Mitten Accomplished!

With just 9 days left until our trip to Washington, I've finished Bella's Mittens! You probably remember that I was a bit skeptical about this pattern—but with the help of Tasha and YouTube—I managed to complete them just in time!

This project was a lot of fun. I love knitting things that I'll love to wear—and these mittens are just that. They're soft, chunky, and a little different. They reach almost to my elbow, and can fit under or over a jacket. This project was ideal because it was easy, didn't take much yarn, and knitted up pretty quickly. Once I made the first mitten, the rest were a breeze. This is a project than can be started and completed in a weekend—and is great for Christmas gifts.

My beautiful/wonderful/amazing mother volunteered to model these great mitts for me—here they are!

More mittens!

Well, I've gone mitten crazy! I really got the hang of the pattern, so when the first pair turned out a little small (and delicate) for me, I found a different weight yarn and tried again. The second pair (on the right) are going to be more what I had in mind—nice, big, chunky mittens.

This will be my last update until I learn how to finish the thumbs and post my finished product(s). I'm so excited to be so close to marking this item off the list! I only wish that it wasn't 80 degrees outside so I could wear them...

My Mitten Progress

Tasha inspired me! Well, that—and I realized that if she finished her mittens before I got a chance to work on mine again—I wouldn't have anyone to knit them with. The photos aren't great, but they show some of the work I did today. I still have to complete the thumb, but that will have to happen tomorrow—I've burned out on knitting tonight. I can't wait to finish the set!

Tasha's Mitten Progress

Let me just say: Tasha is a knitting fool! I received these photos from her via text this morning at about 2:00 a.m.

In her defense, she's been sick and after napping all day, she couldn't sleep anyway. Happily, she's made a lot of progress on her (my) mittens though! I can't wait to see them in person!

Mittens: Day 1

I spent yesterday afternoon knitting with Tasha—we got a great start on our mittens! This project was especially daunting because it involves a couple of skills that I don't have yet. The first of which is knitting cables—I've always heard they were easy, but never really believed it. The second skill I needed to learn (which Tasha and I learned together yesterday) is called Magic Loop knitting. Magic Loop is when you use one large circular needle to knit small diameter rounds, rather than using three or four double-pointed needles.

It turns out, both of these skills were pretty easy to pick up. We knitted away while watching New Moon for inspiration. I promised to blog about the progress of the mitts, so here they are after day one! Tasha is using the "denim" yarn, and I'm using "milk chocolate."

Mittens!

I started knitting a couple of years ago under the instruction of my dear friend Tasha. Though I no longer consider myself a beginner—I still have a long way to go, and some projects really intimidate me. One of the most intimidating projects happens to be one of my favorite knitted items: mittens! I'm not sure why, but I've always loved mittens—and I'm more determined than ever to make them.

I've scoured Ravelry (a great knitting resource/social networking website) for free and easy beginner mitten patterns, but even the beginner level patterns appeared to be too complex. Knitting mittens is difficult because it requires knitting small diameters in the "round." While I was searching for patterns, I came across a great mitten pattern (can you guess where I saw/fell in love with these?!). Since I knew this pattern was way over my head—I convinced Tasha to knit them for me.

Yesterday, she and I went to Knitch (a local knitting shop) to pick up the yarn she would need—because she is amazing and is making them in time for my trip to Washington. While there, she and the sales guy convinced me that I would be able to make them on my own based on the skills I already have. So, I picked up an extra skein of yarn and vowed to give it my best shot. We are going to make them simultaneously, so that I can learn as I go without the pressure of finishing mine by May. We are hoping to get started this weekend. I'll be sure to send updates along the way, since this is sure to be an interesting—and possibly infuriating—journey!