A Sweaters Quantity ~ Ep 3 of the My Wool Mitten Podcast

Here are the show notes and links for episode 3 of the My Wool Mitten podcast.  You can view that on YouTube here (and I apologize for the length of the episode during the busy month of December!)  So grab your knitting or spinning, put the kettle and join me as I talk about sheep and spinning and the inspiring time (for me at least!) of the slower pace of winter.  You'll even get to briefly meet our two Barnevelder chickens!

((And I forgot to do the pattern give-aways!  Oh dear...))

Make-a-longs and other podcasters (wool and knitting heroes!) are ~

Emily at Fibre Town Podcast and Ravelry Group.  I'm participating in her HandspunWinter Spin-along.

Caroline and Knut at Honer och Eir on Patreon and Instagram for fearless and creative dreams in wool and fiber

Marlies and her beautiful Yarn Brew Podcast and Ravelry  group.  One of the most meaningful makers I know, she is hosting the MeaningfulKAL as well as posting delightful Vlogmas videos this December

Laurie at Chickenwood Studio podcast is another dedicated maker of so many things!  I love hearing her wool stories.

The Corriedale fiber I show in the podcast that had been made into roving was processed right here in Michigan at Zeilingers Wool Mill.  Also, the Romney-Border Leicester yarn I used for my Tensho Sweater was spun at Zeilingers.

Tensho sweater on Ravelry and at the Thread and Ladle website (Beatrice has a lovely podcast as well!)

I am working on a test knit sweater for Elly at Leaf Yarns.  I'm also knitting a shawl (not shown) out of lovely yarn from the Leaf Yarns dye studio available through Etsy.

I mentioned I would share the links to a post I created here on the blog some time ago about how I go about washing raw fleece for processing, and that is here

I'm on Ravelry and Instagram as mywoolmitten

With Wool In Hand - Ep 2 of the My Wool Mitten Podcast

So...have you heard?  Yes, we now have a podcast!  

You can find it on You Tube as My Wool Mitten and episode 2 is now up.  I decided it was easier for me to post show notes with links to patterns, producers and things mentioned on the episode here at the blog.  Of course, if you have any questions about anything you see there please feel free to contact me!

Tensho Sweater by Beatrice at Thread and Ladle .  I also want to knit her Ash Point Pullover!

I'm going to be doing a sweater test knit for Elly from Leaf Yarns and I'm so excited for that!  Elly dyes the most beautiful yarns, be sure to check them out as well as her podcast

Caroline at Honer och Eir - inspiring yarns, fibers and podcast on Patreon

Ali at Little Drops of Wonderful podcast and Ravelry group

Memory Keepers Hat turned cowl pattern by Lina-Knits (there is also a Memory Keepers Shawl, and Lina is hosting a KAL for the patterns in her Ravelry group and on her podcast). I made my cowl with our farm yarn "Wise Woman" along with yarn from Tiffany and Ethan at The Woolen Homestead 

MPG (multipurpose garment) cowl pattern by Emily at Fibre Town and her podcast, that you really must watch if you aren't already!  I will be giving away not one but TWO copies of this pattern - one from me, and one generously donated by Emily (thank you!) - for the next episode

Micron Testing for Wool (in case you're interested) here and here 

Louet S-17 spinning wheel (but any of the Louet wheels are good)

I think I remembered them all!  Thank you for watching the podcast and if you haven't already, please consider hitting the subscribe button there on You Tube and then the little bell that will notify you when I new episode is available x o

Roving in the Wind

Good morning Friends!  I just wanted to take a minute to draw your attention to our "farm products" blog, in case you didn't know about it.  It's listed in the side bar of this blog over on the right, or you can click on this link to go to it My Wool Mitten.  It's just a separate place where we can list items produced here on the farm that are available for purchase, when we have them.

Right now, the only thing we have to offer is some lovely white roving from a Corriedale ewe "Hannah", raised here on the farm and processed at Zeilingers Mill in Frankenmuth, so a completely Michigan product!  It's a lovely spin, so check it out if you're interested.  You can also email me at serenityfarmswool at yahoo dot com if you have any questions.

If you happen to be visiting here after watching The Woolen Homestead podcast, welcome and thank you Tiffany and Ethan for the shout out.  If you haven't already, check them out - they're so much fun and so talented!  They dye some amazing yarn colors

Thumbs For Our Mittens

Now we need thumbs for our mittens, right?

And I don't think I can improve on the directions shared in this video by Knitpicks for picking up the stitches for the afterthought thumb!  Clear and simple.  Well done!  Our friend Rachel at Treehouse Knits also has a tutorial that would help you work these stitches, be sure to check her out (and watch her podcast if you don't already!!!)

Below are my stitches, all picked up.  I do this exactly as the Knitpicks video mentioned above shows except that I normally use dpn's, or whatever is easiest for you. At this point, my waste yarn is still on the stitches, but I'm about ready to carefully remove it

Now here is the thumb opening, waste yarn removed ~

See my awkwardly drawn red circle in the photo?  That's where I would begin knitting around for the thumb.  For years I made the beginning of the thumb round at the "edge" but by moving it to this spot on the underside of the thumb it was just a little neater, at least in my knitting!  In the picture below, I've tried to show how this would be - the white needle is needle 1 (beginning of round), the red needle in the background is needle 2 and the green needle is needle 3.  I would be just ready to start the next round in this photo

So I pick up my yarn at this point and work all the way around in plain knitting, making sure my stitches are all facing correctly and picking up one, or even two, stitches in those corner spaces IF it seems I need to.  There seems to be two different thoughts on this...one that says you should do this to close that gap and another that says it will tend to distort the thumb if you do.  Make that decision for yourself.  If you end up with a "hole" or gap at the corners, similar to those on the gusset of a heel in sock knitting, you can always close it up after finishing using a tapestry needle and bit of your yarn.  

Back to the thumb...if I have chosen to pick up extra stitches, I would knit another plain round and on the following round, decrease those extras by simply knitting two together.  From there on, nothing fancy, just knit until it is the length you want to cover your thumb, then knit 2 together all the way around.  Break the yarn, leaving a length of a few inches, enough to thread onto a tapestry needle, draw that through the remaining stitches and snug it down.  

For the fingerless mitts, we do exactly the same as for full mitten as far as picking up thumb stitches, only this time you're only going to work that thumb till about the top of the knuckle.

Just like for the top of the mitt, I then did the I-cord bind off, following the Craftsy tutorial here.  Or mimic whatever you did for your mitt (garter rows, ribbing, etc.)

Now turn your mittens inside out and darn in the yarn ends.  What could be easier!

So tell me about your mittens!  Have you cast on?  Have you finished them up?  Have you joined the Basket of Mittens KAL 2018 on Ravelry?  Are you tagging them on instagram #shareacupmittens and #basketofmittenskal2018?  Do you have questions or any helpful tips?

I'm feeling an overwhelming urge to cast on a new pair myself ~

Part 1 of the mitten recipe here

Part 2 of the mitten recipe here

On To Finer Things - Mittens Part 2

To finer yarn at least ~

Fingerless mitts, in fingering weight yarn using magic loop and 2 contrast colors

You can probably guess that to make a pair of Share A Cup mittens with fingering weight yarn, the pattern will stay pretty much the same except for number of stitches and size of the needles.

~ SHARE A CUP FINGERLESS MITTS ~

You'll need a skein, 438 yards (400 meters) of pretty fingering weight (sock) yarn (MC) and approximately 100 yards (91.4 meters) of contrasting color for your cups (CC) (the mustard gold of the cups above).  If you'd like to do a third color for the background of the cups, as I did with the white in the sample above, you'll need only 100 yards or less of that as well (CC2).  A short piece of smooth yarn in a shockingly different color from your MC.

Needles to give you a fabric you like with your tension.  I used size US 2 (2.75 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm).  This makes a fairly flexible fabric, if you prefer something denser go down to a US 1 (2.25 mm) and US 2 (2.75 mm).  I should say here that I use the larger needles size on my color work section.  I just know from experience that this is going to give me the nicest final fabric.  If you're color work tension is fine without changing needle size, then just stick with the smaller needle throughout.  By the way, do you know this tip for selecting needle size to suit your yarn if you aren't sure ~

Slip a piece of your yarn into the needle sizer to give you an approximate idea of what needle might work best (particularly helpful with handspun).  Of course, your personal knitting tension is still going to dictate the final decision but I find this to be a helpful tip sometimes.

A beginning of the round marker.  Sewing up needle to weave in ends.

A DIFFERENT SORT OF CUFF:

As in the worsted weight version of the mitten, the easiest cuff in the world is to simply cast on with MC the number of required stitches (in this case 60) on the smaller size needle, join in the round and begin knitting to make a nice rolled cuff.  Or work back and forth to make a garter stitch cuff (in the round, that would be k 1 round, p 1 round).  If you prefer ribbing on the cuff, do a few rows of rib.  I like to have about 10 to 12 rounds worked before I start the color work section.

But maybe you'd like to do an I-cord cast on to produce a nice edging like this ~

VeryPink Knits has a nice video tutorial on how to do the I-cord cast on here (all of her tutorials are helpful!)  But honestly, on this small item, I think the simplest and fastest thing to do is just a 3-stitch I-cord with the number of repeats that you need stitches (in this case 60). 

3 stitch I-cord on the right (colored pencils on the left)   

Pick up stitches from the I-cord 

...join, and begin working in the round, knit plain for 10 rounds.  Switching to larger size needle, work 1 more round, then begin the motif.  I'll repeat them here so you don't have to look back at the previous post 

Left mitten motif

Right mitten motif

Follow these charts, using one or two contrasting colors (your choice) with the larger needle.  Knit 1 more round plain with the MC before switching back to the smaller size needle to finish up the hand of your mitt.  Work until you reach the base of your thumb, the spot you want to place your thumb opening.  For me that was 25 more rows with the fingering yarn.  Remember the tip of adding a few extra stitches to allow for ease around the thumb area?  I didn't find I needed to do that with the finer yarn, but do add them if you need it.

Red yarn for the afterthought thumb

For the left hand, knit around until you are 10 stitches from the end of the round.  With your placement yarn, knit the next 8 stitches.  Now, slip those 8 stitches back to the left needle and knit them again with your working yarn as well as the last 2 stitches of the round.  If you look at the photo above, you'll see the red yarn for my thumb stitches.  It's just going to hang out there as you finish knitting the hand of your mitten.  When working the right hand, you will knit 2, work your 8 thumb placement stitches, then knit on to the end of the round.  I find that giving myself 2 stitches before the side of the mitten keeps it from distorting, rather than placing it right on the edge.

Continue knitting until you reach the place you want your fingerless mitts to end, usually right around the knuckle of your middle finger.  I knit 20 rows, decreasing 2 stitches evenly spaced on that last row (I found that helped to snug up the top of the mitt)  Bind off with an I-cord bind off to match your I-cord cast on (if that's how you started your mitt)  I find these instructions from Craftsy's blog very clear and easy (lots of good tips on that Craftsy blog!)  If you started your mitt with ribbing or garter stitch, I would stop knitting the hand of the mitt a few rows sooner and then work either ribbing or garter to match your cast on.

In the next post, we'll finish the afterthought thumbs on our mittens!  In the meantime, what edging have you used?  Did you try the I-cord?  I love the look!

I wanted to apologize, too, for taking so long to get this second post up for you!  Sometimes life...right?  I'll be faster getting the thumb post up.  And thank you again for knitting along.  Don't forget to ask any questions if you have them either in the comments here or over in the Ravelry group for The Woolen Homestead.  And post your project pictures there for a chance to win the March prize ;)

Such a Simple Way To Start

Let's get started with some simple mittens!  Pour yourself a cup and pull up a seat at the table...(and if you haven't already, please read the previous post).  This is a very long post.  I wrote it as if you were sitting here with me and I was talking you through the steps of making the mitten.  I'm going to put the sockweight version in a separate post, just so your eyes don't blur.

It takes a little thought at the beginning, but honestly if you just want to give the mittens a "one time through" as written, just to see if you like them, they're bound to fit someone you know in the end and you can take the first pair and go on from there (whew, that's a long sentence!).  The easiest thing is, if you have a mitten pattern you like to make that fits you well simply plug the ten-stitch repeat of the motif into it on the cuff (or anywhere you want to cups to be!)

The two samples I knit up are in vastly different weights of yarn.  The black and tan pair are knit in Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Worsted, a wool mohair blend (the black) and my sport weight farm yarn held double (the tan).  I used size US 5 and US 6 needles on 40 stitches.  The variegated fingerless mitts are done with sock yarn, fingering weight, from The Woolen Homestead and our farm yarn sock blend (the white and the rustic gold) which is a little bit thicker but worked fine together.  Size US 2 and US 3 needles over 56 stitches. I like the fit of them both for me personally, but here is where you should give a little thought.

If you're knitting for yourself, how do you like your mitten to fit?  Do you like a snug, dense fabric or do you prefer a little room in your mittens? You can quite easily change the stitch count up a bit and still fit the cup motif, adding "plain" stitches between the cups, or try going up or down a needle size with the yarn you're working with.  You've probably heard it a thousand times, but every knitter is different and your tension and knitting preference will make a difference.

How shall we start?  I thought it might be easiest to just go through the steps exactly as I made the mittens, and then discuss changes/options after.  If you have a question, drop a note in the comments below or in the Ravelry group.  Shall we try that?  Keeping in mind, as I said in the previous post, this is more a mitten plan than a pattern - be brave and follow your knitters heart!  Here we go!

~ SHARE A CUP MITTEN RECIPE ~

Worsted weight variety:

A main color (MC) yarn and small amount of contrast color (CC).  I used a readily available commercial yarn, Brown Sheep Lambs Pride (one of my favorites) that is 190 yards  (173 M) per skein with plenty left over.  I used less than 100 yards of the contrast color.  If you want to add a third color for a contrasting background of the cups (different than the MC) you can certainly do that, as I did on the sock yarn version.  You'll need less than 100 yards of that as well and we'll call it (CC2).  A short piece of smooth yarn for the afterthought thought thumb in a shockingly different, easy to see color ;)

The worsted weight version with one contrast color & shockingly bright thumb placement yarn

The sock yarn version, showing two contrast colors

Size 5 (3.75 mm) and size 6 (4.25 mm) needles for working in the round, your preference (dpns, magic loop, etc)  For denser fabric or snugger fit, try size 4 (3.5 mm) and size 5 (3.75 mm)

If you need a marker to remind you where the beginning of the round is, grab one of those.  I tend to just look for the tail of my yarn.  A marker for your top decreases.  You'll also need a sewing up needle for weaving in ends

EASIEST MITTEN CUFF EVER:

Using size 5 needles and MC yarn, cast on 40 stitches, join for working in the round (marking the beginning of the round if you need to), and simply begin knitting.  That's it!  Working this way, your stockinette fabric gets a nice little roll in it that is very pleasing and nothing could be simpler.  I worked 10 rounds, changed to the size 6 needle and knit 1 more round plain.

Cuff Options:  If you prefer ribbing on your mitten cuff, absolutely do ribbing, about 10 rounds, change to size 6 needle and knit 1 round.  You could also make a garter cuff, if you don't like the roll of stockinette.  In my second mitten, I cast on and did 4 rows of garter followed by 6 rows of stockinette, change to size 6 needle and knit 1 round.  One more choice is an I-cord cast on.  This is what I did for the sock yarn version.  I quite like it, and we can talk about that more in the sock yarn version discussion!  Now, get ready to add your cups ~

Left hand mitten cuff (do you like my fancy motif writing?)

Right hand mitten cuff

Please let me know if my chart is difficult to see, I'll make it darker if needed. In my scribbles, the darker blocks represents the contrast color (CC), the lighter blocks represent your main color (MC)  This is where, if you were doing a three-color version, those lighter blocks would be your second contrast color (CC2)

Option:  I've given you a motif for each hand, I liked the idea of my cups facing different directions ;)  But you can absolutely chose one and work the same motif on each hand, don't worry about changing directions.  Knitters choice, whatever is easiest for you!

Work these 15 rows using the size 6 needle.  Over 40 stitches, this gives you two cups on each side of your cuff, front and back, with 2 stitches between cups.  On longer color repeats, catch your floats (I usually do this every three stitches). Work 1 more round plain with size 6 needle, then switch back to size 5.

With the size 5's, continue knitting plain until you reach the web of your thumb, the base.  For me that was 12 rounds, but adjust for your hand.  Tip:  One of the complaints of afterthought thumbs is that there isn't enough ease through that widest part of your hand.  My tip is, increase a few stitches as you prepare for the thumb insertion.  For example on my 12th round, I increased 2 stitches (one on the front of the hand and one on the back) and that was enough for me.  You may need to add 3 or 4, evenly spaced, or you may not need to add any.  Now grab your piece of smooth, brightly colored yarn for thumb placement.

I've opened up the thumb stitches, just to give you an idea of placement

For the left hand, knit around until you are 10 stitches from the end of the round.  With your placement yarn, knit the next 8 stitches.  Now, slip those 8 stitches back to the left needle and knit them again with your working yarn as well as the last 2 stitches of the round.  If you look at the first photo in this post, you'll see I just leave the tails of my placement yarn (the red yarn) hanging out as I continue knitting.  It's just going to hang out there as you finish knitting the hand of your mitten.  When working the right hand, you will knit 2, work your 8 thumb placement stitches, then knit on to the end of the round.  I find that giving myself 2 stitches before the side of the mitten keeps it from distorting, rather than placing it right on the edge.

There is a rule of thumb (lol, no pun intended) that says your thumb stitches should be approximately 1/4th of the total number of stitches.  Hmm, that never quite works out for me.  Using the 8 stitches we did here, for example, we'll have 16 thumb stitches when we open it up.  Now if that's to many for you, go down to 6 on the afterthought placement (giving you 12 stitches when you open them up for the base of your thumb).  It's totally up to you and the size hand you are making these for.

Now simply continue knitting on size 5's in your MC until you reach the top of your little finger and are ready to start decreasing.  (If you made any increases to allow for the thumb, for example I did those extra 2 sts, decrease them at some point, back to your 40 sts) For me, that was 20 rounds, but whatever gets you to the decrease point.  Tip:  Take a look at the photo above, the one where I've opened up the thumb stitches.  That isn't just for show...I do this on nearly every mitten I make with afterthought thumbs!  I don't wait until I'm finished the hand before opening it up and trying it on.  For me, that's the best way to insure I've made the hand of my mitten long enough!  Does that make sense?  When I open up the thumb and slip it on my hand to test for length, I insure that I won't make the mitten to short.  It's easy enough to do, I don't find the extra needles for the thumbs get in my way, but if you do, put those stitches onto a holder of some kind (thread them back onto the length of yarn possibly).

On to the top of the mitten decreasing.  I can't remember what it's called, but it's similar to toe decreases on a sock.

Knit 20 sts, place marker, knit to the end of the round.  Then ~

Decrease Rnd 1: ssk, knit to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, slip marker, ssk, knit to 2 sts before end of the round, k2tog (36 sts)

Decrease Rnd 2: Knit

Decrease Rnd 3: ssk, knit to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, slip marker, ssk, knit to 2 sts before end of the round, k2tog (34 sts)

Decrease Rnd 4: Knit

Decrease Rnd 5: ssk twice, knit to 4 sts before marker, k2tog twice, slip marker, ssk twice, knit to 4 sts before end of the round, k2tog twice (24 sts)

Decrease Rnd 6: Knit

Decrease Rnd 7: ssk twice, knit to 4 sts before marker, k2tog twice, slip marker, ssk twice, knit to 4 sts before end of the round, k2tog twice (16 sts)

Decrease Rnd 8: k2tog around, removing marker (8 sts)

Break the yarn, leaving a few inches of tail. Using the sewing up needle, thread the yarn through the last 8 sts and pull tight.

Now, this post is so amazingly long that I'm going to pause.  My eyes need a break and so do yours!  Do you have any questions?  Do you have any suggestions?  Have you found a mistake?  What do you think so far?  Let's pour ourselves another cup, stretch, and come back for the next installment, where we do the numbers for knitting with fingering yarn, and finally, we put in our thumbs!  Be sure to follow The Woolen Homestead on Ravelry, where we have a group KAL, if you want a chance for a lovely prize at the end of this (and be sure to watch The Woolen Homestead podcast!)

Tag your mittens on Instagram as #shareacupmittens and #basketofmittenskal2018 if you're joining us for that!

Come And Share A Cup ~ a Mitten Recipe

I used to like to teach sock knitting.  For a time before it closed, my then local yarn shop was attached to a coffee house and so I sketched a little pattern for a coffee (or tea) cup motif to add to the sock pattern.  Over the years I've knit that pattern on the cuffs or heel flap or across the toe of socks and I always thought that some time I'd put it on a mitten.  Thinking again recently as I have been, about the symbolism of mittens - extending a hand, holding a hand, warming hands, the power of hands, I thought also about that little cup motif and how sharing of cup of something warm to drink holds meaning, too.

Fuzzy wool and mohair mittens

So I put the two ideas together.  And I wanted to share them.

I'm not a pattern writer.  And I'm not usually a follow all the rules knitter.  I tend to take parts of the rules and use what works for me, a little from here or a little from there ;)  So this is not a pattern.  It hasn't been tech edited.  It's just my mitten knitting notes, jotted down and shared.  More of a mitten plan, if you will.  A recipe.  An offering.

There are so many brilliant mitten designs and patterns available, intricate, ornate, works of art.  I love them all!  I've made a few.  I'll make more!  But what represents me and my life these days (maybe always, lol) is something a bit more common, humble and straightforward, comforting but with a little dash of color to remind me of joy.  My hands and mind simply aren't able to comfortably grasp much more just now, and tiny needles, tight stitches and tangles of yarn will do me in!  So I went back to the basics, with a sturdy worsted weight yarn, solid needles and a few numbers punched into a plan and here we go - a fairly quick mitten, with the gift of a coffee cup going round.

This is knitting around the kitchen table, folks!

I know I said worsted weight yarn.  But a lovely fingering or sport weight, when it's straight out knitting, doesn't boggle me to much ;)  So you can see, it's pretty easy to change the numbers up and make a pair of mittens or mitts using the lighter weights.  In the WIP photo above, I'm using Blueberry Crumbcake sock yarn from The Woolen Homestead with a contrast of our farm sock yarn (Corriedale and Alpaca blend).

My mitten uses an afterthought thumb.  Sometimes called the peasant thumb, I think it's the easiest and most often overlooked way of making thumbs!  I use it because it fits my hand well.  I know that isn't the case for every hand, but I've learned a few tips over the years that might make it work for you if you'd like to give it a try.  If thumb gussets have tripped you up in the past, the afterthought thumb might give your mitten knitting new meaning!

Ribbing is not my best knitting skill, especially in small circular objects.  This mitten recipe will offer you a few other choices for the cuff to get you off and running on your mitten.  The cup motif is a simple one, you're only going to use two colors at any time, so it's an easy opportunity to do a little colorwork if you haven't before (or mindless colorwork if you have!).  It doesn't take much yarn.  The black and tan pair of full mittens shown, knit in worsted weight to fit my medium sized hands, used approximately 135 yards of the main color and less than 60 yards of the contrast.  I haven't measured yardage of the fingering weight pair, but by weight I've used less than half of the skein of main color.

Would you like to make a pair?  I'd love to share!  Grab your knitting bag, needles and yarn and let me pour you a cup, lets sit and knit together.  I'll be sharing the "mitten recipe" here on the blog, and I'll do that over a few days time, starting with what you'll need to make them and then the cuff, moving on to the thumb and the simple matter of finishing up.  Are you participating in the Basket of Mittens 2018 KAL (I hope you are!)  If so, Tiffany and I are planning a little "KAL within the KAL" for March, using this pattern.  If you decide to knit them and post to the Ravelry group, you will be eligible for an extra prize particular to these.  That will run from March 1 to 31st.  Not on Ravelry?  I'd still love to see if you knit these mittens, so feel free to tag me on instagram, where I'm @mywoolmitten

If you've made it this far, thank you for letting me ramble about mittens and sharing.  If you have any questions, please ask away!  And do consider making the mittens, maybe a pair for yourself and a pair to gift to someone.  All in the spirit of Share A Cup ~

Edited to add ~ my mitten knitting plans/goals for March are Roses Are Red by Pia Kammeborn; a cast on for NH Knits, probably the Selbu package I won last year (will double dip this one with Knitogrophy & Treehouse Knits Year Of The Mitten KAL) and another pair of our Share A Cup mittens.  Any bets on how many I will actually get finished?

Full Pockets ~ Year Two of Knitting Mittens

((Oh my poor dear blog, how I do neglect you...))

It's hard to put into words how much knitting mittens (and gloves) means to me.  The symbolism of warm hands, holding hands, hands reaching out, offering a hand to another.  Not to mention living here in the middle of the mitten state.  Friends I've made through knitting mittens.  Warm and fuzzy feelings ;)

Thinking on these things and knitting Pia's Shine Mittens last year inspired my own Year Of The Mitten 2017 and then the Basket of Mittens Knit-A-Long. My friend Tiffany of The Woolen Homestead podcast and etsy shop has been a wonderful co-host and her Ravelry group is where we base the KAL.  Fun and relaxed, meant mostly to encourage and inspire, when asked we were most happy to continue for a second year the Basket of Mittens KAL.

Come and join us!  I have a goal ~ mittens for every pocket, LOL, so whatever coat or sweater or jacket I'm wearing, I'll have a pair of mittens to go along and not have to search for any (full pockets you see)  But you can knit one pair, or six or a dozen it's totally up to you!  Knit or crochet, full mittens or fingerless mitts, gloves.  Make them for yourself or for gifts or charity.  We occasionally offer prizes, too!  

If you're on instagram, be sure to tag your project #basketofmittenskal2018 so we all can see.  There are several other wonderful mitten kals happening this year and we welcome double-dipping!  One thing we really try to encourage in this kal is sharing mitten knitting tips and hints, favorite patterns and designs.  In that spirit, I have something I want to share with you about my personal favorite mitten technique and a little design to offer up.  I'll be putting that here on the blog, beginning tomorrow (February 21)  Not a pattern so much as a plan for making mittens.  I'd love to see you here so I can share!  Bring your favorite cup of something warm to drink ;)

Mittens in progress, coffee always close at hand ~

Be sure to join The Woolen Homestead Ravelry group if you haven't already to be eligible for prizes and show us your mittens!

Pattern above Minky Mittens by Gretchen Tracy

A Summer of "S" ~ sort of...

Well sheep, of course!

And spinning ~ (finally, I've felt like spinning again!  It's been forever...)

Some mitten knitting ~ (again, had lost the mitten knitting desire...)

A sweater to finish ~ (which I am dutifully working on, even in the heat...)

And a new one to begin, one with soulful inspiration!

Take one lovely Bye Brook Farm, Romney lamb fleece from Maine.  Blend it into roving with one of our Serenity Farms Corriedale lamb fleeces.  Decide that the beautiful blend deserves to do more than languish in the stash (it's that amazing rusty black that reminds you of faded upholstery or vintage quilts, with threads of tinsel silver running through). Think longingly (so longingly that it's almost a physical pain, LOL) of how much you would like to be in Maine later this summer with Sarah of FiberTrek and her Wool Scouts retreat here.

Do a little sample spin of the lovely roving, and think of Maine sheep and Michigan sheep.  Maine wool women and Michigan wool women.  Start thinking about sweaters from handspun yarn that would be fitting for a Maine coast or a Michigan farm.  Listen to Emily of Fibre Town Podcast's Summer of S 2017 here .  And the idea of how to be a long distance dreamer participant of the retreat was born!

I'm spinning to knit a Maine to Michigan sweater!  I searched through dear Ravelry to find a Maine designer for my pattern (I was already thinking of a few) and had pretty much decided on Second Grace by Bristol Ivy.  But then, a few of my wool friends (Sarah and Patricia and Clare to be exact!) were knitting  Seachange by Jennifer Steingass.  I didn't want to start another sweater until I finish my Gingerbread so I didn't cast on when they all did, but the Gingerbread will be finished by the time I'm done spinning the yarn for Seachange and then I will start in.

My aim is to finish spinning and have the yarn washed and ready to go so I can cast on at the beginning of the Wool Scout retreat.  Emily's Summer of S craft-a-long goes until September.  I doubt I'll have the knitting done by then, but the spinning definitely! 

So there...there is my inspiration.  Will I stay focused and finish all these dreams?  I hope so.  I'm finding myself more single minded in my knitting and spinning pursuits these days.  And I rather like that.

April Showers Bring...Knitting?

Lack of blog updates do not mean that knitting hasn't been happening!  Mitten knitting specifically but also....drumroll please....sweater knitting!

Yes, it's true, I started work on a sweater and this time, darn it, I aim to finish.  Because the truth is that in all my years of knitting and despite many starts and intentions...I've never completed a sweater for myself.  Can you imagine?  LOL, I feel no shame in this but I have decided that it's a knitting goal I am going to accomplish in 2017.  More on the sweater later, but right now I wanted to catch you up on the mitten knitting so far this year.  (Have you been following along in Tiffany's Ravelry group The Woolen Homestead? Much of our mitten chatter is happening there)

So, I'm continuing to diligently work on my Shine Mittens.  Slowly, but loving every minute of it.  I had intended to finish them by the 20th of March, but it didn't happen.  Now my goal is by the end of April.  I started and stalled making a pair of Shetland Garden Mittens for the New Hampshire Knits Mitten KAL.  I even won a wonderful prize at the cast-on "party"!  But my fingers and hands were really rebelling against more tight knitting of lots of stitches on small needles and my gauge was terrible.  I've set those aside to begin again at another time (possibly in the fall?)  Because I LOVE the pattern!

Another mitten pattern I was excited to begin was the Reflecting Light Mittens by Emily of FibreTown podcast.  I knew I wanted them to be made from handspun.  The handspun I had picked out Corriedale, with Lincoln as the contrast, is perfect mitten yarn.  But again, gauge was off and after no less than three false starts....I've also set them aside until the Shine Mittens are finished.  Might have to chose different handspun (luckily there is plenty of that on hand!)

I mentioned that I won a prize in the New Hampshire Knits Mitten KAL?  I was absolutely thrilled to win the Selbu mitten package donated by the truly marvelous Patricia from Knitography.  This was pattern and traditional Norwegian yarn to make them with!  Oh how badly I wanted to cast on the mitten the minute the yarn arrived ;)  But I also want to savor and enjoy the process, so they will be cast on after Shine is finished.  I'm planning that for the first of May.

So those are the mitten updates.  So far this year I've finished a full pair of mittens, a pair of fingerless mitts, and have been dedicated to a third pair.  I need to kick it up a notch!  We've awarded prizes in January (yarn) and February (pattern).  No prize in March, but I think I'll get one out for April, probably from the Finished Object thread of The Woolen Homestead group (mentioned above)  And I'm thinking of a large giveaway in May, watch for details.

Finally, just a little bit about the sweater I'm working on.  I'm totally weak for a good, relaxing KAL.  And when darling Kate of Hawthorne Cottage Craft podcast announced her first kal for The Gingerbread Sweater...well, I just gave in.  Partly because I had the perfect ginger colored yarn (our "Dunbonnet" from the moorit sheep).  So I cast on and am really having a good time with it!  It's knit in the round, top down but with interesting details.  I'm at the endless knit, knit, knit stage but that's okay (need a little mindless craft these days)

And that's it!  What have you all been up to?  At the end of this month we'll be shearing the sheep.  Lambs should arrive after the first of May.  Grass is slowly greening.  I'm looking forward to our first ever Finnsheep yarn when it comes back from the mill (I mentioned it here, on our yarn blog) and more Corriedale blends with Outlander inspired titles.  OH, and I've finally...finally taken the plunge and started on instagram, can you believe it?  Come and find me as @mywoolmitten!  Strictly knitting and the farm related.

More of the Mittens!

Here we are at the end of January, three weeks into the Basket of Mittens 2017 "project".  It's been great fun to see lots of people joining in, here at the blog, through Ravelry or Tumblr and from Tiffany's podcast, The Woolen Homestead.  We've been mentioned in a few other podcasts as well, how exciting!  Thank you Jennifer of Driftless Knitting and Ali, Little Drops of Wonderful!  I love both of these podcasts, go and give them a look if you haven't already.

I thought I'd share a little of my progress and also try to answer some questions I've received.  And at the very end, our first prize giveaway!  First off, I finished my first pair...and within 24 hours, I lost them!!!  Arrgh!!!

This picture shows one of the pair of mittens, pattern is Those Zig Zag Mittens via Ravelry.  Now I know the finished pair is in this house somewhere!  We have been doing some "spring cleaning", organizing and painting...they've simply gotten taken from the table and put somewhere they don't belong.  I'm having faith they'll turn up.

However, not a good start to filling the basket, is it?!?

I'm continuing to work on my Shine mittens, I'm knitting both mittens at once but on two separate sets of dpn's.  I've finished the cuff on both, have the thumb gusset complete on one.  Slow but joyful knitting those are!

In my organizational efforts, I gathered together some WIP's (works in progress).  UFO's (unfinished objects).  All mittens....

What a jumble!

And obviously, I have a thing for grey/silver (and cream), LOL!  I couldn't help but think of Sarah of Fiber Trek ;)

Here we go, all sorted...

There are five on the go mittens on this table (plus two that got left out of the picture).  Maybe I don't need to cast on any new mittens for February, but rather finish these?  What do you think?  I don't know, I may need to cast on at least something colorful ;)  But I'm going to make myself finish one pair from this group first, how does that sound?

I wanted to answer two questions I've been asked.  One is from June, for a favorite pattern for handspun mittens.  June, I've made several pairs from handspun, not from patterns that particularly called for it.  I think if your handspun is close to gauge for the required yarn, it will work!  I need to search my "archives" for photos of some I've made. This free top down pattern is one I like, and I've made a few times.  Someone else asked if there were any good YouTube videos on making mittens, and the only free one I found that I thought was pretty good is this one from KnitPicks.  However, she uses magic loop and I'm not sure how easy that is for a beginner?  Maybe I'm underestimating ;)  Otherwise, it's got some helpful tips.  I believe that Craftsy has a good paid for class on making mittens.

Also,  a reminder that crochet is totally welcome in this kal!  And as you can see, WIPS are welcome, too ;p

Finally, it's time for our first giveaway!  Are you excited?  Did you even know this was coming?  LOL...giveaways will be random throughout the year, I'll try to do them once each month but don't promise it.  I'll try to coordinate with Tiffany to do some through her Ravelry group, too.  For this first, though, I simply wrote down the names of everyone who contacted me in some way (blogs, Ravelry, email) and drew your name.  I hope you'll trust me ;)  The winner is ****  drumroll please **** ~

Ali, from Little Drops of Wonderful and via Ravelry!!!  The prize is one skein of yarn from the farm, wool from our Corriedale sheep, in natural colors...250 yard skeins.  I'm so excited for the first prize to be given....

I think next month's prize give away will be for a lovely mitten pattern, so stay tuned.  And tell me, have you started your mittens/gloves?  Still in the planning stages?  Pulling out unfinished pairs?  LOL, I'd love to know!