Fee, Fly, FO, Phooey

I finally wove in the ends on the fingerless mits that had been finished since months ago, got them photographed, and put the pattern up on my knitting blog.  This is the pair I knit in a navy DK weight yarn.

The Caron Simply Soft yarn also works very well.  (Caron says their Simply Soft yarn is a “Medium:4,” which is worsted weight, but it’s on the far end of the skinny side of worsted.)  (see at right)  I did change the pattern up from the way I knit these two example pairs in that the ribbing around the base of the fingers and the thumb is done in twisted rib to give it more spring-back when it’s stretched.   I’m doing another pair in some discontinued-brand snob yarn (cotton/silk blend) I got on sale in 2018.  They are 50 gram skeins and I’m going to see if I can, indeed, get two mitts out of one skein.  (I do have two skeins of this pewter grey — in case I can’t.)  (When in doubt, hedge your bets. ) I’ll do the twisted rib as (re-)written in the pattern on this pair.

My current digs are in a two-bedroom duplex.  The bedroom I’m using as a bedroom (I’m using the middle one as an “office”) is at the back of the house and has a sliding glass door from the 1970’s (as in ‘no energy efficiency at all’), and even with three pairs of drapes over the door, it still gets durn cold back there when the temperatures dip below zero.  I like to read in bed for the comfort and warmth, but that’s also where my knitting nook is.  When I’m knitting, a lap robe does for the legs and lower torso, but the fingers get cold.  Fingerless mitts I could both  knit and read in seemed the obvious solution.  Les voilà.

Of course, now that it’s half past winter (and only two years after I started it!), I’ve finally finished my “Malguri Morning” shawl.  (I made one for C. J. and one for Jane, and kind of got burned out on making a third one for myself.). It’s nice and big, just like I like a shawl to be.  Like a big warm hug.   I’ll be using it as a transition piece as the weather warms up — wear a long-sleeved, but lighter top, and wear this shawl over it in the mornings and evenings when I need a little extra warmth.

The Malguri Morning shawl is a very, very simple knit.  So simple a beginning knitter could make it.  All you need to know is knit stitch, purl stitch and knit front and back (kfb).  It’s made with bulky yarn, in garter stitch, with a two-stitch stockinette stitch border and doesn’t need to be blocked.   This one’s made with the Loops and Threads Charisma yarn, which is acrylic, but very soft and squishy.  This done in the colors “Northern Light” variegated and “Electric Blue” solid yarns.

“Mrs. Crocombe’s Braided Delight” is coming along nicely.  It’s in a bulky acrylic yarn that I bought in the early 1980’s that’s long been discontinued. (I’ve had it for almost 30 years — talk about deep stash!) Once I finish it, I’ll wash it and use (hair) conditioning rinse as fabric softener to alleviate the scratchiness, and then I’ll “kill” it when I block it to give it a nicer drape.  It’s going to be quite a long rectangular shawl as I want to be able to wear it with the right end thrown over my left shoulder.  I’ve got a couple of repro ancient Celtic penannular broochs, and one of them would be killer to pin it in place with.

The  off-center braided cable detail is understated, but elegant, and adds a nice texture against the garter stitch.  This is another one of my mindlessly easy shawl patterns.  This would be a good “intro to the braided cable” piece for a beginning knitter.  Bulky yarn on US15 (10 mm) needles goes fast.   Unfortunately, it’s at a size now where it’s almost too big to knit on it at the computer.

I am STILL being plagued by a fly.  Apparently, There Can Be Only One.  I kill that one, and the next day, there’s another one.  I’m durned if I know where they’re coming from, but I’ve had enough of the little buggers to last me til the peanut butter season, to quote a certain Possum. 

Well, only one thing to do:  Put on a Zepplin playlist, work on the right mitt I’ve already gotten about two thirds knitted and slide on into the weekend.  Valhalla, I am coming. . . .  plus ça change . . .