Full Time Mittens is Coming to an End

I promised myself that the full-time push on the mitten book project would end on Sunday the 17th.  I need to pay more attention to my job, my family, and my friends.  I wish I could show you the finished samples!  They're really cool, and beautiful, and cozy.  Alas, no pre-publication pics are allowed at this time.  Rats.  Soon, I hope.

I kept to my plan, and yesterday was a work day.  So, ironically, it snowed yesterday, hard enough to stick.  Visibility was down to a quarter of a mile at times.  I thought it was funny that I had peacefully knit mittens on my porch in 75 degrees two weeks ago, and went back to work in snow. 

I'm still working on the book, just not full time.  So now I'll be a little slower about finishing the remaining patterns, polishing the chapters, etc.  I'm almost ready to send the first round of samples to the publisher.  My nerves are frazzled!  I love these mittens, and yet I second guess myself quite a bit.  Soon it will be out of my hands, and in the hands of editors, and I must say, it will be a relief! 

What I noticed in the midst of winding down the mitten intensity and winding up the work stuff is also a little ironic:  I really need more mittens!  When I don't need to have pristine samples for photography for the book, I'll have to make myself some mittens.  I have several older pairs that are starting to show their age, and need to have some "dress" mittens. Strange that I've been waist deep in mittens for months, and don't have any to wear to work.  30 odd pairs designed in a row later, maybe I'll put it off a little while. Maybe next winter.

You Should Write a Book, St. Paddy's Mitts

A reader sent me an email: "You should write a book. I'd love a book of yours on my shelf for mittens and blankets.  Are you writing one?"  I get that a lot.  So first off, Thank You!  Because I design so much for customers at the shop, for myself, and for my friends and kids, I have designed and test-knit hundreds of things.  I love seeing other knitter's interpretations of my designs!  Customers come in with their RFO's (recently finished objects) and I can't stop grinning about them expressing themselves with their work. 

So why not?  Trust me, I'm all for it.  I have no idea how to go about it, but since I can't stop designing (I've tried, believe me, but to no avail) it just might happen.  If you're looking for me on the bookshelf now, however, I'm afraid you'll need to wait a while. Visit me here, and I'll visit you back.

St. Paddy's Mitts

The idea was something Irish-looking enough to be great for the parade, but not so cutesy that you can't wear them on all the other cold days.  If you start them now, they can easily be finished by St. Patrick's Day!

Materials: Size 5 needles
Cascade Yarns 220 Worsted Wool, one skein each green, and white

Makes women's size large mittens. For smaller or larger size, decrease or increase needle size respectively.  Finished size 4.25 inches across, 8.5 inches long.

Cast on 60 sts needed. There is no separate cuff on these!  The pattern above makes a whole mitten.  Please note - there is a white stripe up each edge of the mitten, so make sure to count those on the above chart.  I admit, they are not super clearly marked.

This pattern is designed in the round, with an afterthought thumb.  The front and back of each thumb are the same.  The light green lines on the palm of the mitten body represent where to knit with scrap yarn for thumb placement.

Happy knitting!

Two Color Brioche - The Continuing Saga

The holidays have come and gone, and things are settling back down to normal around here.  I've seen a few knitting friends in the last few days, and the long and short of it is this: I have not found a two-color brioche teacher yet.  I thought I had one, but she turned out to be thinking of something else.  When I mentioned my dilemma to my Mr., he suggested I just borrow a pastry cookbook.  Then he wondered where the colors come into it.  I explained that it was a knitting thing, and his face visibly fell as he realized I wasn't about to bake some brioche.

As always, I am not a loss for projects, but I haven't given up on the brioche thing, either.  As a knitting teacher, I always feel funny about not being able to perform a particular stitch.  (Does this mean I have nothing to offer as a teacher?) I don't know whom to ask for help. I've decided the next two steps in my journey will be to attentively work with the website briochestitch.com (run by Nancy Marchant), and to order the book Ms. Marchant wrote called Knitting Brioche: The Essential Guide to the Brioche Stitch.  Ms. Marchant is Vogue Knitting's go-to expert on the brioche, and the work I've seen in photos from her book is stunning. (Why isn't two-color brioche covered in any of the Vogue books?) She has directions on her website which appear to be a little different from what I've been able to find so far, and I'm hopeful.  No video, though, so we'll see. The book also has several pages of directions with photos. So I will patiently knit socks as I wait for my book to arrive, and perform lessons while staring at the website.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Christmas Karma

Christmas at the Marino home was a delight. The kids received electronics, concert tickets, magazines, and pajamas.  Cookies were eaten, champagne was toasted, and then it was over...  As an avid knitter, of course I hoped for knitting gifts this year.  And the kids came through!  No coffee mugs, no candles, no DVDs - knitting books! And the Mr. came through with a Kindle!  So cool.

The first book is 60 Quick Knits, published by the makers of Cascade Yarns. Every pattern features Cascade 220 worsted wool.  There are hats, scarves and mittens in snazzy color combos and updated versions of traditional designs.  Since 220 is a worsted weight yarn, everything knits up quickly.  I've made mittens from this book, and know a couple of people who own and love the book already.  I'll have to wait a little, though, as it's still on order. :(

Second is Punk Knits by Sharon Ross.  The author is a punk music artist herself, and views creating her own garments as a way to side step the establishment and make her own statement.  That's fine with me!  There are 26 projects in the book with edgy details and a ton of attitude. I always tell the kids to tell me what they'd like me to make and I'll be happy to make it.  I'm sure it won't be long until the kids are placing requests for these punk knits.

Alli, my youngest, has recently taken a serious interest in what I knit.  She doesn't knit herself, but this morning she was poring over pattern books and suggesting color combinations and traditional motifs for an ear flap hat she wants.  She does this kind of designing in her head, leaving me to find the right yarns and generate the patterns.  Who knows?  Maybe we have another great knitwear designer in the making.  I'll be happy to be her sample maker!