Aran Island Mittens

Pattern: Aran Island Mittens from Folk Mittens
Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool DK
Needles: US 2 for cuff US 3 for mitten body

I finished these about a week ago and finally got around to sewing in the ends this morning. I love this pattern (once I copied and blew up the painfully tiny chart), but was disappointed with the yarn. It splits extremely easily and the stitch definition was odd, as if the yarn doesn't have any elasticity. For example, no matter what I did the reverse stockinette stitches where two needles met were always stretched causing a noticeable vertical line of exaggerated stitches. I even tried, although not very hard, to even them out by pulling their neighboring stitches a little more taught, but it didn't help at all. It's unfortunate because otherwise it's a warm, soft, comfortable yarn. Except for the full ball I have leftover, I will never use this yarn again.

The mittens themselves are comfortable though, and I was pleasantly surprised that they were the perfect length for me as charted. I didn't make any alterations to this pattern except to use the smaller needles for the cuff, which I wish I would have done for my angora mittens.

Beginning Peacock Shawl

I've completed the first chart of my Peacock Feathers shawl. The pattern so far is easy, and the charts are fantastic. I love the yarn, but I'm not completely sure of the color with this pattern yet. I don't think I'll be able to tell if I'm happy with it until I get into the larger feathers in the pattern.

More Squares

I'm about half way done with my afghan squares, having done four of the color combinations and have four sets of three squares left to complete. I may end up making more than the pattern calls for since I'm under gauge, but I'll just have to lay it all out and decide when I have the number of squares in the pattern done. These are two of the last color combos I recently finished:

I've also been plugging away at the aran cable mittens and only have the thumbs left. I should have finished photos in the very near future.

How will I ever get anything done again?

I finally got my invite to Ravelry. I should have joined earlier, but tried to avoid it altogether since I barely have time to knit let alone blog. I had things to do this weekend, but all I want to do is hang out looking at projects and work on my own just so I have something to update!

Squares

I've been trying to stick to planned projects only, and (tried to) put a freeze on all yarn purchasing, until I inadvertantly found a free pattern for a cute afghan and couldn't resist. It's just a fun, extremely easy crochet project with lots of color.




This is just one color combination of 8. The squares go quickly, and with the large gauge it'll be done in no time if I stick to it and don't give into anymore distractions or tempations.

Frostrosen in Red

Pattern: Frostrosen
Yarn: Rauma Finullgarn
Needles: US 0 dpn's

This is my second pair of Frostrosen mittens, and while I loved how the first pair turned out, I'm afraid knitting this pair may have started a Norwegian mitten obsession.

I've also fallen completely in love with Rauma Finullgarn. It is so enjoyable to knit with, it has this basic, authentic quality that makes you feel like you are really knitting. I don't know how else to explain it. The fabric is dense and comfortable and the colors remain incredibly crisp and clear.



This pair turned out a bit snug, which I personally like, but I did have to alter the pattern for the thumb a bit. I had to lengthen the thumb by about 4 or 5 rows which made for a much more comfortable fit. I think if I'd used size 1 needles the pattern would have fit comfortably as charted. Regardless, I love them.