Monday, December 23, 2013

Happy Holidays, Mittens and the Q4 FAL schedule

Infinity Scarf

I am wearing that infinity scarf as I write this and it is making me smile. I have fabric to make more for presents and such, but to gift for next year.

Snowfling Mitts

I have been working on my Snowfling Mittens. The pattern and yarn are from Tanis at Tanis Fiber Arts. I modified the mittens by flipping the pattern so that the mittens mirror each other rather than look the same on both hands. For an asymmetrical pattern like this one, I knew it would make me crazy not to. I just scanned it and flipped the pdf in my computer and printed it out the other way round.

Snowfling Mitts

The inside of the hands has this pretty snowflake pattern. I have worn these mittens without their linings, despite the fact that they are not finished or blocked, but last night I started knitting the lining.

Snowfling Mitts

You can see the lighter sock weight lining yarn (it has some cashmere in it) which is a lovely bright turquoise. You just knit another mitten shape and then tuck it into the first one. When I am finished I will have fully lined mittens which are really warm. I am keen now to finish the linings so that I can wear them some more.

Snowfling Mitts

This is a picture from a last weekend. I knit the smaller mitten on the right first, using the needle size that the pattern called for. It was just a little snug on my hand, so I knit the one on the left with a needle the next size larger to see how it looked and fit. Since the larger one was much better, I took apart the smaller one and reknit it. If you look carefully you can see my other pattern modification. On the larger ones I added one extra row of background (blue) stitches above the chevrons on the cuff so that it matched the row at the bottom.

she can quilt

In Finish - A - Long news, here is the schedule to bring Q4 to a close, and to get Q1 of 2014 handed over to our new host from Scotland,  Katy from The Littlest Thistle. If you don't already follow Katy's wonderful blog, I recommend that you start so that you don't miss any of the FAL 2014 fun.

  • January 1:          The link opens to start posting your Q4 finishes. 
  • January 2 - 7:     We have 5 wonderful tutorials scheduled.
  • January 8:          The link to post your Q4 finishes will close at midnight MST
  • January 9:          The link to post your Q1, 2014 list  will open over at Katy's blog.

I'll tell you more about the tutorials later this week, after the family and friends have been and gone. I am looking forward to see all the finishes as this year draws to a close and I wanted to make sure you knew that the schedule will give you lots of time to be finished your own celebrations before Q4 ends.

I wish you all the very best holiday season. I hope you will stay warm and safe - despite the abundance of storms and such all over the world - and enjoy time with family, friends and community. 

Best,

Leanne 

18 comments:

Svetlana said...

these mittens are amazing!!! And they'll be so nice and warm with the lining, too.

Anonymous said...

Loving the mittens Leanne ...fabulous! Best wishes to you for an amazing holiday season and a fantastic New Year. Wishing you and yours all that is good. Many thanks for hosting the 2013 Finish A Long and all you hard work in making it happen. Marie x (mlismore@optusnet.com.au)

Susan said...

Those mittens are incredible! What a talent you are! (I'm still hoping to have two quilts finished by January 1- one today, and another over the next week! Wish me luck!)

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Merry Christmas!

Nicole said...

Lovely mittens, and I totally understand about having them mirrored. I can't use directional fabrics or stripes sometimes because of the way they..don't..line..up..properly.

Happy Christmas!

Celtic Thistle said...

Wonderful mittens! Thanks for the Q4 FAL reminder too.

Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year

Benta AtSLIKstitches said...

The scarf is lovely: I made some out of Christmassy fabric and have 4 more to finish by Boxing Day!!! The mittens are amazing, you are so talented!!!! Hope the scissor tags arrived ok xxx

Lynz said...

I love your mittens and slight OCD tendencies - I would have felt the same about those snowflakes!

Vera said...

wow to those mittens! I would never have patience to do such project. Merry Christmas to you too! We are having warm sunny weather here in Europe and it feels more like Easter, lol.

Katy Cameron said...

Love the scarf and mittens :o) Looking forward to your final hurrah on the FAL for this year, but in the meantime, Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Debbie said...

I'm so intrigued by those beautiful mittens! Since I don't knit, I had no idea you would knit a lining out of different yarn. Very cool!! Have a Merry Christmas, Leanne!

Deborah OHare said...

I have made infinity scarf gifts with that same Amy Butler blue. I bow down to your knitting skills. Merry Christmas.

elle said...

Merry Christmas, Leanne. I may need one of these scarfs for myself. A new year present maybe! ;)

Katherine said...

Happy Holidays to you and yours, Leanne!

Oh, such a pretty scarf and those mittens are nothing short of amazing. Still debating on whether it would be safe for me to tackle such advanced looking knitting. You are so talented!

OPQuilt said...

Lovely scarf and mittens, too. Your dedication to your craft is inspirational. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a lovely time with all your family.

Judith, Belfast said...

Have a wonderful Christmas my friend, Jxo

Mary Menzer said...

I have the infinity scarf on my list to make soon - hopefully while still cold enough to use - and like you any more I make will be going into next year's gift closet! So many things to make and just not enough hours in the day for making. Beautiful mittens! I love knitted items - I appreciate everyone's talent, as I can not take that up.

Nicky said...

Adore those mittens of yours!

Well done on the FAL organisation! You have been a brilliant host! I even managed to finish several tops this quarter so lots of quilts to be finished with Katy - I hope! Started too many new things this year though....oh dear!