#imnotsewingtonight #illbeknitting

The yarn is Silk Garden Lite by Noro.



This set is going to be for my friend Debbie. Her hands are just a little smaller than mine.



One was done a few days ago.



Tonight, I'm watching Netflix, under my Mod Pop quilt, and working on the second one.

The pattern is my own, and for those who asked, I might just write it up soon but if you want to just make it from my photos, go for it. It's just some knits and some purls after all.

Best,

Leanne

Embracing winter

I live in Canada and it gets cold here. Despite that fact, each and every year I try to ignore it - some lingering connection to the rebellious teenager who did not wear a coat and certainly never did it up, no hat, no mitts, boots only if they were cool ones, etc.



But as the cold weather sets in, my hands get cold sweeping snow off my car, and running errands, and having actually walks outside. So after I knit some fingerless gloves for my kid, I made some for me.



The pattern is my own (you might know that I have been knitting since I was a small child and would consider myself a far better knitter than quilter). Long enough cuff to go under or over my coat, a cinch in at the wrist, texture on the backs of the mitts but a smooth inside, ribbing at the end to keep them from stretching with use, and a gusset thumb for comfort. I made them long enough to leave just enough of my fingers free to use my iphone.



I love making mittens and fingerless gloves as they are fast, with enough going on to keep one interested. Before you know it you are making the second one.



The yarn is Malabrigo Rio, in colourway 121 Marte, and it is a pure merino superwash wool. It is a very soft wool and as it is superwash the mitts will not felt and shrink when they get wet from the snow.

p.s. The very astute of you will see that I have not washed and blocked these mitts yet. I keep pulling them out to wear. But I will try to do that tonight after I finish being outdoors - every new knit benefits tremendously by that first washing and blocking.

I'm about to cast on some mittens. I have some lovely pairs already but one can never have too many. By the middle of January, even I see the value of warmer fingers and less outside phone use.

Best,

Leanne

Sewing tech and knitting, it's the weekend.

My Horizon sewing machine went to the shop to get it's tension and needle adjusted and when they turned it on the motherboard fried. So it is still in the shop which meant no sewing (I do have another beautiful old singer but have I gotten around to getting it operational? Of course not. She will go the shop when I pick up the Horizon.)

 Late yesterday afternoon, I dug into my cupboard and pulled out this little Featherweight. Well, I was not even sure it was a Featherweight, the instagram folks set me straight, as the manual says it is a Singer 221-1 and the serial number says it was made in 1952.  I have owned it for many, many years - my husband picked it up for me at a garage sale for $20 - and I had pretty much forgot about it. Well, turns out after I added oil and fussed with the tension for a while, it works and it is so cute. I need to order more bobbins and needles as I have only one of each.



In the meantime, without a sewing machine, I joined a knit along, the Follow Your Arrow Mystery Shawl KAL, which is here on Ravelry. The KAL is being run by my favourite Scottish knit designer Ysolda. The yarn is angora from Louisa Harding which I had in sufficient quantity in my stash.

By the way, if you knit and have not yet joined Ravelry, you really should - that is where all the internet knitters hang out, there are over 3.8 million members and generally at least 5000 knitters are on line at any time I go there.

Oh and there is one of the scissor tags that I won from Benta at Sarah's online baby shower. They are lovely tags, and now my scissors are safe from careless teenagers, thank you Benta!



While I am talking about knitting, I finished and blocked my Snowfling Mittens (yarn and pattern from Tanis Fiber Arts). Blocking knitting is just washing the finished product and laying it out to dry after patting it into its correct dimensions. When I washed these I also gave them a lot of firm tugs to even out the colour changes in the stitches. It made such a big difference in how smooth and pretty the mittens are. So don't forget to block your knitting, even mittens and socks, you will be very happy with the result.



If you look carefully at the in progress photo above you can see the difference. look at how bumpy they are. It is also helpful to know this so you are not so fussed about those bumps as you are knitting them in the first place.

By the way, my Horizon's demise, and Katy's encouragement sent me on a trip to visit here. I am going to return and try one of these out next Saturday. I am caving fast.  What would you do if you had just enough space and probably could manage the financing? I do love the quilting part of making quilts. We shall see what my dear spouse says too.

I hope you are having a great weekend, I have to do day job work today and I have a gruelling week ahead, but I will sneak in some time with that little Featherweight machine too. I guess I need to name her.

Best,

Leanne