FO heaven and Mitten Love

I finally have pictures of my finished Orchid Mitts and Snow on Cedars Mitts. Plus, I finished my Bellatrix Socks and have pictures of those too. I'm doing good with the pictures this week.

First the FOs:



Orchid Lace Mitts
Start: October 2007
Finish: November 5, 2007
Needles: US 1 bamboo DPNs
Yarn: Fearless Fibers Merino Lace weight in Rubicund colorway (1 skein)

I love these mitts and wear them constantly. Fearless Fibers Merino Lace Weight is some of my favorite lace weight yarn. It's super soft, and the colors are gorgeous. You may remember that I also used it for my Japanese Feather Scarf (which I also wear constantly).




Snow on Cedars Mitts
Start: November 3, 2007
Finish: November 20, 2007
Needles: US 1 bamboo DPNs
Yarn: Wooly Wonka's Merino/Tencel Sock Yarn in Sagebrush and Cedars colorway (purchased as kit)

That picture doesn't really flatter those mitts. Here's a close-up of the yarn and stitch pattern:



I really enjoyed knitting these, I just couldn't put them down. Unfortunately, my gauge was off just a tiny bit, which made them just a little baggy in the hand. It's not much, and you can't tell from my picture because it goes away with blocking, but it seems to come back with wear. Of course, it's something that only I would notice, but it causes me to reach for my Orchid Mitts more. So, I'm thinking of giving them to my mother-in-law because they fit her perfectly....and she loved them.





Bellatrix Socks
Start: November 23, 2007
Finish: December 6, 2007
Needles: US 1 for ribbing and US 0 for everything else
Yarn: Pigeonroof Studios Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in Poison colorway

I love these socks. This was my 3rd pair of socks, and I'm getting better at making them fit right. In fact, I think these fit perfectly. They don't end up stretching out too much when I wear them. You've probably noticed, but I like tight socks and mitts. The dropped stitch pattern was a lot of fun to knit and the yarn was perfect for it. I really enjoyed seeing which part of the yarn would be in the next "nub". Actually, I've become pretty addicted to Pigeonroof Studios sock yarn because of these socks.

Now for the new projects:

After I finished my Bellatrix socks, I actually made some progress on my Honeybee. Not a ton, but progress is progress, right? I'm almost through the bee hive section on the first half of the stole; I've only got 2 pattern repeats to go. Then I get to move on to the swarm. I'm really looking forward to the swarm section, I've heard it's a lot of fun.

After working on the Honeybee for a few days, I decided I had to cast on some mitts. I love mitts, especially fingerless ones. So, I decided to make a mitten version of the Pomatomus Sock using Pigeonroof Studios Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in the Seaweed colorway, but I decided to be difficult and make my own version instead of using the ones available. I really hope it works. Instead of going down a needle size and using thinner yarn, I decided to cut back the number of pattern repeats and cast on 48 sts. I hope it looks right. I'm really anxious about the thumb. I have books and patterns laying all over the place so I can cross reference thumbs. I really want to do a gusseted thumb on the palm of the glove, which means I will have to do left and right gloves. Right now I'm still on the wrist, and I'm just hoping to cross the thumb bridge when I get there.

I also started swatching for the Endpaper Mitts last night. I'm using Knit Picks Palette in Golden Heather and Salsa Heather. I originally wanted those colors because I wanted to knit them in warm fall colors. When I received the yarn, I was super excited to realize that I had accidentally ordered Gryffindor colors. So, I get to make nerdy Harry Potter Endpaper Mitts! This is my first stranded colorwork and I'm a little slow and clumsy with the second yarn in my left hand, but I'm getting the hang of it. I was really surprised to find that although I'm usually a loose knitter, I seem to be a tight knitter with colorwork. Usually, I have to go down a needle size, sometimes 2, but this time I had to go up a needle size. Seriously, I was shocked.

Anyway, I think that's about it. I hope everyone has a good weekend!