More doubles

Maybe, possibly, well likely not, you remember that Nate the kindly rural mail carrier so loved his first set of these mittens that he asked if I could make him another pair. His special request was to ask if I could knit him a camo-colored pair. Nate is not a knitter and had no idea how difficult it would be to find a worsted weight yarn (or any weight yarn, actually) in a decent camouflage colorway. These mittens, knit in Patons Classic Wool Worsted in “Forest” (#77014), came as close as I could find in a wool yarn.

I don’t know whether or not this colorway’s been discontinued. But it was extremely difficult to find. I couldn’t find it on-line. I finally located one skein in the back of a bin in a shop near me. It was just barely enough yarn to complete the mittens. Shopping in person was more fun than I anticipated:

Me: I’m looking for some camo-colored worsted weight yarn. I really like Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride but I don’t think it comes in any colorway that would work.

Dorinda: How about this, wouldn’t this work…(bringing me to a dark taupe shade of Lamb’s Pride)?

Me: (Puzzled.) No, I really want it to be camo-colored. It’s a special request.

Dorinda: Did you see this color…(bringing me to a darker shade of brown Lamb’s Pride)?

Me: (Even more puzzled). No, that’s all one shade.

Dorinda: What kind of camel are you knitting?

Me: Camo as in camouflage, Dorinda, not as in Bactrian.

Much laughter ensued. And then Dorinda found the one skein in the shop that worked out well.

This mitten pattern is Mittens From the Top, by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Nate thinks his new mittens are the cat’s meow.

But I wasn’t completely satisfied that Paton’s Classic Wool was going to give Nate the warmth of Lamb’s Pride. So I doubled up and knit him another pair, this time in the Lamb’s Pride Old Sage (M-69) colorway. Khaki, the green shade, is sort of in the same aesthetic as camo. There’s nothing much warmer than the Lamb’s Pride mix of wool and mohair.

Next up is a freebie slipper pattern that I’ve knit so many times it’s embarrassing. Nola’s slippers, by Nola Miller. This time I used King Cole Big Value Chunky. It’s a good non-pretentious 100% acrylic that will wear well and wash up easily

One modification to the pattern that I make is to use chunky or bulky yarn rather than knitting worsted weight doubled. I feel that worsted doubled produces such a stiff fabric that feet don’t so much get cuddled as manhandled. Plus, speaking of hands, mine don’t do well knitting worsted with doubled strands.

My other main modification of Nola’s pattern is that I extend the ribbing to form a nice deep cuff. Knit on US size 10 needles, following the pattern yields a slipper that fits a woman’s US size 8-10 foot.

Here’s another Nola’s, this time knit in Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Superwash Bulky. I love the name of the colorway: Explosive Berry. I haven’t used this yarn very often. Good yarn.

Here’s a look at the soles, showing my final modification. I work a 3-needle bind-off that shows up as the center garter stitch ridge. You could bind off and sew the seam instead. But why bother when the stitches are all live. As I recall, there’s an odd number of stitches so I just knit 2 of the stitches together as I bind-off.

Next up is one of Kris Basta’s freebie dorm boots variations: Better Dorm Boots Deluxe. This first pair is knit in Plymouth Encore Chunky. The XL size, with the body of the slipper knit on US Size 9 and the cuff knit on size 10 ends up fitting a woman’s foot from about a size 8 to a size 10 (US sizing).

That little bit of lacework in the cuff dresses up the slipper quite a bit.

Here’s another pair, this time knit in Hayfield Spirit Chunky, an 80% acrylic, 20% wool. It’s been many decades since I knit with Hayfield yarn. It just hasn’t come up in my knitting world lately. A yarn shop near me stocks the yarn and I was drawn to this appealing colorway (Orange Swirl). It turned out to be wonderful to work with. I’d buy it again in a heartbeat.

And finally, the same pattern in Cascade Yarns Pacific Chunky Multi in their Brights colorway. WEBS had it so seriously discounted that I gave it a try. It’s 60% acrylic, 40% wool. For this type of project, it worked out really well. Oops. Not doubles anymore, triples, I meant triples.

I know. I can get ridiculous with my knitting stutters. Double doubles, this time. Here are Basta’s Better Dorm Boots Deluxes again in Plymouth Yarns Encore Chunky.

My recipients always also receive a warning with my slipper gifts: they are slicker than slick and don’t even think about wearing them on hardscape floors. In fact, I call them bedsocks.

I totally enjoy having 100% confidence that what I’m knitting will work out well. Maybe that’s one reason for all these repeats. Plus, with so many of my knit recipients having chilly feet these grown-up booties get snatched up from my choose-your-knit baskets very quickly.

Mitten time

These are Susan Mills Mitered Mittens. It’s the 4th time I’ve knit them and they are tons ‘o fun to work up. I used Bluefaced Leicester Aran Prints by West Yorkshire Spinners. I’ve worked with this yarn before though not in this colorway. The patterning is reliably consistent. But it’s a worsted weight, not an Aran, to my way of thinking. Which made it perfect for this pattern.

These may look complicated but they’re easy–with one challenge (more on that later). They are knit flat in garter stitch.There’s one long seam on the edge opposite the thumb. And there’s a thumb seam on the inside of the thumb. Have you figured out yet how the mitten is formed? You work bottom up, through the thumb gusset. When the gusset’s complete you put the mitten stitches on a holder and complete knitting the thumb. With all the stitches back on the needle, you cast on stitches at each edge. Those stitches get “pulled in” by the centered double decrease–with some extra shaping at the top of the fingers–until the mitten is completed.

It’s totally fun and very ingenious.

About that one challenge: it’s keeping the double decrease centered. The instructions are to use a removable marker to clue you in on when to start the decrease. I’ve probably not confessed this before. I don’t get along well with removable stitch markers. I like to have my markers on my needles where they belong.

Keeping track of the mitered decreases wasn’t working for me until I ditched the suggested removable stitch marker. Instead, I put a “regular” stitch marker in place. Then I slipped the stitch before the marker, removed the marker, slipped the next stitch, knit the next stitch, passed the two slipped stitches over—and replaced the marker before the stitch just knit. Admittedly it’s a super clunky maneuver. And there’s the pesky problem of what to do with that stitch marker for the moment it takes to get it out of the way. Mostly I put the rubbery o-ring marker–don’t be grossed out–in my mouth. But at least I got my decreases in the right place. And I did wash the mitts before I put them into my gift stash.

I had enough yarn left to work up a sort of matching cap. It’s tincanknits Barley, with a sweet pompom added. Check here and here for other versions of Mitered Mittens. My only modification to the mittens was to work a 4″ cuff, which is a tad longer than the pattern suggests.

In this frigid cold and windy November and December, I’ve had lots of mittens on my needles. These next two pair are Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Mittens From the Top. I’ve been wanting to knit them for a long time. As is obvious from the name of the pattern, they’re knit from the top down. They are also knit flat in garter stitch.

I knit both this gold pair and the gray one below in Brown Sheep’s Lamb’s Pride Worsted. They are super warm. Exactly how warm? My brother’s stepson is a rural postal carrier. He chose this pair from my gift stash just before Christmas. Mr. Postman Nate has already asked if I can make him another pair because he “loves these things!”

We owe a lot to rural postal carriers. Another pair of mittens and maybe a matching hat is definitely something I want to do. Cold hands shouldn’t have to be part of the job. Nate is a non-knitter and he doesn’t know that camo ones would be a challenge. Plus I suspect what he most likes about these mittens is the warmth of the Lamb’s Pride mix of 85% wool 15% mohair. I’ve located some camo Aran weight wool yarn that might be warm enough. But I’m also considering simply knitting him a spare pair in some green-gray Lamb’s Wool I have in my stash.

Here’s that second pair of Mittens From the Top, this time in a nice heathered dark gray.

My pattern for this mitten is in Knit One, Knit All. I am fairly certain that my book version of this pattern has errors on the stitch count for the increases. You don’t get to the required 40 stitches at the top of the mitten with a k2, m1 worked all round. (Another Raveler has found the same problem.) This won’t make sense unless you’re working on the pattern, but at the end of the 1st increase, you need 18 stitches. After the 2nd increase you need 27. And after the 3rd one you’ll only get to the 40 required stitches if–when you get to the last 2 stitches–you k1, m1, k1. And I’m also fairly sure that you need to do the same at the last 2 stitches when you increase at the cuff to end up with the required 45 stitches.

I was really on a garter stitch mitten kick. I’ve knot nit oops not knit Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Sideways Mystery Mittens in a month of Sundays. So I had another go at this pattern, using Noro Silk Garden.

The way that the rows of color line up are the biggest clue for how these mittens are knit. The most I can say is that when you follow the instructions exactly as they are written you end up with a mitten. Really. The design of these is so odd that you end up losing confidence that a mitten can result. They’re not any kind of mitten until right at the very end. And then they are. Here’s another pair I’ve knit. Great fun!

If you have the time, consider knitting some mittens. Warm hands, warm heart. And I forgot to mention that each of these mittens fit either hand. You might even want to consider knitting them in sets of three because, of course, a day will come when one mitten decides to go AWOL.

Dressing dolls and other lovies

My now-5-year-old granddaughter, a totally knitworthy child, loves to dress her dolls and stuffed animals in hand knits. She calls the lot of them her “lovies” and delights in changing their clothes.

I knit most of these, including Pixiepurls’  February Doll Sweater, for my granddaughter’s June birthday. COVID-19 kept us many states apart, but we FaceTimed while she unwrapped her present.  This Ravelry-available freebie is knit in Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, a DK weight.  My Ravatar insisted on modeling it.

With some of the leftovers, I also knit the doll boots from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Doll Clothes.The pattern is part of Schoolhouse Press Pattern #26.

One cool thing about knitting for my granddaughter’s lovies is that she isn’t particular about what size clothes she wants. I’ve told her that if she decides she’d like me to make clothes that would fit a certain size lovie, I’ll happily knit to size. But she prefers assorted sizes and always finds something or someone who fits whatever I knit. That definitely takes the pressure off a knitter. Gauge doesn’t matter a bit!

This next sweater is Samantha, knit in Cascade 220 Superwash Effects, a worsted weight. This 1996 Terry Foust pattern is hard to locate.  Actually, it wasn’t hard for me to locate because I pulled the pages out of the magazine many years ago and kept it in a binder with other doll clothes patterns. It was published in the Holiday,1996 issue of Cast-On.

Once again, here’s my Ravatar modeling Samantha. I told her she looked quite coordinated and not garish at all. She told me to mind my own business and that she likes garish, thank you.

My Ravatar couldn’t squeeze into this next sundress and hat combo, not that she didn’t try. The dress is Elizabeth Baird’s freebie, Sun Dress for Bean Bag Toy Animal. I knit it in some sockweight oddments I had left over.

This is such a cute little sundress. A well thought out pattern. One thing? Cast on very loosely because 2 of the teeny sections divided in the first row become the neckline.

I just winged it on the roll edge hat. To make the flowers I cast on 13 stitches on a double pointed needle. I left a long tail when I cut the working yarn. I slid the stitches forward on the needle and threaded the working yarn through the stitches, from the first stitch cast on to the last one. Next, pull tight. Secure the ends. I added a bead onto one of the yarn tails and left it poking through the center of the flower.

Here’s my freebie Sunrise Side Bear looking quite jaunty in her ensemble.

Lambie looks quite nice in the sundress as well, but the hat. Well, the hat rests on her shoulders and sits like a bucket on her head. But Lambie always starts weeping if doll clothes are being modeled and she can’t get a piece of the action. So, here’s Lambie modeling another Dolly Milo. Such a sweet vest! I’ve knit this many times and have definitely gotten my money’s worth out of Georgie Nicolson’s pattern. This version is knit in Plymouth Yarns DK Merino Superwash.

My granddaughter really really got a kick out of the backpack I knit for her lovies. She promptly announced that now they’d be able to go camping. This freebie is Doll’s Day at School, by Rebecca Venton. It’s knit in worsted weight.

My slumping Ravatar’s day at school must have been grueling since she isn’t dressed like she went camping. She’s also wearing a pair of matching legwarmers included in Venton’s Day at School pattern.

With a teeny bit of yarn and a few hours of time a knitter can help unleash a child’s creative play. It feels like such a solid way to connect to a far-away grandchild. Or a nearby grandchild!

Hat weather is here

The lake hasn’t frozen yet, though it’s getting close. On cold mornings there’s a skin of ice extending out from the shore. And the foam that the winds froth up is sort of smoothie texture. Without a hat, ears will soon be feeling pretty frozen.

This hat is “Hungry Horse Hat” a newer DK-weight pattern from Aimee Alexander of Polka Dot Sheep. I don’t know the origin of the pattern name. But I still know that I like the hat. It’s an interesting mix of garter stitch and mesh, designed to be tri-color.

Here’s a look at its well-behaved crown.

Alexander definitely knows how to tame the crown decreases. No pointy head syndrome here.

My Hungry Horse is a mix of critters-of-origin. The gold is Anzula Cricket, 80% merino sheep, 10 percent cashmere goat, and 10 percent nylon chemistry lab. The mesh section is Mountain Goat by Mountain Colors, described on the Mountain Colors’s site and on Ravelry as 50% merino and 45% mohair (which is where the goat comes in). Apparently it’s 5% unidentified something else. And the earband is Shalimar Yarns Breathless DK. Breathless is 75% merino, 15% cashmere goat, and 10% silk. I hesitated before mixing and matching yarns, but I was trying to get a proper color scheme. I’m completely pleased with the outcome. I guess it wouldn’t be too good a hat to test a person’s fiber allergies, though. If your head itches, you could be allergic to just about anything.

This next hat is Jo-Anne Klim’s new fingering weight slouchy: the Woodmere Slouchy Hat.

There’s always a lot of knitting (and yardage) in a fingering weight slouchy, but Woodmere is worth the time and effort. From twisted rib at the start, through that soothing ribbed waffle stitch, and finishing with another well-planned crown.

I knit Woodmere in Wollmeise Twin, a bouncy 80% merino, 20% nylon that worked up very nicely in this pattern. Great stitch definition. And that deep saturated color. I might not be able to put this one out for my holiday pick-your-gift baskets. Klim’s KBJ Design patterns are always keepers!

Here’s another hat from Klim that I’ve knit before: Araluen 

This is knit in one of my personal favorite worsted yarns, Malabrigo Rios. It’s their Purple Mystery colorway. I guess it’s no big mystery why it turned my hands and stitch markers purple while I knit it. That’s not my favorite part of the yarn. And it’s not normal in terms of my experience with Rios. I’ll just need to be watchful if any of the bald men in my circle reach for this one in my holiday gift baskets. I’ll need to steer them to another hat because I’m not sure this one is done bleeding yet. And, yes, another excellent crown decrease.

In fact, an extremely well thought out crown.

And now, for something completely different.

This is Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Maltese Fisherman’s Hat. She is often quoted as saying that the good thing about knitting hats is that some people will put anything on their head. This must be a prime example.

Mine is knit in the Sheepswool Super Bulky that the pattern calls for, available from Schoolhouse Press. It’s actually Bartlettyarns‘ superbulky.

I’m waiting to see if any of my holiday guests reach for this one. Laying flat it looks innocent enough. It isn’t obvious at that point that the hat makes you look like a royal airhead. But there’s nothing warmer than this hat. Maybe ice fisherman should adopt this look. Ice fisherman who actually fish out on the ice, not in a heated ice shanty. Ice fisherman who fish out on the ice alone without any companions and who keep this hat in their pick-up truck and only put it on once no one will see them.

Maltese Fisherman’s Hat is actually a quick fun knit. It puts a knitter in touch with her knitting ancestors. You just have to be brave and wear it with pride.

Knitting comfort food

I believe it’s true that most long-term knitters have certain patterns they return to over and over. You just know that you’ll be satisfied when you cast off. You know it will fit. You know there aren’t any errors in the pattern. You can put your knitting brain into gear and just cruise.

Wonderful Wallaby by Carol A. Anderson of Cottage Creations is a pattern like that. Comfort food. This pattern is so retro that you won’t find it available for download anywhere. Head to your local yarn shop. Or buy it direct from Cottage Creations and they will m-a-i-l it to you. Yes, mail as in an envelope with a stamp. That still works!

I knit this one in Plymouth Encore. Easy-care works better for the young ones. I’m a big fan of the garter stitch hood. And I love the kangaroo pouch. Everyone can use a sweatshirt. My pattern booklet includes sizes for a two year old to the very portly. It looks like the newer booklets include one for kid sizes 2-12 and another for adults.

Bayfront Cap by Melinda VerMeer is more comfort food for me. I’ve knit at least six in the last few years. This yarn has some issues with thick and thin that didn’t quite do the pattern justice. As you can see, you knit miles of ribbing. And about when you are beginning to think maybe this is a tad too much ribbing,

…you get to this beautiful crown decrease. So pretty. So well thought out. So not suffering from PHS (Pointy Hat Syndrome.) Bayfront Cap is a wonderful knit.

Here’s another knitting recipe that always works up right: Katharina Nopp’s Wurm.

Mine is knit in Stonedge Fiber Mills Crazy. Crazy is basically a DK weight that’s constructed of a number of colorways. No knots, just spun together. No two skeins are the same.

I call this my Earth Wurm. Wurm is a yarn eater.  I always need more than the 175 yards of sportweight the pattern calls for. I guess I like extravagantly slouchy Wurms.

And then there’s what some now apparently call the Dairy Queen Hat. But it’s no Dairy Queen Hat. It’s Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Snail Hat. I’ve knit mine in exactly what the pattern calls for: Sheepsdown, sold by Schoolhouse Press.

I use size 10 needles. And I’ve made several over the years. You need to be very brave (or very cold) to wear the snail hat.

I very much enjoy knitting it. Just because no one eats the jello salad anymore–you know the one, with all the colorful layers–doesn’t mean you don’t make it anyway. (I still sort of like that salad, by the way.)