That’s very odd…

I have recently been knitting mitts – fingerless mittens, handwarmers, wristies – whatever it is you want to call them. I have always known them as mitts, as opposed to mittens which are closed in at the fingers and have a thumb section… but I digress

I had some spare yarn kicking around and elected to knock up some cheap and cheerful generic mitts for next week’s stall at the Christmas Fair.

The yarn is Noro Kureyon. So I don’t expect to have fully matching pairs – and that is the charm of the yarn… but what I want to know is: why I seemingly am incapable of knitting any pair matching in any respect whatsoever.

These will be bargain basement sellers, methinks. Or single mitts for one-handed people. *sigh*

You may admire a hat instead

A second “Noro Hat”

We had a simply terrible night last night – the wind only got up to F8, gusting to 53mph, but seemed much worse because the wind was from the West and was battering the bedroom window. It chucked it down at times, and sounded like hail now and again. But today? Today, the sun came out! It rained as well, of course, but the sunshine has been very nice.

Here’s a hat-in-progress. A funny-looking thing, but somewhat fun.

I sorted out my work basket today and I seem to have a fearsome number of WIPs. After next weekend I shall knuckle down to some completions. I shall make a list. FOs will flow from this blog like a stream of bounty…

…maybe. Until the next attractive pattern comes along and brings with it a burst of castonitis. I should probably be realistic and just keep to the 2 for 1 rule – and finish two items before casting on anything new. Eventually I should reach the end of the pile. I just need to prioritise a little… and the main priority ought to be the casting on of Mr L’s sweater.

Actually, I am more than ready to begin some large projects. I am tired of one skein wonders. Mr L and I were looking at this the other day, and I would have gone for it if it were not for the fact that Colourmart price in USD and the exchange rate is not very attractive right now. To knit it in their 20/60 DK Silk (I want this one) would cost me £27 plus p&p. That’s off-budget right now. What? Oh, yes, you are quite correct, he would look very silly in it but he’d still regard it as his treat, if I knit it for me. IYSWIM *cough*

For him, I still have the New Lanark Mills DK wool. We can’t agree a pattern. I want to make Jared’s Cobblestone Pullover but would have to sort the gauge out. Mr L hates round necks. But I don’t like knitting V necks and really there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of up to date patterns with V’s anyway. And this is I think why the thing isn’t knitted yet. I am stuck on the Cobblestone – I love it – and I just can’t warm to Mr L’s notion of what constitutes “a nice sweater.” Every pattern I look at and like seems to be at odds with the gauge for the yarn that I have, though. There was a time when any pattern you picked up would call fro DK – now it seems to be quite unusual. Everything is chunkier – but Mr L wants a desk sweater – not too warm and certainly not chunky. Definitely not Aran weight.

EDIT – we have arbitrated and, pending a ball count, I think we are going for this one. My yarn seems close enough in quality, just a tad thinner, but the gauge concurs with my swatch. I may need to buy the appropriate circs, then we can get stuck in.