Wool Dispute

The Mr. Mittens are finished, and within moments of finishing them, the Mr. put them on and walked out to work.  He then left them in his car, and so I have no pic to show you.   I will nab them back for photos, I promise.  They came out nicely, and very warm. 

Then I cast on the Guinan Hat (see Ravelry pattern of the same name) to make for a class I'm teaching soon about basic knitting in the round.  It's an easy pattern for a cute and very un-fussy hat.  Unfortunately, it's in wool, like the last several projects in a row, and with my allergy to wool my hands are really beginning to rebel.  Hives and redness abound.  They're threatening strike action, and I'm doing my best to negotiate with the union.

Why make things in wool at all? you may ask.  Well, the purposes of having classes are to sell yarn, and increase the skills of the students.  The bread and butter of Karma Knitting (my LYS) is definitely wool, as it is for most of the students.  As such, I feel obligated to show the students how the pattern will behave in the fiber they will likely use for the project.  If it's a project I'll keep for myself, I'll make it in a non-wool fiber.  If it's a summer pattern, ditto.  But for most of my classes, I teach in the fiber called for in the pattern. 

Update:  Whatever the next couple of classes are, I'll be knitting them in non-wool.  Strike arbitration has made me promise to take a one month leave from wool.  I've caved to the hands' demands, not for higher pay or more vacation days, but for a hive-free workplace.  It's the least I can do.

Behind Schedule

I'm in a cold sweat.  I have a lot of winter knitting I've committed to, and winter is winding down faster than I'm knitting. (Didn't I just say last weekend that I wasn't letting the backlog scare me? WRONG!)

The Mr. Mittens are mostly finished.  The Two Color Brioche rib scarf took a back seat to mittens and schoolwork.  My brioche vest is visible as a tiny speck on the horizon, and seems to be getting farther away.

My best friend from childhood is owed gloves.  My daughter helped me design No H8 mittens for herself, and I haven't made them.  I have a class to teach on a sweet, slouchy tam, and haven't chosen yarn or started the project.  (I've made this pattern before, but not for years.) My socks are waiting in my "go" bag, and I treat them like a mistress, a guilty pleasure.

I need to stop committing to projects.  I think I need to write this stuff down, and make much more vague agreements as to when things will be finished.  Of course, then I wouldn't have these adrenalin-creating panic attacks.  Where's the fun in that?

Better Than Chocolate, Mr. Mittens

Better than chocolate, really.  Oh, man!  Epiphany by Cascade is incredible.  60% Royal Alpaca, 20% Cashmere / 20% Silk, this yarn is a worsted weight that comes in 12 beautiful colors.  Better than that, it is the softest, easiest to work with alpaca blend I've ever touched.  It's very warm, and due to the silk and cashmere contents it's strong and it doesn't grow! The price is good, too.  At Karma Knitting in Williamsville, it's $28 for 273 yards. Why better than chocolate? Delicious without calories!

The Mr. Mittens are going along nicely.  (See Manly Mitts in Free Patterns, above)  Making the substitution of needles has really done it this time.  The pattern is easy to knit and easy to follow.  I'm teaching a version of this pattern in a mitten class this Sunday as a "First Fair Isle" project, and wish I had started on something like this!  The carries are short (translation - easy) and the pattern is only 4 stitches wide and 2 rows long.  If Fair Isle makes you nervous, I would suggest these as a project to get over your fear. 

Most people worry about the pattern puckering, which is the most common problem for folks new to the technique.  I suggest you pay attention to your carries (the yarn of the color not used on a particular stitch is "carried" behind.)  Bring them along at the same tension you always would, even if you're just taking the yarn from one stitch to the next.  No tighter, no looser.  Your work will be flat and smooth.

Folks also complain about the two colors getting twisted up between the work and the skeins, but there is a simple solution.  Once you introduce your contrast color, choose one yarn to be "the bottom" and one to be "the top" yarn. (Usually the contrast color is used as the "top" yarn, as it will have slightly smaller stitches and therefore be slightly less prominent.)  As you drop the "bottom" yarn to knit with the "top" one, make sure you always bring the "top" yarn over your working yarn. Bring the "bottom" yarn up under the working yarn when it's time to use it again.  If you do this, your colorwork will be even smoother, and your yarn will twist rarely.