of stranded and gansey knitting, Anna's Mittens by Spillyjane. (I got the pattern as a gift download through Ravelry, which worked well.) I knit mine out of odd bits of Patons Classic Wool.
The excellent pattern is meticulously written in a way that is clear and helpful for novice knitters without being annoying to more experienced ones. There are some fine design elements: the colorwork section, which is thicker because of the stranding, covers the wrists like a pulsewarmer for extra warmth; the moss stitch frame forms a graceful arch at the top of the mitten. So clever!
Just to show off, here's the inside of the mitten. I expect with wear it will full, locking in the yarns and becoming fuzzy-cozy.
The only mod I made was to shape the top of the thumb with mirrored decreases to echo the top of the mitten. I like the pattern enough to want to knit it again (gasp!) – I could see knitting pulsewarmers from just the colorwork section or mittens from just the gansey part.
Overall, I had a happy and productive NaKniMitMo. The moderators were unfailingly encouraging and the other participants expanded my vision and my queue. I never did get to my UFO thrummed mittens (cough), but I end the month totally smitten with mittens, eager to knit more, and looking forward to NaKniMitMo11.
Up next, the February knit-alongs. I understand a bunch of obsessive Sockdowners will be staying up past midnight tonight to stake their claims to sock patterns with fewer than 15 projects – already a few Sooners have been called for jumping the gun. Apparently manufactured scarcity works. I plan to participate eventually, but for the moment I'm focusing on Zarzuela's S/KAL and the mighty Ravel*****s.
Redacted 6/26/12: The Ravelry event formerly known by a name that rhymes with and supposedly infringes on the Olympics™.
2 comments:
Those are beautiful! A bit of spring in the winter.
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