A pile of mitts

I should have taken a photograph of the ones I am wearing today, as still not shown here and they are my favourites... But wristwarmers. Today - the last day of April. My, it is chilly. Anyway, this pile were all Christmas presents for Patch's lovely teachers (which will hopefully explain the dark quality of these photographs)

The pattern I enjoyed knitting the most was the camp out fingerless mitts

 This is a free Ravelry pattern by tante ehm, and was such a fun way to use up some leftovers. The main part of the mitts are in Drops big merino - the lighter colour is marble, and the dark anthracite. For the garter stitch section of the lighter mitt I held some discovered mohair looking yarn with the strand of marble, and for the darker mitts used up some Rico fashion country Aran in aubergine.

Next is a pattern I have wanted to make for an age, because of my love of garter stitch

The pattern is from the book Stylish Knit Scarves and Hats with Mademoiselle Sophie, and are an even easier make then the camp out fingerless mitts, which do require some picking up stitches. These were made from a random ball of Rowan pure wool dk in the parsley colourway. So satisfying finding lovely knits for these long hoarded balls of yarn.

And the last pair are another free Ravelry pattern, this time the maize mitts by tin can knits, made in Drops big merino marble again. I did spy poor Hettie wearing hers this morning as she huddled in the playground before school. Always lovely to see hand knits being worn, but not at the end of April. Here's hoping for some warmer weather! Though you may have to put up with seeing woolly, wintry makes for a little longer here as I have a lot of catching up to do...

Clara's cape... The last of knitvent2017

Oh it is cold and grey today. The morning has gone in a whirl of general tidying and sorting, and I think the few hours left before getting Patch from school may be spent curling up with a podcast and woolly make... sounds delightful. Also this chilliness makes me feel that I'm not too late in showing some rather woolly makes. Though no doubt I will still be catching up with past wintry makes even when the sun does decide to return.

The last of the knitvent2017 patterns was a gorgeously simple, quick knit chunky cape

 So lovely. I knit the larger of the two sizes so that I can wear it over layers, and it also fits over my coat. The yarn (unsurprisingly) is Drops Andes in light grey, and it really is so soft and snuggly. I do wish I had thought about the yarn overs in the pattern - you can see that they only really appear to the right of the stocking stitch sections - and of course I should have altered the way I was doing them when going onto purl stitches. It did, and does, bother me slightly. Though not enough to redo the cape.

This was my first time knitting through one of Helen's knitvents, and I will be tempted again as the patterns have all had so much wear this wintertime. I like this photograph of my knitvent pile looking oh so cosy

A renewed love of legwarmers

This wintertime I knitted my first pair of legwarmers (not that these are the first legwarmers in my life, I did grow up during the 1980s) but forgetting those distinctly acrylic versions, these are my first hand knit pair. And oh they are a dream. After the beautifully sunny weather of the past few days, it has become chilly once again here in Suffolk and so the legwarmers are back on.

This renewed love of legwarmers began as soon as I saw the fifth pattern in Helen Stewart's Knitvent2017 collection, the marzipan legwarmers. I knew that I wanted my pair to have the fluffiness of alpaca and be a charcoal colour. Perhaps not the best decision for a cabled pattern, which would have shown up more on a lighter and smoother yarn, but there was no changing my vision

 The yarn is Drops Puna, a 100% alpaca, in dark grey. The surprising thing about this pattern was that I only knitted to row 96, which is about half of the suggested length. I am quite short, and also wear them slouchy rather than pulled up like a ballerina, but I feel like the full pattern would make some rather long legwarmers.

 

I seem to have a few makes in progress at the moment, though they are steadily being completed. The one that I have been loving this week is my jumble blanket as quite unexpectedly it appears to be almost finished. I should make the most of the chillier evenings this week as warmer weather usually means blanket making gets replaced with smaller projects for me. Just look at these colours!

And now, the Tchaikovsky hat and mitts

I feel rather like our kit Miss Ethel today... I've searched the house for the sunniest, warmest spot to settle into. Strangely it isn't already occupied by Miss Ethel (who is curled up on the bed having found a warm spot as soon as the bed was vacated this morning). I plan to stay here as long as I am allowed, or at least until the sun moves on. It's probably warmer outside actually... We have no heating again. Sigh. This winter will be remembered as the year of mud and feeling cold. Though a great excuse for the woolly makes as we all know wool keeps us warm - preferably with continuous mugs of coffee and possibly some cake or chocolate.

Because of the sun there is no need for wristwarmers in the house today, but oh my have they been put to good use this winter

 The patterns are the Tchaikovsky hat and mitts, the third instalment in Helen Stewart's Knitvent2017.  Grey is my default go-with-anything colour (along with navy, and tan. Or navy and tan) and mainly because I wanted a grey hat, the mitts also ended up being grey. The stitch definition with this CoopKnits Socks Yeah DK weight yarn is oh so clear, and this particular grey is Minos.

Though I did get gauge both of these knits have ended up being slightly large - I probably should have reduced the width of the mitts by a pattern repeat or two, and I did stop knitting the top ribbing by a few rows as my little finger was already hidden. The mitts have a thumb hole, which I prefer possibly over a thumb section maybe, but this one on me is a bit gapey so not as snug as could be. And while I love the deep ribbed section on the hat, again it is slightly big on me, but this has not stopped both of these being my go to knits this winter. Though I would quite like to stop reaching for the woolly hats and mitts now please, Spring. Time for some pretty shawls to be worn.

The sun is still shining through the window, I am yet to be discovered, so I shall stay warm with this lovely Spring-like crochet...