Found a skein of "Full O' Sheep" in the colourway, Meadow, on clearance for 50 cents (yes, it was 90% off) and decided to knit these mitts (31 of 50).
The pattern called for size 5 dpns but it was darn near impossible to use size 5 needles with the single-ply yarn! After frogging it a couple of times, I finally ended up using size 10 dpns (a quick check in the label had suggested size 9 needles...but I'm a tight knitter). Unfortunately, that meant that I had to make a few modifications along the way. The biggest change was a two leaf repeat as opposed to three leaves. I much prefer the three leaf look, so I'll have to try this pattern again with another yarn.
As in green. Green yarn? Check. Green/Yellow dpns? Check. Green stitch markers? Yep. I can't wait to get started on the Three Leaf Mitts!
This was one of those "Duh!" moments for me. While sorting through my yarn stash (yet again!), I found a skein of yarn that I sorta love. The rich jewel tones of the yarn is what draws me to it...but I can't abide the fun fur yarn that it was plied with! The yarn has been in my stash for a few years (circa mid 2000s when fun fur yarn and their derivatives were trendy).
With the help of my favourite top whorl spindle, I am unplying the yarn so that I can do something (finally!) with the gorgeous lofty yarn!
Here it is, all "unplied" and sitting pretty on the spindle.
And in it's final form - one happy shiny jewel hued ball of yarn ready to be knitted.
Now I'm off to find more "not-so-loved- yarns in my stash with the hopes of making them them more useable/lovable!
I rummaged through my stash of fibers and found more squishy undyed rovings to paint!
Lady Victoria (BFL)
My Backyard (BFL)
Colour Palette (BFL)
Fairy Dust (BFL)
Elves & Pixies (BFL)
Everything But The Spindle (Merino/Silk)
Gemini I & II (Merino/Silk)
Tropical Breeze (Merino)
Kiwi Splash (Merino)
Potion 4 Me (Merino)
Lavender Stalks (Merino)
Whee! Done! It was the easiest fingerless mitts pattern to work with...ever! I used size 8 dpns on a hank of over-dyed worsted weight wool that was ~ 100 yards at the start of the project and I have ~ 3 yards left. Close shave!
Pair of red mitts (30 of 50)
Gratuitous close-up of mitts
The spiral rib really does allow for a great fit! The fingerless mitts were quite stretchy and I can see how it'll fit a variety of hand sizes. This is going on my list of gifts to knit for the 2011 holiday season!
I finally finished knitting the Lazy Day Lace Shawl. It lies in a crumpled heap, waiting to be blocked. So nope, no pictures of the final product just yet. I already have the perfect button selected for it, so I really should get going with the blocking!
Meanwhile, I started knitting a pair of Jader Mitts. I was lured by the spiral design of the mitts, which promises good fit with no need for extra shaping in the pattern. Hmmm.
Some handpainted, others dip dyed.
When I first embarked on my dyeing adventures (control freak and scientist that I am), I took detailed notes on all the dye combinations I used to create the dyed fibers...anticipating that I might want to re-create a particular colour combination.
Fast forward four years later and I've long given up on recording as I dye, much preferring to dye with abandon using whatever colours I mixed on a whim. So far, I'm happy with this process of creating one-of-a-kind-never-to-be-repeated-at-a-later-date dyed fibers.
Colourful Thing #1 - Dorset, 2.40 oz
Colourful Thing #2 - Wool/Silk Blend, 1.90 oz
Colourful Thing #3 - Wool/Silk Blend, 2.45 oz
And some dip dyed mystery wool rovings (received from a swap ages ago!) that were rather blah before dyeing...
True Blood - 1.60 oz
Teal Streams - 1.60 oz
California Cabernet - 1.45 oz
Started the Lazy Day Lace Shawl using KnitPick's Palette Yarn (100% Peruvian Wool) in Merlot Heather colourway! In my mind, merlot should be more of a deep maroon colour, but this yarn seems to have more deep brown tones to it.
