Amsterdam Mitts

This summer I went to the Netherlands with a study abroad trip for library school. We stayed in Amsterdam, Mons (a little town in Belgium), and Rotterdam and I took a side trip to London! Since this was a class, we actually had homework... and one of our assignments was a reflection project. We could do pretty much anything as long as it was made easily available to the entire program and somehow tied in with our trip and our experience with the Dutch Designs excursion.

So I designed and knit a pair of "Delftwear" mittens (inspired by Delftware) and made a blog about the project. :) If you're interested, check it out here...

Kristine's Delfwear Fingerless Mittens

Delftwear Mittens

Spring Break is So Close!

Phew! I'm finally in the home stretch for winter quarter. I just submitted my last assignment for LIS 560 (Instruction Training Strategies) and all I have left to do is one more small assignment for LIS 520 (Information Resources, Services, and Collections) and finish up our group project and then it's spring break 24/7!

I promised my dad a set of golf club covers and I'm getting close to finishing the set up. They have a cuff at the bottom to help them last a little longer too. They sure are goofy looking though...

I'll try to get some pictures of them on the clubs once he has the set. They look less goofy on the clubs...

The 3 iron is completely done (on the right) and the 2 just needs some maintenance. I've almost finished knitting the 4 and then I have two hybrid covers (1 and 3) to knit in purple and gold.  The only problem is the jog in my colorwork on the 2 iron...

When you knit in the round, you get a jog in your colorwork if you don't take preventative action!

This is a pretty common problem with colorwork knitted in the round, but I don't know what to do about it yet. I'm thinking that I'm going to ask my friend Elizabeth who does a lot of colorwork what I should do to repair this... I suspect it's going to be some fancy embroidery. I might also go into Serial Knitters in Kirkland to see what the ladies there have to say. Once I have a plan of attack, I'll post what I end up doing here (maybe with some instructional photos?). :-)

Cabled Trellis Headband - The Newest Work in Progress

Made using 100% Peruvian wool.
Want your own? Check my Etsy shop or email me at knittinsmitten@gmail.com

As you can see in the photo, this headband is still a work in progress; it's still on the needles! I'm just too excited about it to wait any longer. The pattern -- written by me! look for a PDF available soon -- features travelling cables. Normal cables, less adventurous ones that just stay at home, run vertically and twist every so often. Travelling cables, on the other hand, 'move' every single row. That's why I was able to create this trellis design; every row the brown yarn moved one or two stitches to the right or to the left.

Because of the cables, this headband isn't as stretchy, so I've had to do some alterations on my standard headband pattern to make sure it fits an average sized head. I've got it figured out and it will be available for sale in my Etsy shop soon!

I've been reading Thornyhold by Mary Stewart and her beautiful descriptions of Geillis's boarding school and the house she inherits inspired me. I really want to put a cute knitted pink rose on this (so much floral imagery in the book!)... but I worry that it will be too busy. What I'm going to do is knit the flower and takes pictures of the headband with and without it and have the flower be optional.

Wellness update: I know have hayfever on top of "Whitman College Crud". Best week ever. Bleh.

Swirly Headband in "Huskies" (Commissioned)

Swirly Headband in "Huskies"

Model: Liz H.

Hooray!!  This is my first sale from my Etsy store!  This Swirly Headband was commissioned and has been sold.  If you want a headband just like this one (or in different colors or with a different design... I'm flexible!), click here to send me an email or send me a message from my Etsy store!

This headband was completely hand knitted using a technique called Fair Isle, or stranded colorwork.  Two strands of yarn are used at the same time, in this case purple and yellow, with the color not being used carried along the back of the project.  When you want purple to show up, you hold the yellow one steady along the back and knit with the purple yarn.  When you want yellow to show up, you just switch so purple is not being used and do the same thing again.  Traditionally, this method was used to make garments extra warm (twice as much yarn) and the Swirly Headband in "Huskies" is no exception!

Approximately 9.5" wide and 3" tall.

This headband is made from 100% Peruvian highland wool and has been treated with Cascade Yarn's superwash.  The headband is completely lined; this means that there aren't any strings from the color work to get caught on things and so it is twice as warm: a guarantee to keep your ears nice and toasty while cheering on your favorite football team or talking a walk in cool weather.

Model: Liz H.

Dimensions (measure flat as shown on bench)
width: approximately 9.5"
height: approximately 3"
This headband fits an average sized head.

Interested in this headband in other colors?  Check it out in "Yakima" (below) or send me an email at knittinsmitten@gmail.com and we'll talk about other color options.

   

Questions from readers!
Q: Have you done your homework?
A: Most of it... I'm mostly studying for orals (this Friday!!!) and working on Peasblossom when I need a break. When I start reading the same sentence multiple times because I haven't actually read the words, that's when I take a break. But now it's back to public sculptures in the 1960's!