Hot Lava, Lava!

pattern: the basic fingerless glove

yarn: Wollmeise 100 % Pure, in colour "auf dem roten Teppich", 50g

needles: 2.5mm

These were finished eons ago, but they've been kept away in the stash because of the heartbreaking conflict between my plans for the gloves and the lack of time to actualize them. When I started going out with my partner years ago, I knitted and embroidered him a pair of gloves, to which he faithfully held on until this year and now he made a request that I would embroider the same kind of roses onto these. But I've been busy keeping my head above the water in the teaching practise, so no dice that I'll be dabbling any roses in the coming months. 

Wollmeise worked this time just the way most of its fangirls and fanboys always say it should. It was soft and easy to knit, very cottonish* and didn't squek like the last one did. The pics don't do justice for the colour, it's like burning hot lava.

* The yarn is so cottonish that he actually can wear these even though it's wool. The first woollen things he has ever been able to wear, to be truthful.

Restlessness Is Me, You See

Ane Brun - Changing of the Seasons 

pattern: Magrana by Mercé Janer

yarn: Cascade Heritage, in colour Mustard, 50g

needles: 2.5mm DPNs

I know I already made The Mittens for this autumn, but whenever I knit something a bit more intricate with a bit more expensive yarn, the parsimonious overprotection kicks in. I cannot ride a bike to school every morning with those Druid mittens, the rubber would eat through the yarn in a week. So here's a nylon reinforced version of autumn mittens, purely to be used when going to school and coming home. 

The pattern is quite cably, but also very interesting and relatively easy. The only downside is the size: for my hand they are way too big and the cables retract if there's no filling.

Girl, You Remind Me of Summertime

 

Autumn is here, there's no doubt about that. The temperatures are down, there's a certain crispness in the wind and if the sun shines, it shines so low in the mornings that it blinds. The traditional autumn colours like burnt oranges, yellows and reds are not my favourites, but I have to say I love the colours of wilting grass and hay - they are my autumn. 

I've been knitting very little as the school takes most of my time, but a pair of mittens for cycling is coming up soon. The top, however, is something I made for the autumn, of a flea market fabric find. The gorgeous lion button is one of the buttons I bought for myself as a birthday present last May.

Oh Now, Now the Wind Takes Me Away

pattern: Green Autumn (Druid Mittens) by Jared Flood

yarn: Black Sheep Dyeworks Sock Weight Superwash Merino Wool Yarn, in Olive Oil tonal, 55g

needles: 2.75mm

An amazing pattern, I loved every stitch of it and wished it would never end. Can't wait to make a new pair, I just need to another skein of something hand dyed green gorgeousness. Black Sheep Dyeworks' yarn was a real pleasure to knit and had a vivid semi-solidy dye, so it's high there on my list for a reknit.

Though the pattern was really good to start with, here are couple of changes I made:

- As the yarn was pretty lightweight compared to the one in the pattern, I used 2.75mm DPNs instead of 3.25mm. A quick skim through Rav projects says that lots of other people went down in needle size too.

- This might be a matter of preference, but to me the kitchener's stitch to close up the saddle after the decreases worked a lot better. Jared Flood recommended three needle bind-off and I tried it, but it didn't look that neat.

- My hand is quite tiny and the mitten knit specifically as the pattern suggested was a perfect fit. So people with normal or larger hands, doing more cable pattern repeats is highly advisable.

All in all, I fell in love with the yarn and the pattern and now I'm prepared for the first chilly autumn mornings.