (that didn’t get made).  The difference is the edging color so they can tell them apart.  Easy care acrylic yarn that is machine washable and dryable.

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Shirl’s Mitts.  Using worsted weight yarn and dropped down to size US 5 needle so they would be smaller.

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I understand that as soon as these were unwrapped on Christmas morning, the girls put them on and wore them all day!

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My other granddaughter wanted fingerless mitts as well.  I decided to use a more complicated pattern since I only had to make one pair.

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Point Reyes Mitts from Classic Elite. The pattern called for a wool/bamboo yarn but once again, I shopped from my stash.  The color was the important part along with easy care so I used Cleckheaton Country 8 ply yarn, 100% washable wool.  I also went down one size needle to US 3 to make them smaller.

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Fun pattern that is both written and charted.

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They fit her perfectly.

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New LYS

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I don’t know if you remember that the one and only local yarn store (LYS) closed last year. The nearest one after that was 75 miles away. I bought some great yarn at great prices but one can only knit from stash if one has the right yarn for the project.

I’m on a yarn diet but I did need to buy some yarn for a special project and though I tried to use some from my stash, the yarn wasn’t the right yarn for the project.

Now there’s NEW local yarn store!  Frostburg Fiber Depot is 20 miles away but that’s better than 75 miles.

The husband of one of the co-owners raises alpacas and so it’s a win-win-win for her, him and yarn lovers.

I only found out about this new yarn store when I received a gift certificate from there earlier this year. While running some errands last week, I decided to check out the store and use my certificate for some yarn for the special project.

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I found the special yarn and some Cascade 220 in yellow to knit myself something to go with my new winter coat which, by the way, is yellow!

That’s when I discovered they carry Malabrigo yarn!  I have one hank of Malabrigo that a blog friend gifted me a few years ago when I commented on her blog about never having seen, touched, squished, or smelled said goodness.  It’s beautiful but the wrong color.  And now I can find more and it’s only 20 miles away!

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I couldn’t wait for better light as I wanted to get knitting right away!

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Special project…   And more true to life colors.

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It is such a treat to knit with this yarn.  I’m in love.  ❤

 

 

The “other” mitts

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The Shaadi Mitts got the better of me so I decided to knit another pair of Shirl’s Mitts for my daughter.

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I started them while waiting for our plane to take off on our way to visit her and finished them a few days later. It’s hard to knit with three grandkids all wanting one’s attention.

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Cleckheaton Country 8 ply yarn in color 2250. They call it light green but I’d call it pistachio. I believe this color has been discontinued.

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