Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Fingerless Mitts

I've come to really enjoy fingerless mitts.  I've made several pairs.  They're quick to knit and small enough to carry in my purse.  The rounds are short also so they're perfect for picking up while waiting in line or in a doctor's office.

Not long ago I finished these little fingerless mitts. They were from a kit I purchased last year at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber festival.  They're short, and the thumb is just an opening.  The top barely covers the knuckles.  They're just perfect for those days when I'm typing a lot which always seems to make my wrists get cold.  I was concerned that the beads would bother my wrists when typing, but they have not.  The pattern is Melody Fingerless Mittens by Kathryn Ashley-Wright and can be found on Ravelry. This pair is from brown Jojoland Melody Superwash.



Another pair recently finished is these purple and blue ones. They really should be blocked to show the lovely slightly lacy pointed design at the cuff, but I haven't done it yet. The pattern is "Short n Sweet Fingerless Mitts" by Anne Sahakian (also available through Ravelry). The yarn is Patons Kroy Socks FX in "Cameo."  It is the same yarn I used for my "Afternoon Tea" shawl -- the top part of it anyway.  When I made the shawl I had only one skein of the yarn so I finished the shawl with a coordinating solid.  Later I found more of the multi yarn so I was able to make these mitts -- and I have enough to make socks to go with the ensemble as well.  This pair comes up higher on my fingers, and more thumb to it.  I enjoyed making this pair, although if I do the pattern again I will alter the ribbing at the top of the fingers and the thumb, it was much too "fiddly."

 
Here's a picture of the shawl while it was still on the blocking wires.
 
The pictures don't make it clear, they really do work well together.
 
I expect I'll make more fingerless mitts.  They're quick and easy and very useful at work. I find I like having them even on the hottest days of the summer as my hands and wrists often get cold during long sessions at the keyboard. 

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Blocking done

I finally blocked the baby blanket that I recently finished.  

For a blocking surface, I have these wonderful foam pads (just have to keep them locked away from our one cat, who is strangely attacted to them.  Knitpicks sells some purple ones, but I got mine at Harbor Freight -- they were being sold as floor mats for making a workshop floor more comfortable.  I'm pretty sure these are larger than the ones sold by KP, and the price was reasonable. The ones I have are nice and large, so I can make a good area for blocking. 

The mats have a textured side and a smooth side, I assemble them with the smooth side up. I also have (not pictured) a set of brightly colored smaller ones that I got in the toy department of Wal-Mart, though I haven't seen them there since.  They are usually sold as play mat puzzle pieces.  Guess it would have been too much to ask for them to have the same cut outs as the ones from Harbor Freight. bit but they'll do in a pinch if I ever need a *really big* blocking area.


I lay something over the assembled mats to guard against any color bleed (a practice I started when I only had the brightly colored mats).  I use either a clean towel or, as I did here, some white fleece I had left from an old project. It doesn't cover the mats, but it is big enough for the piece being blocked.
 

Once I have the mats laid out and covered, I started by inserting my blocking wires in the  edges.  Generally sold for lace blocking, I found these to be an excellent aid for blocking this little blanket -- it made it easier to get the edges nice and straight. First, just the wires
Then, I started pinning. I started at the corners working diagonally. Standing from the camera angle, first the close left corner, then the far right corner, then the far left then the close right.  Next, I placed pins in the middles of the sides, pulling gently to pull the piece out to the  size and shape intended.  You can see the difference already.  I didn't start with a wet blanket for this one, once it was stretched and pinned, I sprayed it with water until it was quite damp.  Then, left it alone for two days.
 One of the corners, showing how the blocking wires make it easy to square them up.

The blocking really made the leaf design show up well.

Released from the wires

No wires, no pins.

Ready to have the ends woven in and to be packed up for presentation.