must. make. mittens.

I did it AGAIN. Yes, AGAIN. I waited until the last minute to beef up my stash of mittens for the Holiday Craft Show. Can we just pretend that planning that wedding took up all my free time?

For the sale this year, I’m not doing any neckwarmers. They were too confusing for most people. In place of those, I was hoping to get some tea cozies made, with the pot included. However, I have pots but no cozies. We’ll see how that ends up…

Another change to the status quo is the type of yarn I’m using. The first few years I purchased white commercial yarns and dyed them before knitting simple ribbed mitts. Gradually, I’ve incorporated handspun yarns and different styles of mittens. This year I don’t have any of that first style of mitt and most are made of handspun. I will also be using some undyed fiber and recycled sweater yarn.

And here are some of my most recent pairs of mitts. The middle pair was knit two at time and finished in one day! I’m excited about that accomplishment.

tom’s favorite mitts.

Apparently Thomas has a favorite pair of fingerless mittens.

It began when I left a pair in progress on the couch and came back to find him using the ball of yarn as a pillow. He had been resting his chin between both balls, but then adjusted to favor the blue-green one.

Then, after I had finished knitting the pair, I brought out the stool to take photos. He joined me.

Or perhaps he just wanted to look out the window.

alpaca: beyond samples

The past few weeks I’ve been trying to spin alpaca yarns to show at the farm day event that occurred last weekend. Overall it went well, except for the completely dreary weather on Saturday. Sunday morning we had a birth right at the farm. One of the momma alpacas had a little girl. She had gotten up yet when I left later that day so I’m hoping she’s doing better.

I orchestrated a swap with one of the alpaca owners. She wanted some dyed fiber spun into yarn, so I took that and a big pile of natural colors to spin for myself. My plans for it include mittens for the Christmas show. I think folks will respond to “Handspun Alpaca in Natural Colors” especially since I have some black (close enough anyway). Everyone is always asking about black. Not going to do that!! Plus it’s really boring, but if it’s a natural color fiber I don’t mind so much.

Also, I used the left-over yarns from the green striped hat to make a pair of fingerless mitts for myself. I think I’ve always wanted a matching set, so now I’ll have one! Green and white stripes with brown coat – it should work. Although I’ve never been concerned about matching in the past, so really it doesn’t matter.

We’re finally meeting with the caterer tonight. What’s on the menu? I have no idea!

alpaca samples

Last summer I realized that, when conducting a demo at an alpaca farm, it is a good idea to have samples made from alpaca fiber. Otherwise you are continually correcting people and saying, “no, actually this is all sheep’s wool.”

The plan to create more alpaca samples got under way… this week!! When is the demo?? In three weeks!! Am I awesome at getting things done ahead of time? NO. Did I do this last-minute scramble all through high school and college? YES.

After scouring my stash, I discovered many more bunches and balls of alpaca fiber than I thought I had. I also found one ball of spun yarn to get some knitting going too. That was turned into a pair of fingerless mitts (I can sell them in December too! Even I’m impressed!) and the remains I’m hoping to be able to make into a tiny beret.

These three skeins are brand new this week. From left, we have a very heavy skein of grey alpaca spun and navajo-plied. It’s actually rather scratchy and unpleasant. I purchased it as combed top. Next to that is a cream-colored skein that I spun from locks, which may have been unwashed. The floor was quite dusty afterward. I like to spin alpaca messy since I don’t think people do that very often. And finally is a pinkish-grey bulky weight skein. This one is very soft, spun from a mound of fluff. Not exactly sure how it was processed. The locks were not distinguishable, so maybe something like a batt?

Must keep going! What else is good to make for samples?

flip-top mitts

Every year I sell fingerless mittens at Christmas, people always ask about those convertible flip-top type. They go from fingerless to full mittens – BAM! And I always say, “yes, I should do that! Maybe next year.” A year goes by, nothing happens. I don’t think about mittens in July. Well, I didn’t really think that much about mitts this summer either, but I decided to try the flip-top mitts anyway. It was interesting. For next time I need to make the edges overlap just a wee bit more. Buttons and loops to secure the flap, and we’ll be done! Except I have to make the other one to match. That’s the hardest part!

favoritest mitts ever!

Is it just me, or do you fall in love with your projects? I think I’ve brought this up before in regards to yarn. I find that I will knit something and think, “this is the best _____ I’ve ever made!!” And it will be admired for a time before I knit the same thing again and say, “THIS is the best ______ I’ve ever made!”

Well, this time the fill in the blank is mitts. I seem to make a lot of them. Prior to my current favorite, I was mad about these embroidered peach mitts from January. It was very exciting, adding the details and using handspun.

Just this past weekend I finished a pair of fingerless mitts that are my new favorite pair. I knit them using a yarn I spun when I was going crazy for long-draw. The beautiful handdyed wool locks came from Neauveau. It’s Merino, something I generally avoid, but as locks it’s really fun. I love the texture on these and the way the colors made little blocks. Also, they don’t particularly match.

who needs mitts in july?

No one, I suppose, but this is probably the best time to be making them. Last summer I decided I’d make for-sale items all through the year and not be scrambling in November. And guess what? It was a good idea. But did I do that again this year? Not really.

Over the past few weeks I have not been able to decide what to knit. I look through my books and my print-outs and my Ravelry queue, but nothing seems interesting. That’s when I figured it would be smart of me to knit for my December sale. Brilliant!

My goals for this year’s sale include:
Fingerless mitts
Full mittens (new)
Tea cozies with pots (new)
Tea cozies without pots (new)

I will not be making any new neckwarmers. Those don’t sell very well. Part of the problem is that people don’t like wool (especially on the neck). Part of the problem is that I have a skinny neck and not everyone else does, so what fits me doesn’t fit them and I’m miserable at making multiple sizes. If I do the tea cozies, it’s like making neckwarmers except the teapots don’t complain!

Nearly complete fingerless mitt. Knit from handdyed recycled sweater wool

Two brown teapots who need sweaters.

in use

These are the wildly red-orange fingerless mitts I made for Justin in Pittsburgh. He sent me of photo of them in use! yay!

catching up

Sometimes I post about one exciting thing, and sometimes I have several small things to mention. Today is more of the latter.

I’m finally getting to the end of my large batches of Falklands and Romney. By next week I should be adding the last of those to the Etsy shop. Currently those are the bulk of my listings. I enjoy spinning Romney, but it doesn’t make a soft yarn, so I’ll have to come up with something non-snuggly to make with it. I had 12 ounces left to dye and decided those will all be spun by me instead of sold. There is about a pound left of the “Falklands” too, and I will likely spin most of it myself, even though I hate it! Not buying Falklands from RH Lindsay again. In the next few weeks I will be adding Corriedale spinning fiber after quite a significant absence.

Last Saturday I checked out a sewing/knitting shop near Rich’s place of business for the first time. It was more sewing than knitting, but I did pick up a few things. I bought some alpaca top to make braids for my SCA garb. And I bought a tiny circular needle, size US 6, made by Clover. When I saw them (and I’ve seen them other places), I thought: “Do the Japanese have some secret project that they need wrist-sized circs? Clover is the only company that makes these!” So I went to work on a fingerless mitt, just to see how it worked. Quite an experience.

About a week ago I felted my clogs and couldn’t decide whether to send them around the washer again or just wear them. In hopes of taking up some space, I put a little piece of felted sweater in as an insole, which also made the bottom thicker. Yesterday I put them on regardless of size and I have them on right now. Even though they are too big and floppy in the width, they are so warm! Still debating on another felting.

working girl!

On Tuesday I actually started a new job and so far they haven’t decided I’m not the one.  It’s at a newspaper not far from where I went to university, so I’m familiar with the area and the drive.  Unfortunately/fortunately it’s just part-time.  On one hand I still have my afternoons free to do “stuff”, but I don’t make enough to really support myself without acquiring a second job.  If I was doing better on Etsy that might help, but I’m not so it’s pointless to be wistful.

So, I suppose I could blame the new job for my lack of posting.  I have been knitting lately.  Recently I had two big pairs of fingerless mitts to make – one for my sister’s fella and one for a friend of mine.  The latter has an interesting style that does not conform to the rules by which men dress themselves, so I took it as an opportunity to use that incredibly bright orange yarn I dyed last week.  I threw in a few spots of green too.  He says he likes them!

Not sure what’s next on my list.