A Back-dated Test Knit

This was a test knitted pattern done a while ago, solidly in my non-bloggy-chatty period. I saw it on the Test Knitters forum board and just couldn't resist. Even with all the color work! It just screamed my name. Books AND hand mitts (I'm always cold at work, and it's even worse in my hands if I'm at the computer a lot). Too perfect to pass up!  Anyhoo, since I just finished the Surprise Cowl, to match a recent test knit, I felt motivated to write up this test knit too.

The Yarn:

Most of the yarn I used was Patons Stretch Socks. The books and the shelves were other sock yarns, not Stretch Socks, but in the same weight. Just stash yarn, so nothing more specific. The Stretch Socks (being stretchy, after all) had to be held with a loose touch. Pulling it too tightly stretched it out and would affect the gauge. So, use a gentle touch. Otherwise, nothing really to striking to mention about any of the yarns.

The pattern works best if there is a good amount of contrast between the background and the books. So, I have dark books (purple, dark rose, burgundy-brown, and navy) on a mottled cream background. The shelves are, of course, brown. The background can be a little darker than what I chose, if you like, just as long as you have some good contrast to the books. No navy mitts with dark green books, or cream mitts with butter-yellow books. You get the idea.

The other thing to consider with the background yarn is that it needs to be relatively plain. No bold stripes or busy patterns. Once again, because you'd lose the books to the background. It would be a lot of work for books you couldn't see!

The Pattern: 

Reading Mitten by Lotta Groeger (my project is Raveled here).

This is a great pattern for using up lots of odds-n-ends of sock yarns (and c'mon, who doesn't have those?) The books don't need to match, and each book uses a yard, give or take. So, long-length repeats of variegated sock yarns are perfect for the books! I actually went to the skein I was using for the books and cut off the number of lengths I needed, just snipping the yarn as the color changed. But that would be just as easy to do if you're working from multiple skeins of leftovers. I did find it helpful to cut the lengths of yarn for the books, so that I could handle them, lay them out, and decide what color I wanted for which books (try not to have like colors adjacent, that sort of thing). The duplicate stitching was by far the most time consuming part of the whole project!! But, when the alternative was stranding multiple colors on teeny-tiny US 2s, working in the round... I'd rather do the duplicate stitch!

Notes, Alternations, etc:

No modifications, really. This one was pretty much as-written.

I made the Size Small mitt (6 inch hand circumference), and it fits my tiny hands just fine. I cast on and bound off with US 4s, not the 2s I used to reach gauge in the rest of the project. I tend to cast on and bind off rather tightly, so the larger needles were needed. Other than that, I reach gauge just fine with the US 2s. Did feel like I was going to snap them in half the whole time, though - been a while since I worked with needles that small!

One thing I might add would be a word around the cuff, that long stretch of cream before the first bookshelf. "Read" or "Book" or something. I'm still deciding on that one. There are plenty of free charted alphabets out there, in a variety of gauges, that it would be simple enough to do. It would give wrist a little more structure, (more duplicate stitching), and it would immediately associate the book pattern above with reading (instead of a less bookish person just thinking "Oh, what a cool geometric pattern"). And it would help me tell the right mitt from the left :)

 

Overall: 

I really like this pattern. The mitts fit comfortably, and are not too bulky. The knitting went very quickly, so these might make nice gifts for family or coworkers or future grad school friends. Other bookish people :)

Bragging on Zach for a moment!

So, I'm not the only one in the family with a geeky, crafty hobby!  Zach has started learning chain mail!

He took a class back when he was a kid in Boy Scouts and had always been kinda interested in it.  So, in looking for something to keep himself busy and to learn something new, he decided to pick it up again.  There are TONS of good references online, lots of videos on YouTube and so forth.  He's been burying himself in the computer from time to time learning a new weave (I still call them "stitches") or browsing the galleries on some of the bigger sites looking at inspiration projects.  

And there are some absolutely lovely pieces!  People work more with jewelry-sized projects nowadays.  Smaller, more portable, less supply costs, and (let's face it) how many people wear chain mail shirts nowadays?  Still, there are some very impressive pieces, both in the costume category and in the jewelry one.

The best moment so far, though?  We were getting ready to wind down for the night, close up downstairs and head up to bed.  Zach says, "Just let my finish this row."  Both of us are quiet as it sinks in that he has just used one of the classic knitter's lines that he teases me about!  One of those, "who's going to mention it first?" sort of moments.  Classic :)

And in all this practice, he has finished his first project!  He's working on a shirt as a long-term project, but from time to time will put together swatches to play with other patterns.  He was learning a new weave and was realizing that it was almost as long as a bracelet for me.  So, he measured my wrist and worked a length long enough to fit me.  I got to choose out a clasp and a charm to make it more decorative.  I love it!  

 

For technical details, it's 17-gauge steel wire worked in 3-in-1 Half Persian Weave.  With a copper clasp and charm, it's a lovely contrast of metals.  I am quite fond :)

Test Knit: Surprise Hat

The Surprise Hat (Raveled here).  This was a test knit that I knocked out in a weekend.  A lovely, quick knit.

The Yarn:

Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece.  The first time I'd used this yarn. Was a portion of a bag o' yarn that I'd found on clearance.  Need a larger quantity of this yarn for another project I've got on the queue, but don't need quite all of it.  So, since it suits the gauge I needed for this project, we had a match!

 

The jury's still out on how well I like this yarn.  There are a lot of colors available.  I chose Peridot, as it was one of the few times I've seen a shade of my birthstone that looks spring-time-y and not an ill yellow-green.  So, yes, color was key.  It also worked very well for me, being a cotton-wool blend.  Not too warm, so I can wear it longer here in oh-so-hot Texas.  Important to consider, since I want to make the whole set for this one (there's a cowl to match the hat).  And for a cotton yarn, the wool portion is enough to make it not quite so heavy and stiff a yarn as some cottons can be.  The stitch definition is pretty clear, which is important in a pattern like this.

On the other hand, there were things about this yarn that frustrated me.  It tended to split (un-ply?) as I knit with it. That was the biggest frustration, really.  And, like a lot of cottons, it can be kinda dry to work with.  Not my most uncomfortable yarn (my dry skin makes me sensitive) but not a particular favorite either.  Also, like any cotton, it kinda 'blooms' a little as it's blocked. That's a nice way of saying it grows a bit.  And with this being a very stretchy pattern, I was a little worried.  BUT, while it was still a little damp after blocking (and worrisome-ly slouchy) I tossed it into the dryer with my delicate load for a few minutes.  Perfect fit!! 

Further notes, a lot of comments on Ravelry indicated that the colors tend to bleed and that the yarn tends to pill with heavy wear.  I don't have I'm only making a hat and scarf (cowl) from it, so I'm not too worried about the heavy wear and pilling.  I'll be careful about the washing though.  Like colors only, just in case!  Some good advice from the Ravelry comments too:

"I wash them in the washer, in a sweater bag, and dry them until damp in the dryer and finish drying them on a rack. No shrinking, very minimal pilling (mostly under arm area that gets a lot of friction anyway) and no fading. Also, I do not get any stretching out of shape or growing during wear."

The Pattern:

The Surprise Hat and Cowl by Cinzia.  The hat itself was the test knit, but the cowl was part of the pattern too, so I am making one too.  It's on the needles right now, actually :)  There are two varieties of the hat in the directions, a fitted cap and a slouchy one.  I made the fitted one, more to my personal taste.

I really liked this pattern.  After reading through the directions and doing one repeat, I really didn't need to look at the pattern again until I began the shaping for the crown.  It was one of those patterns that's very easy to follow on the needles, so you kinda know what's coming next.  Makes for a very nice traveling project.

 

Notes, Alternations, Adjustments:

On the hat, I actually had no adjustments!  Everything was knit as directed.

On the cowl, I went down a needle size and knit the Large size.  It's giving me a slightly denser knit, not quite so open.  I wanted that, as I tend to snag on things, so wanted the cowl lacy, but not too snaggy.  Besides, I tend to block... aggressively, shall we say? 

Also on the cowl, I did 7 rounds of seed stitch for the borders, making wider borders than the pattern called for.  I wanted it to match the hat :)

 

Overall:

Great, very fast knit.  The most time-consuming part of it was blocking it!  I would definitely make this hat again.  It would work best with a solid, or semi-solid yarn, I think. It's nice and pretty without being overly complicated, always a nice balance.  And the mock cable (which is explained well in the directions) is a technique that you don't see all the time, so that's a nice plus too.  Definitely a pattern worth a repeat!