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FO Friday: Tips Off

remilyknits 2 Comments

A little while ago, I spun some yarn. As I mentioned, my youngest son laid claim to the yarn almost immediately. “Mom,” he said, “you never did make me those gloves with no fingers like you said you would.”  Way to lay on the guilt, kid!  🙂  On the other hand, it worked …

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Project: Tips Off

Pattern: improvised

Yarn: my very own handspun

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I used the Fried Chicken thumb increases as a starting point, and I tried doing the fingers with an increase row right before the fingers (rather than casting on and picking up stitches between the fingers.  Mixed results on the latter — I’m not convinced it’s easier or better than the usual way.

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Julian has been wearing these night and day — so already they are a bit worn.  It makes me so happy when something I make is well-loved.

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FO Friday: Handspun Chicken Mittens

remilyknits 3 Comments

I made something out of yarn that I made!

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Project: Handspun Chicken Mittens

Pattern: Fried Chicken Mittens

Designer: Ellen Mason

Available: FREE! on Ravelry

Yarn: my very first handspun yarn

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Fried Chicken Mittens is my very favorite “just a mitten” pattern.  The way the thumb increases are done make for a superior fit!  I knew I would be a bit short on yardage, and my handspun yarn was in two or three different weights.  I started with the most irregular/bulky/fuzzy yarn at the cuff, and knit less cuff than called for.  I knit the mittens two at a time, so that if I needed to turn them into fingerless mitts, they’d be at the same point.  I joined in the mid-range yarn shortly after the cuff, and then swapped to the best yarn as that ran out.

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I knew I would be cutting it VERY close.

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As you can see, I ended up short by the tip of one thumb.  I stole a bit of yarn from the first batch spun on my new spinning wheel, and called it good.

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FO Friday: Hand-spinning Edition

remilyknits 1 Comment

Today’s FO Friday is brought to by Ladybug and Knittink.

I bought this braid at the Fiber Fest:

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(Sorry about the glow-in-the-dark look — I can’t seem to get my camera to consistently play nice with bright red/orange hues these days.)

After a bit of practice with some white wool — about 40 yards worth — I took the plunge with my fancy fiber-fest roving and my brand-new spinning wheel. I decided to go for a 2-ply worsted finished yarn. I spun on the faster groove of the “fast” whorl (not the high-speed extra one I bought for lace), and plied on the slower groove of the “fast” whorl. I divided the roving in half lengthwise, so I would have about the same amount on each of the two bobbins, and got to work.

About four hours later, I had this! Plying especially was SO much easier on the wheel, compared to the spindle.

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My orange-loving youngest son already laid claim to this yarn, because I owe him a pair of fingered fingerless mitts.

FO Friday: Howl Cowl

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I put this pattern in my queue some time ago, and I bought yarn for it in early September.  My goal was to finish it by Halloween …

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Project: Howl Cowl

Pattern: Hocus Pocus Cowl

Designer: Thea Eschliman

Available: $7 on Ravelry (includes alternate pattern for tote bag)

Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in Black and Stroll Tonal in Foliage

I had a great time making this cowl.  It begins and ends with a turned hem.  Even the “baubles” are adorable — and I’m often not a fan of bobble-knitting.  I think the colorwork is exceptionally clever — very evocative cats, owl, and pumpkins, with subtle vines to fill in the empty spaces. I especially like the skull at the foot of the cats — fantastic!

What with camping in the snow (unintentionally) and a days-long power outage, I wasn’t able to finish before Oct 31st.  Lucky for me, the power outage forced the town to delay Halloween by a week, so by some measures I did get to finish on “Halloween night.”