Knit, Ali! Knit! in Paris

What's that?  Oh, don't mind me.  I'm just hanging out in Paris with my coral All About Love shawl!

Knitted in bright coral Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash

Choices, Choices!

Can we take a minute to talk about yarn, folks?

I think everyone probably has their favorite go-to yarn.  Mine is Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash.  I love all the different colors it comes in, and it creates a warm, super soft fabric when it's knitted.  All of this, PLUS it's machine washable!  And (reasonably) affordable!

That being said, I am a knitter and I love all kinds of different fibers.

For example, my LYS (local yarn shop) just got in some Zealana Air, which I swear must be made from baby unicorn hair (okay, so it's really cashmere, possum down, and silk).  It is The Softest, lightest, happiest cloud-like yarn I have ever, ever, EVER put my hands on.  They had a sample hat made from this yarn.  Honest to goodness, guys, if my eyes had been closed, I wouldn't have been able to feel it at all.  That's how soft it was.  Of course, being made from baby unicorn hair, it's pretty pricey.  You'd want to make something really special from yarn this nice!

A couple weeks ago, I was at a festival at a local winery with some girlfriends, and one of the vendors had locally raised and hand-dyed alpaca yarn.  It was gorgeous, but out of my price range.  Fast forward a few days and a visit to Craftsy's Yarn Shop, and I'm now working on a gift for a certain-someone-who-shall-not-be-named out of Rowan Alpaca Colour.  It's baby alpaca, so very soft, really warm, and comes in AMAZING colors.

Have I mentioned that I like colors?  I mean, who doesn't, right?  But I do.

Speaking of which.  My LYS also had a big display of Wonderland Yarns.  Oh. My. Goodness.  The colors, you guys!  Vibrant, beautiful, amazing!  They had this bright orange color that I was thisclose to buying (I decided not to, and I'm still debating whether that was a good decision).

I'm really trying to use yarn from my stash and not buy new yarn right now (because, really, I just need to make room in my stash storage for new yarn), but it's so hard when there are so many wonderful choices out there!!

What yarns are you in love with right now?

Experiments in Colorwork

Oh, this little guy?  He's just a great little hat that I started knitting last winter and [cough] finally finished a couple weeks ago.  Sometimes I get distracted by other thi--

HOLY CRAP, IT'S RAINING!

Wait.  Where was I?  Oh, yeah.

Sometimes I get distracted and then my current projects become UFOs (UnFinished Objects), and then they sit in the bottom of my knitting bag until I get interested again or until I decide that the project will never work and then frog the whole thing.

Off topic: As a lover of bad puns, it's always an exciting moment for me when my non-knitter friends and family members ask me what frogging is.  What do frogs say?  Rip it, rip it, rip it.  Ha!  Oh, man.  My dad would be so proud.  (He also loves bad puns.)

Okay, back to the hat.

So this hat is an experiment where I combined two patterns that I really liked.  Last winter, I made Blue Sky Alpacas' Java Cloche for a friend (with matching mittens!).  It turned out so well and was such an easy pattern to follow, that I wanted to make one for myself, too.  But I didn't want the exact same hat because I always end up wearing the exact same thing as my friends/mom/sister-in-law/insert female relation here.  (Seriously.  Once, my best friend and I showed up to a party in matching lavender cable-knit sweaters, jeans, and charcoal & lavender argyle socks.)

Java Cloche & Matching Mittens

In an effort to avoid looking like twinsies with our matching Java Cloches, I decided to borrow the colorwork chart from Blue Sky Alpacas' Sporty Mitts instead.

And it's beautiful!  I've gotten several compliments on it, so I must say it's a success!

You can find the patterns I mention above on Blue Sky Alpacas' website here:
Java Cloche: https://blueskyalpacas.com/patterns/java-cloche-free-pattern/
Sporty Mitts: https://blueskyalpacas.com/patterns/sporty-mitts-free-pattern/

Itty Bitty Mitties

My favorite thing about having a 9-month old nephew (apart from the big grins, slobbery kisses, and singing songs) is knitting gifts for him.

Last winter, he was just a newborn baby and spent most of his time bundled up in blankets.  Super adorable, but not a lot of opportunity for fun accessories like mittens.

This winter, however, he's big enough for all kinds of warm weather gear.  And I've got his little hands covered with these Itty Bitty Mitties!

These mittens have it all: super washable yarn, densely knitted to keep out the wind and cold, and a mitten string to keep the kiddo from losing them.

Normally I like to knit with merino wool, because it's soft, warm, and is available as washable yarn.  But when it comes to kids (especially babies and toddlers), I lean more towards acrylic and other synthetic blends.  Items made from acrylic yarn can be machine washed and dried over and over without worrying about the yarn shrinking or felting.  This is especially great for kids because, let's face it, kids are messy.  And their clothes need to be washed a lot.  A LOT.

These mittens are a bit big for our 9-month old boy, but I'm crossing my fingers that they'll make it through 2 winters.

Dimensions:
The mittens measure 5" around the hand at the palm (not including the thumb), and 5" from the edge of the cuff to the top of the hand.

What you’ll need:

•  Less than 1 skein of worsted weight yarn (I used Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice in Fern)

•  Size 5 double-pointed needles, or whatever you need to get the correct gauge

•  2 buttons (I used 5/8 inch black buttons)

Gauge:

10 stitches and 15 rows = 2 inches x 2 inches

Key:

dpn: Double-Pointed Needles

CO: Cast On

k: Knit

p: Purl

pm: Place Marker

m: Marker

m1L: Make 1 on the Left

m1R: Make 1 on the Right

k2tog: Knit 2 Together

You can make your increase stitches using whatever method you like.  This is the method that I prefer.  It makes your new stitch without creating the gap that you sometimes get with other methods.  Since these mittens are for little hands, it’s important to keep out the cold as much as possible!

m1L:  Pick up the left side of the stitch 2 rows below the stitch you just knitted (on your right needle) and place on your left needle.  Knit this new stitch.

m1R: Pick up the right side of the stitch immediately below the next stitch on your left needle.  Knit this new stitch through the back loop.

Mittens:

CO 28 stitches.

Distribute sts evenly on 4 dpn, and join to work in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Cuff:

1-9:  (k1, p1) around

Hand:

10: k around, m1 (29 stitches total)

Thumb Gusset:

11: k14, pm, m1L, k1, m1R, pm, k14 (31 stitches total; 3 stitches between markers)

12-13: k around

14: k14, slip m, m1L, k3, m1R, slip m, k14 (33 stitches total; 5 stitches between markers)

15-16: k around

17: k14, slip m, m1L, k5, m1R, slip m, k14 (35 stitches total; 7 stitches between markers)

18-19: k around

20: k14, slip m, m1L, k7, m1R, slip m, k14 (37 stitches total; 9 stitches between markers)

21: k14, remove m, place next 9 stitches (gusset stitches) on a length of scrap yarn, CO 1 using backward loop method to close the gap left by the gusset, remove m, k14 (29 live stitches; 9 stitches on scrap yarn)

Top of Mitten:

22-28: k around

29: k to last 2 stitches; k2tog (28 stitches)

30: (k5, k2tog) around (24 stitches)

31: k around

32: (k4, k2tog) around (20 stitches)

33: k around

34: (k3, k2tog) around (16 stitches)

35: k around

36: (k2, k2tog) around (12 stitches)

37: k around

38: (k1, k2tog) around (8 stitches)

Cut yarn, thread tail through remaining stitches, pull tight, and fasten inside.

Thumb:

Place gusset stitches onto 3 dpn, pick up and knit 1 st over gap (where you CO 1 in row 21), and join.  (10 stitches total)

1-7: knit around

8: (k2tog) around (5 stitches)

Closeup of gusset and thumb

Cut yarn, thread tail through remaining stitches, pull tight, and fasten inside.

Weave in loose ends, closing any gaps at the base of the thumb.  Then do it all again to make another mitten!

Mitten String:

Not only are mitten strings good for keeping pairs of mittens together, but they’re also adorable!  Here’s how I did it:

Tightly sew a button to the cuff of each mitten, on the side opposite the thumb.

Sew on your button here

With the crochet hook, make a chain long enough to lace through both sleeves of the child’s coat, plus 2 inches.

Loop end of chain over to make a buttonhole just big enough to fit your button.

Fasten your buttonhole loop and weave in any loose ends.

Repeat with the other end of the chain.

Make a buttonhole loop at the end of your crochet chain

If you don’t know how to make a crochet chain, visit www.knittinghelp.com for a great tutorial.  (Video can be found here.)