They're Pouring In

Requests are pouring, no dribbling in. Not even, but I do have another one.

When 'Sis' heard that I actually appreciated requests for hand knit items, she put in hers. A felted hat. A black one. The yarn is waiting, and as soon as I finish Katie's mittens, the hat will be next.

The mittens have been great fun to knit. Katie's pair, like Turtlegirls' , I knit with both the inner and outer layers as a complete mitten.

The pattern - Chimera, (scroll down for Chimera) by Julia Mueller - is quite unique in that it is a double layer mitten, with the outer layer being decreased away to expose the inner layer. Cables decorate the front, to give it some fashion flair.

When I finished the first mitt, I realized that the outer layer, being only attached at the cuff, could easily be ripped off by things like subway turnstiles or door handles. A few, same- colour black stitches tacked it down and solved that issue.

I did find the writing of the pattern to be a bit confusing. There is one point in the outer layer where the beginning of the round is moved a couple of stitches in one direction, then a few rows later, a couple of stitches back in the opposite direction. For the life of me I couldn't figure out the necessity of this step. And, it was never made clear, anywhere in the pattern -- that I could see -- where exactly the round began. Hard to move it, if you can't find it. Me, being me, I solved the problem by ignoring that part of the pattern. The mitten seems not to have suffered because of my omission.

Katie's mittens have my own special touch. A texting buttonhole.

About 3 rows from completion of the thumb, I did a three stitch Elizabeth Zimmermann one-row buttonhole Big enough for the tips of the thumb to protrude, text, then retreat without removing the mitt. I knit Katie a pair of mittens with that feature last winter and she tells me that she wears them daily.

Layer number one, of mitten number two, is almost done.

Then onto Felted Bucket Hat number four.