Warm weather mittens

Warm weather mittens

Mitten number one is done and the second one is started. It seems odd to be making mittens when the outside temperatures are running in the high eighties, and expected to go higher tomorrow and through the weekend. I really don't like this time of year, well the weather anyway. There is a monotony to it that is much harder for me to take than the long stretches of winter rain and overcast.

But about the mitten. I'm using a pattern from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. It's one of those books that gives you step by step instructions for different gauges and a wide range of sizes. A lot of Ann Norling's patterns are set up the same way. I find I have to be careful to follow the right column and gauge. I don't, as a rule, write in my pattern books and magazines. I'd make a copy but my scanner doesn't work anymore and I'm too lazy to go to Kinko's. So I have to be careful. So far I've only had to back up once on this pattern. I think the thumb is too long but I made it exactly like the pattern and I don't have a six year old available to try it on.

A fun day at Skein. Three quarters of the Monrovia Mom's came in for a couple of hours. There were socks to be examined, and praised. I got them started last week and was planning to cover heel flaps and turning the heel today. They had already done it, using their pattern and some online tutorials. I helped one get started on her attached I-cord for the felted bag she's making. And we practiced a couple of different cast-on methods. Other than that it was laughing and joking and eye-rolling. One of the things I like about this group is their willingness to try different things.

Patrick, my cat, likes the heat even less than I do. He spends most of his time sleeping, well he did that anyway, but now he stretches out on the tile instead of on a chair. And he does not want to play, except around eleven at night. And even then his interest fades pretty quickly. For which I'm thankful.