Need Some Mittens

The ever-popular model shot. Yes, I had just woken up and had to move quickly to take advantage of the natural light (although this shot doesn't have any) - so no comments about my scrumfy hair. Clappy works quite nicely as a scarf, actually, and even though I'm not a shawl/wrap person, she's good for that, too. And warm!!

All in all, Clapotis is a wonderful pattern - very easy to follow, very well-written, and fun to knit, too (those dropped stitches!). I have to put in a word for HPY, too - the merino I knit with was wonderfully soft and had lovely stitch definition, too. I washed it to remove the vinegary smell (from setting the dyes) and it fuzzed up a little bit, but not too much. The one thing I would point out is that the yarn does sort of stick to itself a bit (it is wool, after all), so when you drop the stitches, they don't just fall on their own, you have to sort of pull them apart. But all in all, I'm very, very happy with my Clappy and I would absolutely work with the yarn (and the pattern) again. In fact, I may very well knit more for Christmas next year - I think my grandmothers would each love one.

 Or in this case, the Marsan Watchcap for my dad. Yes, I'm running out of yarn for Clappy. Eeeek!! Fortunately, a kind sould out in blogland has saved me and happens to have another skein of the luscious Merino Worsted Weight yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com (in Cypress) - what luck! It will be winging its way to me on Thursday, thank goodness - HPY doesn't have any more in Cypress right now, so I'm not sure what Clappy's fate would be if not for this save.

However, since I've had to sideline Clappy, I had to pick up something new, of course. The solution? Well, according to Alison, February is for Fixin' (yes, I know it's still January) and what's a better fix than to reknit Dad's poor abandoned cap? I should actually finish it while it's still cold out, after all. So tonight I cast on (somewhat laboriously - where did all my 16" circs go? Must hit Elann for more) for the Marsan Watchcap in the same yummy Blue/Black tweed. I dig the twisted rib, and I'm praying that it'll be stretchy enough to fit Dad's head. If not ... well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it (but I haven't forgotten about you, Dad!).

My favorite flat-knit mitten pattern + 2 balls of Anny Blatt Rustique in Imperial = One wonderfully warm, soft pair of mittens. The colors pooled a bit (more visible on the palm) but I really love the colors and with such a bulky yarn, they knit up very quickly! (I did actually finish the first mitt during the Pats game, then finished this one today.)

I'm cranking along on Clappy, too, but she resists being photographed, at least accurately. I've got a few more straight row sections to go, then decreases! I'm convincing myself that I'm nearly done because while I absolutely love this pattern, I have to admit ... I hate purling. I hate it. I think this is mostly because I learned to knit combined, and for Clappy I'm knitting traditionally and, more importantly, purling traditionally - and it takes so much longer!

Nevertheless, Clappy's growing, growing, growing! What with the copious amounts of snow we're expecting in Boston this weekend, I think I'll have lots of time for knitting.

My mom told me the other night that she can tell when I'm really busy at school because I don't update my blog. Yep, it's a pretty good indicator! This week, I had a lot going on, including a brief that was due first thing Friday morning. All done now, though, and what a relief!! It's especially nice to follow up my long, tiring week with a three day weekend, too.

And of course, that means lots of time to knit. On my way out to hang out with a friend the other day, I realized I didn't really have a portable project to take with me these days - Clappy's getting so big it's impossible to take her anywhere. So, what to do? Well, do I really need an excuse to start another project?
 

Well, I do really need some mittens. This one is being knit out of lovely, lovely Anny Blatt Rustique that I had in the stash from last year sometime, in a color called Imperial, if I recall correctly. This yarn is so wonderfully soft and the colors are really nice, too. I've got about another inch and a half to go before it's time to decrease. With the Pats game on, this first one might even be done tonight! (I'm knitting these, by the way, using my favorite knit-flat pattern - it's so easy and fast and I've made so many of these that I've about memorized the pattern.)

But never fear - Clapotis is not being neglected (although several other projects are ... poor hats, they're just not getting enough love. I really will re-knit your hat, Dad, I just need to get the right needles, or finish a project that's on them) - I'm roughly a third of the way through the increase section (the fun part where you get to drop stitches - SO my favorite part) and it's zipping along as fast as a 100-odd stitch row can go. Has anyone else had a problem with the right number of stitches, though? I keep having one less stitch than I'm supposed to - it hasn't been a big problem, I've just increased an extra stitch once in a while. I just wondered if I'm the only person who's had this problem?

Alright, back to the game. Hopefully this week should be a quieter one, so maybe you'll even get some more updates!