Ode to My Mittens

Oh, Mittens, so warm and snug
Who, though not as I thought I wanted,
Have proved your worth.

Oh, Mittens, knit from the yarn
Spun from the wool
On my spindle so fair and so true.

Yarn that betrayed me by
Running when washed only
After the stitches all had been made.

I was ready to send you
To the closet that would have
Been a sentence of invisibility.

Oh, Mittens, who hold back
The wind and the cold
No matter how cold and how strong.

No matter if snow must be shoveled
Or windscreen scraped clean
Nothing can penetrate you.

I sing your worth and your strength
And your warmth.
Thank you, faithful Mittens.
Surprising Mittens.
Worthy Mittens.

Something just didn't seem right

You know the feeling when something just isn't right?  You can't just put your finger on it but you know something's off.

Take my Selbu mittens for instance.

Here's the first one.

I got started on the second one and knit right along until I'd almost finished the main part.  I proudly held it up for my Mom to see when I had one of those moments. 

See anything wrong?

See it now?

I could have cried.  Instead I laughed.  Know what I did?  Let me 'splain.

I don't like to work charts from the book.  Too hard to keep track.  I prefer to make a copy and use my metal sheet and magnets.  Now, I'd changed the initals and dates so I had to chart those out on a separate chart, tracked on a different metal sheet and different magnets.  Then the little band at the bottom was an easy, peasy little chart so I just used the book for that.

Somehow, in the resulting jumble of charts, I got ahead of myself.  The really weird thing is that I'd done the first little section of the book chart but not the rest.  I plead insanity on this thing because I have no recollection of the thing.

While I was laughing/crying and admitting to the universe that it got me good, I realized that I only had to pull out the first 3 rounds and I could pick up the stitches and knit the book chart down to finish off the chart.  No one will ever know.

So I ripped out the 3 rounds of ribbing.






Then picked up the stitches...

Then started knitting.

Hopefully I'll be able to get it all finished tomorrow night and I'll let you know how it goes.

Selbu Mitts

When I was in Michigan a few weeks ago, I came across a wonderful book called Selbuvotter, Biography of a Knitting Tradition by Terri Shea.  One of the things I like most about the book is that, in addition to amazing patterns from authentic Selbu mittens and in addition to notes on construction, etc., there is a great overview of the history of Selbu knitting and the knitters who originated it and popularized and spread it.

I decided I wanted to spin some yarn to make one of the patterns to really get into the feel of it.  The yarn was 2-ply, more or less fingering weight or a little less and "rustic."  I'll leave it at that!

So, here is the first mitten done:

Traditionally it would have been knit with black and white but I had blue so mine are knit in blue and white.  So there!