Whole Lotta Knittin' Goin On

Well the weekend was a wash, weather-wise (Sat and Sun nights had minus 30 degree windchills). Since I was pretty much stuck inside, I got quite a bit of knitting done.

Just in time for the cold weather, I present:

Labrador Diamonds Mittens! Pattern is from the book "Favorite Mittens" by Robin Hansen. The yarn is Fisherman two-ply from Bartlett Yarn, colors: Rust Heather and Natural. Here is a photo of the palm, which is done in a pattern called "Salt and Pepper":

Here is the wrong side of the knitting. The strands of yarn that are not in use get carried along the back and make it look like a photo-negative of the front.

I washed the mittens (Bartlett yarns are notoriously dirty--I had to rinse it a few times to get the water to run clear) and they dried just in time for me to wear them to work this morning. They were nice and warm, though I wish I had made them just a teeny tiny bit smaller. Hey, no big deal though.

Once I finished the mittens, I decided to start another small project. I'm joining the crowd and making a Panta (headband). Here's a photo of it in progress:

I am making it in a nice soft merino, in a blue-purple color (this picture makes it look a bit more vibrant than it really is). I am almost halfway done already. I'm hoping this will be good for skiing, especially when it's too warm for a hat but I still want to keep my ears covered. I think mine might end up a bit smaller than some I have seen because I am using size 4 needles. Maybe I will make a bulky version later.

Besides these two projects, I also decided to dive into the task of finishing "Twist" (and thanks for your nice comments on my last post, by the way :)

On Saturday, the pieces were dry and I started to seam them. I'd never done set-in sleeves before, but they turned out to be much easier than I was expecting. Once I got it seamed, it was time for the moment of truth...would it fit? I raced upstairs (where the mirror resides) and put it on. And guess what, it didn't look too bad! My fears were mostly unfounded. The one thing I screwed up is the sleeves, they are about an inch too long. I will probably end up folding up the cuff when I wear it. The reason for this problem is that I tried to figure out how long they should be by holding up the knitting to my arm as I worked on it. I guess that's not a great method to use. At least now I know exactly how long my sleeves should be, for next time.

Last night I picked up the stitches for the left front button band and knitted it. Here is the seamed garment with the button band, ready to be bound off:

It's hard to see the stitch definition due to the flash, but hey, it was 10 PM. I am pretty pleased at how this is coming out, although I've already thought of four or five things on it that I'd like to do better next time.

Up tonight--the buttonhole band on the right front. I haven't done buttonholes before, so hopefully they won't be too hard. I might even get to start the collar, which is the last part to finish.