Heritage Silk Mitten KAL

It's the first day of a brand new year, and I was hoping to greet you with my brand new blog (which I've been keeping quiet for a while now) and I wrote this whole beautiful post that I was going to publish over there, but I forgot that the blog is private right now because it's still technically under construction.  So after trying to publish it and linking to it...I realized that I'll just have to be patient a little bit longer and we'll have to hang out in this space for a bit.  Good thing we're all comfy here :)  But don't be shocked if you log on one day, and it's had a face lift.

Now, with that being said, I'm really excited to announce a knit-along for my Heritage Silk Lace mitten pattern, for Cascade Yarns.  It all came about a few months ago when a Raveler sent me a lovely message about my pattern, saying how she'd seen it at a yarn tasting in Spokane WA.  It turned out that the wonderful folks from Cascade took my mittens with them as an example of the Heritage Silk in action (the very mittens I knit with my own two hands).  It toured a few local shops in Washington state and a lot of excitement was stirred up.  Three of the local knitting groups started chatting about doing a KAL, so I contacted the various groups on Ravelry about hosting a KAL for them, so they could all gather in one place and have a blast.  A few hours on Photoshop and Ravelry later, the group was formed!

The official start date is January 4th, but I couldn't wait that long (and neither could most of the knitters, it turns out, lol), so I changed the cast on date to today!  So go get your needles, two skeins of Heritage Silk (or any other fingering weight yarn), and your free copy of the pattern, and cast on with us.  It's national mitten month anyway.  You might as well kill two birds with one stone ;)


P.S. - Stay tuned for the release of my latest pattern collection, which is currently in tech editing.

Now available: Heritage Silk Lace Mittens

As most of you know, I completed another design for Cascade Yarns a few months ago and I've been eagerly stalking their site for it's release.  I'm excited to say that my Heritage Silk Lace Mittens are now available for download on Ravelry, or directly from Cascade's website.  They did another wonderful job with the photos and I'm really excited to finally share the pattern with you!

The mittens are two-layered, with anatomical thumb placement to keep the pretty lace design on the back of your hand (where it belongs).  The inner mitten is worked at a smaller gauge and has ribbing at the cuff, to help keep the wind and cold out.  The pattern suggests that you "pick-up and knit" when starting the outer cuff, but if you would rather use a provisional cast on to do this step, feel free (just remember to do that when you start the inner mitten). 

The outer mitten has a picot edge, a lace cuff, and eyelet holes at the wrist for an optional ribbon if you really want to girl these up.  The lace pattern is worked over a small number of stitches and rows, and was easy to memorize after a little while.  The pattern is written for three sizes, S (7" - 7.5"), M (8" - 8.5"), and L (9" - 9'5") in circumference, and includes written and charted direction for the lace (on the last page, so you don't have to print them if you don't use them).

You can use any colors you like, but the design shows best if you choose yarns with high contrast.  I would also advise that if you substitute yarns, make sure that they are both colorfast as these mittens are attached. 

I used Heritage Silk in 5630 (aqua), and 5618 (winter white), and knit the medium.  It was funny because not only did I have to rip the lace portion at least 4 times on the first mitten (so I can attest to the durability of the Heritage Silk yarn), but I also had to rip back the inner mitten because I started to knit these to fit myself.  I'm 6' tall and I always have to add at least 2 inches to any mitten/glove pattern.  Here I was, happily knitting my mittens when I remembered that the model probably has average size hands (as you can see from the photos, I was correct) and I wouldn't need to knit these quite as long as I normally would, lol.  That was an interesting moment for me :)

Anyway, I'm really pleased with these.  They're my first attempt at designing with lace.  They were tough to figure out (how do I attach these?, how do I get the correct number for 2 mittens at different gauges?, how do I...).  I have to say that it wasn't nearly as difficult to send these off as it was to send away the blanket.  Maybe it's because I don't have any other accessories in that color?  But I'm planning on making another pair for myself, with what's left of my Ruby River to match my beret and scarf this winter.  That is, if I can find the time :)