Done!

All done!

This Olympic Challenge, four pairs of hand wear, was not an easy one. There were times when I thought that I would just abandon the whole thing and go on knitting something else, but then told myself that since I made the commitment I should try to stick to it as long as possible. I was so relieved when last night I put the last stitches on the twined embroidered mittens and could call it a day.

I should have picked the yarns for all the projects before hand, it would have made the task a lot easier. And also if I had not decided to knit something totally new to me: double knitted mittens.

I could not find any information about double knitted mittens but they really were not much different than knitting single mittens. The most trouble I had was with the tension for the inside mittens as they are purled and no matter how hard I tried they did not come out as sturdy as I hoped for.

(I have M'Lou Baber's new book about double knitting, but in case you wonder, there are no patterns for knitted mittens in it, but plenty of other interesting projects. Also there is a hat pattern in Twist Collective and I found good tutorials (video) from there. Actually, excellent tutorials! - I am in a hurry, I don't have time to find the links now... sorry!)

Number three challenge were twined knitted mittens.

It is easy to see that already here I was quite tired of mittens and took the easy way out and just knitted plain mittens and embellished them with embroidery. Nothing new there, and really not so much of a design challenge.

And then finally number four pair were simple linings for the twined mittens. Plain, ordinary mittens with little lace in the cuffs. I was not that happy with myself when knitting these linings but I kept on pushing until the finish and now am glad that I did.

So four pairs of mittens finished, three false starts for the double knitted mittens, one whole day wasted there. Then I did not realize how long the mittens needed to be when being knitted with double knitting, I had to rip twice the top to have the mittens long enough to have enough room for the inside mitten. One evening lost. Two left hand mittens in twined knitting, again one evening lost there, since I had to rip a little bit, not too much, just the decreases in the top. But this added to the frustration.

The embroidery for the most part is done in chain stitches. I have many embroidery books, some old Finnish ones and some more modern. I will try to remember to post a list of books I have for your information. There is some information for quite similar cuff decorations as in the gloves (challenge I) from the last post in the book called "Koreaa virkkaamalla" (in Eng Decorative Crocheting) but I used a little bit different technique.

Now, I will need to go, this post just had to be done today, as this is the final day for the Olympics.

Wool with you,

Lene

Knitting Olympics 2010

I wavered for a long time before taking up the Knitting Olympics Challenge. I did not know what to knit since the Olympics are all about a challenge, about pushing the limits a bit and this was difficult decision, because I would have loved to knit something very simple to be able to actually watch some of the games. First I thought that I would skip this Madness (right now it is beginning to feel like that a bit)altogether but then really wanted to be part of the event. I am not sure if I am able to do what I planned but I will try to design and knit four pairs of hand wear during these weeks. In the first day of the games, I created four empty project pages in Ravelry and named them as Olympics Challenge I II III and IV.
I plunged into the first project just grabbing small needles and casting on for simple gloves. I did not have a very good idea what I was to do when the knitting was done but I could not waste too much time thinking and planning.

This pair is very much like the previously made embroidered mittens so the first round went fairly quickly. No big mishaps, not very much to talk about. Enjoyed the embroidery a lot and made a mental note about doing more in the future, since I really feel it is my medium.
I used Kureyon Sock Yarn and small needles, 1,75 mm (US00) because I wanted to create dense fabric for the embroidery.

I have blocked these but they look very uneven, probably because of the small needles and the small gauge does not give enough room for the chunky bits in the yarn and those bits pucker. I like the home made feeling they have and the puckering does not bother me. (If they appear to be little too big, that is intentional, as if the gloves are too fitting, they are also too cold.)

I have cast on for number two challenge and have almost done the first mitten. These are really slow going and feel more like a challenge. I had lots of trouble before I really got going and now I am little bit worried of making four pairs... but I am not giving up. Actually, I think I really got the spirit and I am enjoying! (I have minor injury, small callus in the right hand in ring finger.)

Today when I came home, I felt sorry for this creature, as he was comfortably settled in a sunny spot on the little road and I had to make him to get up...

He run slowly in front of the car for few meters before decided to jump off the road into the woods. High pressure has been over us which means clear sky and cold temperature, I believe last night it was over -30 C. But the sun and light are back up here! Which is really great!
Ok, back to challenge number II!


Wool with you,
Lene

Minni - cardigan for a little girl

Making of Minni was long journey but finally she is all wrapped up and in print. While I have been making the last changes (thank you Cassie!) new snow has been coming steadily. The prospect of going outside, even to pick up the mail from the main road, does not appeal to me. There is plenty of snow shoveling ahead but I don't want to do it before the snow stops and it does not look like it will stop any time soon. Since I am not going out right now, I will share with you my new pattern.

I am a mother of three girls and the abundance of old pictures from the time the girls were small provides lots of inspiration. You already know how much I love small gauge(2,5 mm [US1.5]) and variegated fingering weight yarn so knitting a cardigan for a little girl was quite natural. I am not saying it was easy or that the pattern came together just by itself because it did not. There were lots of days with frustration and error and reknitting but finally little Minni is finished.

Schoppel Wolle Zauberball color Flussbett

Super Soxx Beige Creme 68

Sandness Garn Lanett Old Rose 4622

"What are little girls made of, made of? Of sugar and spice..." But if you add to the mix wool and stripes, you get little Minni!

The cardigan is knitted sideways in once piece mostly. The left front is separate for a while but is joined to the cardigan later on. When the knitting is done, side seams are grafted together with kitchener stitch. Of course you could use your preferred seaming method as well. The cardigan has vertical stripes and crocheted chain stitch in the hem breaks the monotony.

There is a small belt in the back on top of the part where the hem flares a bit. This little feature is my favorite.

 And if you like, you can add a little bit of something with embroidered patch. The pattern has instructions for it. Minni is written for three sizes: 0-3 months (6-9 months) 12-18 months. Three colors of fingering weight (420m/100g [459y/3½oz]) yarn is needed:

Schoppel Wolle 1701ombre

Opal Uni 1991

Malabrigo Sock Burgundy

100 (100) 125g of main color, 100g of contrasting color and 25g of highlighting color for the belt, I-cords, front edgings and the crocheted chain. Fingering weight yarn produces a light and warm cardigan.

Zitron Trekking Hand Art Color Sahara

Grignasco Merino Lace (held three together)

Malabrigo Merino Sock

Minni looks lovely with soft, quiet tones but will be full of mischief and character with bright, variegated yarns, where it is difficult to predict the color of the next stitch.

If you would like to knit this, please find a link in the sidebar to my Ravelry shop. (One should have knowledge of basic knitting skills and of I-cord, provisional cast on, crocheted chain stitch and kitchener stitch.)

The snow has stopped. The pattern is uploaded to Ravelry, the blog is updated. Really, there is no excuse any more, I guess I should get outside soonest.

Wool with you,
Lene

Minni errata (March 9, 2010):

Part II

page 6, Row 87 (MC)(WS) For size 0-3 months:
... "The right front is now complete and this completes the part II." Not part III as the pattern says.

page 7, Row 90 (MC)(RS) For size 6-9 months:
..."K55, k YO tog with the next st, k9 (not k8 as the pattern says), k1tbl."

page 7, Row 93 (MC) (WS) For size 6-9 months:
... "The right front is now complete and this completes the part II." Not part III as the pattern says.

Finishing

Row 1: (WS)
Knowing that the first row is wrong side row, helps to understand knitting the edging.

My sincere apologies for the mistakes.