deathflake j

Deathflake mittens knit by Leah, for big bro Jesse. Same pattern mash-up and style as the Deathflake pair she knit for cousin Zach.

Zach's pair were knit with Peekaboo slit for his fingers while bike riding, in Zach's favorite colors of black and turquoise. Jesse's were knit with slit for trigger finger access for his Airsoft gun, in camo-compatible black and Army green. They are as yet unblocked but got put to good use yesterday during a three-hour Airsoft match with his buddies on a day where the temps did not get above freezing.

deathflake z

Leah knit these mittens for cousin Zach for Christmas. She did a mash-up of the Deathflake chart and an opening evolved from the Peekaboo mittens (so he could poke his fingertips out when he needs to, except she overlapped the ribbed flaps for warmth), using Ella Rae yarn that's a heavier weight than called for, so they're super thick. She switched to smaller needles for the top solid black section, to keep the peekaboo ribbing from bulging out and also keep the solid black section the same gauge as the stranded portions.

I know the mittens look like the left one is way smaller than the right, but that's an optical illusion because this picture was taken on a pile of fresh snow, so the left one is at a different angle than the right, but you can't tell because it's all disappearing whiteness! They match and they're cool.

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Thanks for all the input on the Estonian Garden Wrap. You all came up with some excellent ideas, potential solutions that I hadn't even thought of. Ruth, especially, thanks for the idea of doing the ends in the darker yarn and the center section in the lighter skein. I think that would be the best option if I had my heart set on making this pattern using these two skeins and nothing else.

Even though "quit yer fussin'" is slightly ahead in votes, I think Deb R :::howdy neighbor!::: hit the nail on the head when she said if it's bugging me now, I'll never be happy with it, so I'm leaning toward tearing the whole thing out. No biggie. But I'm also not going to rush because one other idea has since popped into my head. I bought this yarn at Spa Knit and Spin last Feb. and will be there again in just two short months. The Woolen Rabbit will be a vendor there again this year, so maybe I'll write to Kim and ask her to bring the darkest skeins she has of that Arabian Nights colorway and I'll see if I can match it up there.

If not (or even maybe if so), LaurieM was kind enough to put up a pic of a sweater she has in progress, made from a free pattern I've had my eye on for a long time, and that led me to browse other versions of that sweater on Ravelry, which led me to this version. Substitute in some Woolen Rabbit purple for the yoke, a cone of midnight blue Harrisville heathered yarn for the body, and whoa, could be awesome. Or maybe some spectacular twisted stitch gloves from Laris' designs. Options galore!

Off to play with fire. :-)

satisfies all requirements

Leah, the Christmas elf, wanted to make a pair of mittens for somebody. Requirements included: 1) not girly design, 2) not boring to knit, 3) fingerless/flip-top for dexterity, 4) very warm. She bopped around on Ravelry until she formulated a plan that would satisfy all requirements, picked up some yarn at an entirely awesome knit night at our favorite lys a few days ago (following bbq wings and beer/lemonade at a nearby restaurant with a fun group of knitters), and left this on my desk yesterday afternoon:

It's a mash-up of the peekaboo mittens and deathflake chart, but she'll be modifying the peekboo opening so it overlaps.

There's a problem in the top section as a result of looser gauge with 1-color knitting and also maybe because of the peekaboo ribbing, so she'll rip that back and try something different soon. Suggestions welcome for this challenge. Smaller needles? Decrease stitches? Continue 2-color knitting (palm is checkerboard, but might look odd to have stranded knitting above deathflake motif but not below)?

Other than that glitch, she is psyched about mittens as a perfect project -- not too big, not too small, opportunity to keep it interesting but not take forever, eminently practical here in Connecticut, infinite options.

score!

We spent Super Bowl Sunday, as has been the case for three out of the last four years, hanging with a couple hundred knitters/weavers/crocheters/spinners at Webs for their pre-game bash.

Such a fun and festive time, meeting old friends and new (in clusters like this throughout the store, down every aisle, in every nook and cranny!), enjoying the snacks, petting the pretty yarns, and working on our projects. Jesse came along because, even though he probably wouldn't admit it, he has a darn good time at these events too. My budding weaver found the loom room fascinating and had a good time chatting about yo-yos and fiber arts among the other folks enjoying the snacks. Lots of people liked his Deathflake mittens and he did proclaim it quite convenient to have a sister who knits such great stuff for him.

Leah has reached the armholes on her cabled sweater and is thrilled to be zipping along on those shorter rows. She expects to finish one front panel today and there's a bunch of snow in the forecast tomorrow, so she's setting aside a couple of Netflix DVDs and doing a happy Snoopy dance about the possibility of finishing the second front panel tomorrow.

Leslie Wind's cable needle necklace is included in this pic because it's been put to use on every single set of crossed stitches you see here and has become one of Leah's favorite and most important knitting accessories. She's also loving those Knitpicks Harmony interchangeable needles -- so pretty and so pointy for easier cabling!

She's been working pretty hard on this sweater and says that, when it's done, she's going to take a good long break from knitting. I'm curious to see how long that lasts. :-)

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I Spy 2 movie was Fahrenheit 451. I thought that would be an easy one (figuring everybody but me had already seen that movie), but nobody guessed it!