Continuation of MM

Your comments and kindnesses mean so much to me. Many people who started blogging around the same time I did have moved on, found other interests or forums. Vicki, Norma, and Kim come to mind as some of the few who are still around.  Even locally, blogs brought Susan and I together, and BFF Cheryl happened to find this blog through an internet search.  My life has been enhanced in wonderful ways by the many people I've met in Blogland. Thank you, again. 

Enough with the navel gazing, let's talk about knitting!

It's been very, very cold, with a little snow and chilly winds thrown in, but knitting Clepsydra, has warmed my heart. The flow of the design, along with the lusciousness of golden orange alpaca, creates a seductiveness that keeps me entranced. Not only have I finished one beautiful, sun colored mitten, I’m half way through the next. My love for mittens might be driven by the cold, but having a companion certainly helps.  Even though life has intervened, and Suzy is a bit behind, we're both still suffering from Mitten Madness and we know what our next project will be. You'll know soon enough.

                                                  You must embiggen
As I said, it is cold...biting cold, due to the wind but, the wind ushers in clear blue skies and gorgeous photos. That's not clouds hanging over the mountain peaks, that's blowing snow.  brrrr

I haven't said much about prizes as I didn't want to alert the contest seekers. Prizes will be given as milestones are reached.  Don't alert the media.

Obsession du Jour

Last Friday, just before the end of the work day, Kirsten published her new mitten and I immediately emailed Suzy.

Me: Kirsten Kapur has a mitten I love, Clepsydra*.

Suzy: OMG - LOVE - let's knit them together.... want to?

The short of it is we decided we were being too impulsive, buying (yet more) yarn, starting new projects and, seemingly, showing little control. 

It was Suzy's Mom who set us straight.  What was the harm, the cost was little, and if we enjoyed knitting mittens together, why not go for it? 

We had to acknowledge our love, and slight craziness, for this simple obsession, so the next morning, as soon as we could pull ourselves together, we headed to the LYS for Berroco Ultra Alpaca for our NEW mittens.

Here is Suzy's Clepsydra, color Steel Cut Oats, laying next to her super duper, rock star kitty, Hootie. Hootie doesn't give a hoot.

And here's mine, in Candied Yam, which is the same color as the feathers on chickengrrl Millie's neck. Millie doesn't give a hoot, either.

But, Suzy and I do! We're having fun knitting our way through a great design with great yarn and, when finished, our hands will be warm.  You can call us happy and maybe a little giggly, too.  (We shared a skein of black for the cuff.)

*Clepsydra: klep-si-druh

Out of Hand

The mighty, mini, mitts and mittens have help me recapture the fun in knitting.  Pushing to do larger project, pushing to knit for the blog had become a chore and, while there is love for what's on my needles, there is also a sense of obligation.  Getting caught up in Mitt(en) Madness has been good for my knitting psyche.

Knitting the mitt for our SnB Swap gave me a sense of accomplishment and replenished my desire to knit.  The feeling of instant gratification, of creating something so useful, beautiful, and delightful in the short term, has been the ticket. I'm ready to ride, as finishing a small, doable within days project, is addicting.

Suzy turned me onto the Woodruff mittens and we had a blast picking the yarn, knitting the mittens, and being generally silly and giggly. Usually, we're not prone to the giggles, but knitting mittens has brought out the little grrl in each of us.  Through our silliness, we complained about the complicated nature of the twist and cables but, we knew they'd be worth the effort, and they were!  Tahki Donegal Tweed, is sturdy, warm, cozy and deliciously tweedy. 

While knitting the complicated mittens I had an easier project to turn to, if needed. Cheryl was unable to attend our SnB Swap and, to make matters worse, while she was away her Barbies made trouble.  I felt she needed something to sooth the sadness and ache of missing the grrlfriend fun.

Thanksgiving Day Mitts had just the right amount of cabling to be interesting.  The yarn is the same as she used for her Brioche Hood Hat and it was so soft, silky and squishy.  I shortened the hand by 10 rows and added rows around the thumb opening. Cheryl was very happy and knitting them for her filled a place in my heart.

The mitten madness must continue, as it's brought me so much joy. Suzy and I have found a new object of our obsession, so stay tuned.

Mitten Crazed

See no evil, no wait, hear no evil, no wait, speak no evil, no wait...

Since we couldn't quite figure that out, let's do the clapping song.... 

Um, that didn't go very well either...

Are you sure we're not crazy? Nope, I'm good.

Suzy's Mittens Raveled Here
Mine Raveled Here

Mitten Madness to be continued....

The SnB Swap

As you may have heard, the SLC SnBers are a tightly knit group and, while we have fun every week, the best thing about having a swap is seeing people who can't visit that often.  Sadly, my camera never came out of the bag and when it did, the pictures were crappy. Such is the life, and light, inside a coffee shop. We love our Jitterbug, nonetheless.  

Eliza was the recipient of the lovely Tree of Life mitts and she not only loves them, they fit her perfectly.  Beaverslide, vintage buttons, and a nice pattern, made knitting a pleasure, and seeing them on Eliza hands was icing on the cake.

The very cool gift I received was knit by Kathryn, one of our newest members. She knit a long piece, covered with a two color design that created the number seven, folded it in half, and crocheted around the edge to create a thick mat. It is the perfect trivet for my teapot.

The festivities were fun and raucous.  All the gifts were not only beautifully knit, they were well received. We’re quite a group, and that's a fact.

Positivity

Rather than bemoan my lack of knitting skills, or confess my knitting nightmares, let's end the week on a positive note.  Above you see all the ball bands, or tags, from 2010s yarns. I get a kick out of saving, then trashing at the end of the year.  

Hamamelis, the beautifully blue shawl, has been in the neglected stage of knitting. Usually, I'm not much for neglect but, apparently my knitting prowess has slowed and having multiple large sized projects is grounds for chaos and confusion. This past week Hammy was rescued from obscurity and has grown (and will continue to grow) quite nicely.

The SnB Ewe-tah grrls will be celebrating their 7th anniversary next week (SEVEN years we're been stitching and bitching together!).  The theme  for our swap project is...tah dah! SEVEN. (It was Susan, of course, who had to suggest a theme.) 

Cheryl (bless her) helped me find the right project (but, it's a secret until next week) and, with a little backward and forward knitting (damn that frog!), I made it through the project in a few days.  Deadline knitting averted, due to the misbehaving of my largest project. You gotta love that (or not). sigh

I get by with a little help from my friends and Suzy helped me into the next project, the beautiful tweedy Woodruff mitten. She fell in love at first sight and I tumbled right along with her.  We egged each other into finding the right yarn, which meant a trip to the  LYS, where we found the perfect wool, Tahki Donegal Tweed. She bought the most luscious red and I opted for Charcoal (at least it's not blue!). Knitting the swatch completely sold me on this yarn, as it softened, bloomed, and turned into a lovely fabric. (Someday I'll knit a sweater with this yarn!)

Until I can wrangle the larger project, get it corralled, tamed and behaving well, I will stick with smaller knitting projects (and my friends).