Mittens and Kittens

This is why I love semester breaks: mittens in one week!



All finished, and I have quite a bit of yarn left over. I started out with something like 200 yards of grey and 180 yards of pink. The pattern calls for two hanks of Schaefer Heather, which are a whopping 400 yards each, but now I figure you could probably get two pair of mittens out of that much yarn! There's only one project for this pattern marked as finished on Ravelry, and that's the pattern sample, so I was unsure whether I was cutting the yardage close or not. These were on 2.25 mm needles (US size 1), and I think they would have gone even faster if I hadn't resorted to DPNs. Addi: You need to make a size 2.25 mm circular needle, in the 24-inch length! I remember feeling a tiny bit betrayed when I found out that your "Size 1" is not the same as the "Size 1" used elsewhere in this country. But this is a minor drawback. I will be moving on to a different project this morning while the mittens finish drying.

Another great thing about the holidays is spending time with my parents and their kitties. My family averages about 2.5 cats at any one time, and right now is the best time of year to be around them because they are warmth-seekers and will snuggle up to you. Or take naps in inconvenient locations. You know, whatever.



That's Pheobe (grey tabby in front) and Piewacket (back in black black in back). Pie is very old (I think 12 or 13?) and doesn't do much besides eat and sleep these days, but Pheobe is interested in everything, and a chirper. I've had many good conversations with her, especially when I've just come through the front door. She likes to tell you how her day has been. Neither of them are too terribly interested in the yarn, but Pheobe likes to follow you around and be involved with whatever you're doing.

I miss having a cat, and although the significant other and I happen to be in a building that allows them, I feel kinda bad confining a cat to such a small space. Although, I guess if we got a kitten and it grew up in a small apartment, maybe it wouldn't notice? I don't know. Anyway, being home is great, and a large part of that is because I don't have to be a responsible adult for awhile. I get ten days where I don't have to walk three blocks to do laundry, don't have to think too hard about what we're going to have for dinner next week, get to lay around watching TV with my sister (we're suckers for Law & Order and What Not To Wear), and just catch up with the people I used to see every day.

Plus, I have family members who are truly interested in the knitting, from the yarn stage (tasty and a toy!) through photos (hey you're outside and I'm outside isn't this fun?) and blogging (your small metal box is a kitty warming station, right?).



I hope you all get to spend some time with the souls you love!

Safe!

Wow, you all are such enablers! And that comes from someone who is frequently called an enabler herself, so I say it with love. :) I tried really really hard to bring enough knitting to keep myself sane but also not pack quadruple the amount of knitting I typically do in one week. For some reason being on vacation gives me the subconscious idea that I am Superwoman and can knit at close to the speed of light or something. So I tried to be restrained and pack only a few projects. I did not start a quick hat on the plane, but instead cast on for this pair of mittens, which I have been promising myself for about a month and knit those on the plane.



These are the Lotus Leaf Mittens from the latest issue of Twist Collective (yes, from the section with the adorable animal watercolors). The yarn is handspun from the November shipment of the Verb fiber club (Finn wool, colorway Equilibrium, 2 ounces each of pink and grey). I'd had my eye on this pattern since the winter issue went up, and the fiber was just a perfect match. I've had the yarn spun up for a week or two, but promised myself that I wouldn't start them until all my holiday knitting was finished. I cast on last Friday, right after finishing up my spinning project left over from Color. Remember the silk hankies?



I finished spinning the singles, then wound the whole mess into a center-pull ball and plied from both ends. I wanted to have the yarn done on Friday, so I didn't allow the singles to rest overnight like I usually do, and boy did that come back to bite me. About halfway through the plying, I tugged a little too hard on the yarn end coming from the center and got an enormous tangle that took about half an hour to get out. :P That was no fun! The color is a little off in that picture, the yarn isn't quite that pink. The skein is about half an ounce, 65 yards. I'm thinking maybe an iPod sleeve or cell phone cover... there isn't enough yardage to do much else! I mainly wanted to free up my Cascade spindle so I could work on this:



Yum! More Verb Wooly Wonders, this time Bluefaced Leicester in a colorway called Burnt Ember. It's the softest BFL and I can't stop petting it. In addition to all this I've got one other potential knitting project to keep me busy, and hopefully that will last me until I go home to the stash on the 29th. If you happen to be celebrating something during this time of year, hope it's happy or merry or at least a good time! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that I've got yarn waiting under the tree this year. :)