August 6, 2008

Greetings, Knitters!
And we’re back, mittens in hand!

Yellow Harvest Mitten designer Mari Muinonen has a great feel for 3D, and the bobbles smattered throughout the cabling add some serious depth.

The cable pattern was easy to get the hang of, and by quitting time at the end of the day, I had a mitten to call my own. With the first one down, the second one was a breeze.

A note to all Yellow Harvest Mitten makers: There is a small correction to this pattern. I have included it below. Write it in now, so you don’t forget!

Correction is underlined.

CUFF

Thumb gusset
Next (inc) rnd K11, pm, [M1, k2, M1]…….
Next (dec) rnd K1, pm, ssk, k12, k2tog, pm, k1, ssk, p13, k2tog—31 sts.
Next (dec) rnd K1, slip marker, ssk, k to last 2 sts before next marker, k2tog, slip marker, k1, ssk, p to last 2 sts of rnd, k2tog—27 sts.

It didn’t take long to complete a pair, and I think if you started on a weekend you could definitely have a pair completed by Sunday night. Theoretically, you could knit each of our incredible mitten patterns featured in this issue in a weekend and have the whole set by the time the cold weather gets here, or to give as holiday gifts. That’s actually not a bad idea….

I can see any of our mittens in this story being a great travel or airport-sitting project. There are mittens for all types, and you’re bound to find two or three pairs you just have to make. Change up the colors or lengthen a cuff. Mari’s are particularly great if you’re ready to advance to a more complicated cable or haven’t yet worked on DPN’s. No doubt I’ll be seeing a few of these on fellow subway riders come the chilly weather!

I know reading cable charts can be difficult, especially for newbies. The Yellow Harvest chart has a few interesting rows where you have to borrow stitches from the previous row to make the cable work. It’s not a bad idea to take an overview of the written pattern and chart beforehand of anything you’re about to knit. Take a good look at the picture of the finished project and make sure it all gels before you cast on. Ravelry is an invaluable resource if you run into problems or have questions you’d like to ask someone who has already knit what you’re making. I get those emails all the time from people! Knitters helping knitters, that’s what makes us a special breed.

So grab a couple skeins of Manos in the featured straw hue or a different color of your choosing and get those needles clacking! I look forward to seeing your FOs!