I CO for this one on the first of the year, knit through the first mitten in a day, knit the second ribbing and then it sat for a month.

Last weekend I just felt inspired and finished the rest of it.  Good thing too because it’s been COLD.

Specs…

Wood Hollow Mittens by Kirsten Kapur

My project on Rav

Cascade 220 Quatro in Lupin Twist – I used 200 yards of stash yarn so this counts for the MSK Stash Down KAL too!

I made 2 small mods – 1 for sanity and the other was unintentional.  The little cables flanking the big one are supposed to circle in and out but I didn’t notice it on the chart and I worked them all going out.  It’s fine but I didn’t make the conscious choice to do it.  Oops.  And then I worked lifted increases for the gusset instead of a M1.

I used a ball of yarn I bought 3 years ago for a different pair of mittens.  I’m glad to finally get this one out of my stash but in retrospect it wasn’t the best match of pattern and yarn.  The 4 different shades of plies in the yarn fight with the cables a bit.  It’s not as obvious from far away, but up close you see more of the color changes and less of the cabley goodness.

A couple other observations after a few wears:

• I made the hands too long.  It’s not the end of the world but I’ll make the next pair 3/4-1 inch shorter
• On very cold days I still feel the wind blow through the mitten a bit.  Just a bit.  As in not enough to make me want to knit a liner.  I just make a fist in the mitten and we’re good.
• One thumb is a bit shorter than the other.  I’ll keep track of the rounds next time so I can match them up perfectly.
• I don’t have a lot of opportunities to wear mittens.  The walk from my back door to my car is 7 steps, and then I park in a garage in the basement of my building at work.  It’s so cold right now that I don’t get out much.  One pair of mittens is probably good for me, but it doesn’t stop me from looking at knitting more.

All in all I’m pretty happy with this FO – the color is very me and goes well with my new Weigh It Shawl too.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I’m sure you’re getting close to having heard enough about this design – I’m losing steam too.  I got up yesterday morning and decided I couldn’t bear to work on RT.  You know how the rest of this goes right?

Ravelry browsing.  Here’s how it went down.

Ooh I can fave more things for Rhinebeck shopping!  I forgot about Deep End – it’s a great excuse to shop for mini skeins of sock yarn.   I wonder if Miss Babs will bring any her kits of mini skeins – polydactyl or gradient.  Gradients are fun – I wonder what designs use them.  Traliccio is new to me.  Spectral too.

An hour later and a bunch more designs to shop for at Rhinebeck – and not a stitch more knitted.  Thinking about knitting and looking at others’ knitting was sadly doing nothing to help get my sweater done for Rhinebeck.

So I took RT out of the bag and started knitting.  I made a deal with myself – 10 rounds this weekend  And a couple hours later I hit that magic number.

Here’s the back…

and the front…

and a close up of those cables…

Contrary to what it looks like on the mannequin, I’m about halfway through the bust area.  I think I have 2 more full repeats of cables and then the bottom ribbing.  I tried it on again yesterday and it still fits great!

If I finish this one in time this will be the third sweater I’ll have finished for Rhinebeck in 9 years of attending.  There’s something about that festival that motivates me to get things done.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

The color, those cables…

that collar…

and those raglan lines

all make for a “can’t put it down” project.

I tried it on last night and LOVE the collar.  I think I’m more excited about the collar right now than the cable.  It does need some blocking so it doesn’t curl but I kinda like it like this right now because I get to see more of the back’s cable this way.

It’s surprisingly efficient with yarn usage too – I got almost the whole yoke out of just one 215 yard skein.

I’m ready to start the body now and you know what that means – quicker progress.  Of course, I will still have to go back and do the sleeves when the body is done, but they go quickly, right?

Feel free to lie to me.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I love that cable and the fold over cowl/collar is such a great feature.

I shopped my stash but didn’t have anything that worked, so I headed to my LYS on Thursday and got Berroco Vintage in Aster.

The color is a bit of a departure for me and I’m loving knitting with it.  Plus, the lighter shade means I can knit it even at the pub or while watching TV with dimmed lights.

I’m just about done with the knitted flat part and am ready to join in the round.  I have made one mod – I’m working the sides of the cables in the back in stockinette instead of reverse.  I did this because:

• I don’t love the look of purls in a solid shade.  In subtle handdyeds it’s gorgeous but it looks a little meh to me in a solid.
• I’m lazy and I knit faster than I purl.

I’ve never hidden that I don’t like make 1’s and prefer kfb or lifted increases but given the decorative look of the raglans I wanted to try the M1’s.  I’m so glad I did – I love the way they’re working up.  The raglan is so pretty and the other increases would have had a different look.

Fun color, gorgeous cables and top down knitting.  This may have just gotten my mojo back.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I’m two full repeats in and have started the A line decreases.  I’m loving the knitting and the cables are scrumptious!  Here’s a back shot too.

It’s been a while since I mentioned this one so here are the deets:

• Elisbeth by Bonne Marie Burns
• Berroco Vintage in Crimson

I love the look of those coin cables but not the actual knitting.  Glad there’s only 5 of them (2 on the front as well) and they’re only every 8 rows.  I can deal with that.

I’m just about done with my first skein and still have another to knit through partly before I get to where I was before I ripped last year.  The stitches are slightly bumpy because it’s been ripped but a quick dunk should fix that up.

I have a couple mods planned based on other Ravelers’ notes:

• Add short rows to the cap sleeves to make them more fitted.  I’m not going for the bat wing look.
• Make the shawl collar wider.  This one will be an experiment but since it’s the last thing to knit I can try it on as I go.

What about you?  How are your WIPs going?

I’ll catch you on the purl side.