Mittens in August

My boyfriend has been nagging me for about eight months to knit him some mittens to stave off the bitter cold of the Ontario winter... I have yet to really see how cold it gets here, but I'm not particularly looking forward to it. Anyway, I started him some mittens about a month ago, but I wasn't particularly a fan of the pattern or the colors (even though it's both of our alma mater); it just seemed a little too seventies-ish for me. He wouldn't have really cared, but I have to be seen with him. So I started hunting for a new pattern, which wasn't too hard.

I went to the yarn store for the first time since I've been in the GTA; it was pretty amazing... Being young, I have a hard time finding yarn stores with employees who don't assume i have no idea what I'm doing. But the woman who owns it was amazingly nice and helpful. And best of all, they carry a full selection of Peer Gynt, which is one of my favorite 100% wool to knit with.... and it just so happens I knit him a hat last fall out of Peer Gynt, so I was able to match the mittens to the hat. I did edit the pattern on the thumb a bit, to avoid the heart look you get when alternating colors, but other than that, it was a quick and easy pattern.

Another problem I have knitting: I'm terrible with things that come in pairs. I actually think this is the FIRST pair of anything I've finished. Hopefully, this is something I can continue...

I also picked up yarn to knit myself some mittens using another knitty.com pattern.

Unfortunately, much of the yarn in the correct gauge was varigated, which I didn't want, so the colors aren't exactly what I wanted, but I love the yarn (it's baby alpaca). The pattern shows up much better on this picture than it does in reality, but that might be due to the low light in the living room.

I'm not quite done with the first one yet, but there will be much more to come on these when I get done. I've learned quite a few techniques I can't wait to share :)

First Puppy Sweater!

It seems, I always end up with a plethora of yarn left over from my projects and never really had a use for it. I've done a little entrelac work, but the problem with doing an entrelac piece is the yarn has to be roughly the same gauge, you have to have enough to do the whole piece, you have to sew in about a bajillion ends and you either have to work in the round (requiring more yarn and patience) or you have to back it (and i get bored of hand stitching fast).

But, I have a puppy now! Freyja weighed 5 pounds at her last

vet visit, and she shouldn't grow to more than 11 pounds. So, now I finally have something to knit with all of these spare

partial balls of yarn. It's going to be getting cold here, or so I'm told. A fact I'm dreading really. Being from the pacific northwest, I've only ever experienced mild winters and don't

really enjoy the cold without snow (so maybe I should get working on a sweater for myself?)... But I know it'll be even harder on Freyja, so I better stock up on dog sweaters for her (because there's no way she's wearing the same one two days in a row...

This one (I can't recall where I got the pattern) was

very simple and I was able to finish it while Sten

was brewing one saturday. It was supposed to be broken rib pattern, but the pattern was poorly written... Instead of tearing it up, I just made it a double broken rib pattern (I know, I'm probably making that up).

But even with the mess up, it turned out quite nice; even if it is a little bit too big for her right now.

I do think, it's time for a new "big" project. I'm supposed to be finishing up the mittens for my boyfriend and he wants a sweater "like the one Hawkeye wore in that one episode of M*A*S*H..." Yeah, that's a big help.

So I'm on the hunt for this mysterious sweater... going through M*A*S*H episodes one at a time. Hey, at least I actually enjoy the show now, unlike when I was young and the second it came on, the channel was changed, but seriously? There are over 20 episodes per season with 12 seasons... So god only knows when I'll be able to start this project, let alone finish it.... We shall see.