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!

2017 ~ YEAR OF THE MITTEN

Because the world needs more warm hands.  Because the lovely mitten is often overlooked in knitting (and crochet) circles by its sister, the sock.  Because my nickname is "Mitts" (short for My Wool Mitten, something that I've come to be quite fond of!)  Because I live in the mitten state.  Because I've dedicated and named the yarn and wool portion of our farm production "My Wool Mitten at Serenity Farms" And, well, why not?  

Over this past Christmas time, I knit a lot of mittens.  And could have/should have knit a lot more.  Mittens, fingerless mitts and even gloves are an easier gift to give then hand knit socks, I think.  Socks need to be a pretty particular fit, don't you agree?  While something for the hands can be a bit more forgiving in size - especially when made with lovely wool, a natural material so willing to be formed and shaped.

All over the crafting community at the beginning of a new year, plans are made for knit a longs for socks.  Year long knit-a-longs.  Exciting monthly knit-a-longs for socks!  The most popular podcasts knit socks.  Enthusiasm is at an all time high!  All well and good.  But my love for mittens, my sad shortage of mittens in 2016 and the loss of one of my favorite pairs of handspun, hand knit mittens (probably laying in a snowy parking lot somewhere!) inspired me to crown 2017 the "year of mittens"!  Surely there must be some of you out there who feel the same?

The mitts above are made from a free pattern on Ravelry "One Cable Mitts" by Valerie Teppo. Knit from our yarn A Breath of Snow and Ashes

So, let's knit/crochet hand wear in 2017!  We can do it together!  My goal is one pair per month, whether for myself or to gift.  Mittens, fingerless mitts, gloves...something to cover and warm the hands.  I want to fill a basket with mittens by the end of the year!

A "Basket of Mittens KAL"  Here is my empty basket, waiting to be filled.  Maybe you can only knit one pair, or six.  Maybe you make twenty-four, who knows? No rules here, just knitting fun and hopefully a new obsession for you (I hate to be in this alone, LOL)

I think that today, January 7th - Distaff Day! - is a lovely day to start, do you?  I don't have a podcast or a ravelry group, but if you would like to join in just leave a comment, follow the blog if you'd like to (not required).  I am on ravelry as grannysheep, if you'd like to find me there.  Because I'd really love to hear about more warm hands in the world (and there may be a giveaway of yarn or patterns here, wouldn't that be fun!)

Tell me your thoughts, share your mitten love (or frustrations).  During the winter solstice, I cast on a particularly lovely mitten pattern from Pia of Kammebornia podcast (pictured above) called Shine Mittens and I'll continue working on that. But today, for my official kick off, I'm beginning a pair of mittens called Those Zig-Zag Mittens that my friend Lynn and I meant to start a month ago.

Hurray for the year of the mitten, 2017!!!  Let's do our part to make the world a place with warmer, gentler hands and hearts...

NEWS FLASH! LOL, at least I think it is!  My friend Tiffany, who hosts a lovely podcast called The Woolen Homestead, has agreed to play along for the year!  So if you don't already, give her podcast a listen or come and join her Ravelry group.  Thank you Tiff!

Just Because ~

A few pictures of yarns and knits and the colors of autumn ~

We still have our natural color Corriedale yarns available for purchase...a lovely Christmas gift for the knitter in your life perhaps?  Or to treat yourself? See more here, and of course I'm always available to answer questions ;)

Farm Yarn Friday...on a Monday

Update 1-18-2017 ~ "Wisewoman" is now sold out, but there will more available later this spring.  I'll leave this post up for reference!

Because I set a schedule and unrealistic goals for myself, because real life and no time for the computer gets in the way of updating things in a timely fashion...this new feature I was hoping for ~ Farm Yarn Friday ~ is coming to you on Monday this week.  Hopefully, this means you'll see two yarns this week, one today and one actually on Friday!
 
It has definitely felt like fall here in the mitten this past week (I love it!)  And the moon has been brilliant.  Finally, wool weather has arrived in full force!

Today's Farm Yarn Friday is going to highlight one of the Corriedale~Alpaca blends. A 3-ply, heavy fingering weight, processed right here in Michigan at Stonehedge Fiber Mill .  About an 80-20 blend, 250 yard skeins made using white wool from our Corriedale ewes and white alpaca from nearby North Star Alpacas, my friend Maple's farm.  It's called "Wisewoman"....

This yarn is such a dream to knit with!  Perfect for shawls, cowls, hats and of course mittens! It brings sparkling detail to colorwork, you can see in the gloves below, paired with two more of our yarns "Murmurations" and "Lord John Grey"...

We're so proud to take this fiber from the pasture fields, to the skirting table, to the mill and then to the knitting needles (or crochet hooks)!  If you are interested in purchasing any of this yarn, you can find out how in this post.  Wisewoman....

Vedbaek shawl by Karina Westermann, knit in Wisewoman yarn. A fantastic pattern!

"They say, in the old days when a man would go forth to do a great deed, he would find a wisewoman and ask her to bless him. He would stand looking forth in the direction he would go and she would come behind him to say the words of prayer over him...Bless me, then, wisewoman," he said softly, "and go...." Dragonfly in Amber, Diana Gabaldon

NOTE:  All of our yarns, at this time, are named for lines or scenes from Diana Gabaldon's series of Outlander books.  If you haven't read them, I highly recommend a look!

It's All About the Wool, the Yarn and the Farm

Hello again!

So I mentioned in my last post (way back four months ago) that I had something exciting to share with you all.  And it's taken me this long to prepare myself to share it...ah, life, you do have a way of throwing stumbling blocks and detours our way, don't you?  But here I am again and thrilled to be able to talk a bit about what we have to offer.  Can you guess from the photo what it might be?

Yes, it's yarn!

Farm yarn.  Our farm yarn.  Completely Michigan grown, nurtured and processed.  Small farm, small batch, heirloom quality Corriedale and Corriedale cross yarns.  All natural colors. Not just single breed yarn, but yarn from a single sheep (or two).  Woolen and worsted spun!  I can't tell you how excited I am to have this worsted spun yarn, it makes my heart and my fingers sing holding it in my knitting hands!  If you've never tried Corriedale wool, this is a delightful way to treat yourself.

I want to write a little bit more about each of the yarns individually, and the sheep who have provided the wool for them, but as we've been getting questions, I'll share quickly that these lovely skeins were spun at Stonehedge Fiber Mill in East Jordan Michigan.  Each one is a 3-ply, plump sport weight.  With names like "Dunbonnet", "Breath of Snow and Ashes" (SOLD OUT) and "Gravel Road at Dark" (ONLY A FEW SKEINS AVAILABLE).  The moorit brown and the pale silver are both worsted spun yarns.  The charcoal gray is a squishy woolen spun.  There are approximately 250 yards each and if you are interested in having one of your own, the cost is $20 per skein.

I thought it would be fun to offer a sample pack.  Four Corriedale "skinnies" , junior sized skeins 50 yards each of the three foundation yarns plus one of our Corriedale~Alpaca blends (either the natural black "Murmurations" or crystal white "Wise-Woman") a total of 200 yards for $18.  
ETA: Sample packs are not available at this time as three of the yarns are sold out.  We'll offer them again as we get more yarn back from the mill!

I can't tell you how proud I am of these yarns and how happy I am to have them.  As you can imagine, there's a lot of knitting going on around here!  For that reason, these have a very limited availability.  If you're interested, I'd love for you to have some for yourself!  We accept Paypal, personal check or money order for payment.  I'm happy to ship outside the United States.  Prices listed do not include shipping.  You can reach me at serenityfarmswool at yahoo dot com with any questions and I'll be happy to give you a total with shipping and make all of the arrangements.

Happy sheep, happy yarn.