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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Blue Vista

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Friday was spent furiously knitting these blue mitts so that they'd be ready in time for gifting at the Little One's Christmas Party. I had finished the main body of the 2nd blue mitt the night before and didn't have the energy to tackle the thumbs on both mitts (I was exhausted due to the late hour & my cold didn't help either), so the thumbs had to wait until Friday. I managed to finish the thumbs and weave in the ends by a bit after 2pm. I quickly snapped these 2 photos and then ran back and forth across the house trying to get all the gift wrapping stuff together. Let me tell you, hand knit socks, hardwood floors, and running quickly down the hallway does not work very well. Slippy slidey bump. I wrapped up the mitts along with another gift and managed to arrive at school in time for the Christmas Party. These mitts are for the Little One's two teachers.



Pattern: Four Rib Braid Cable Mitts
Yarn: 1.5 balls Elann Highland Wool, Blue Vista
Needles: 4.5 mm (US7)


Slight modifications to both purple and blue mitts, modifications are mentioned over here.

I've made so many of these mitts, I think I can do them in my sleep!

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My MIL visited and saw my pink Circles cloth sitting on the kitchen counter top. She normally doesn't take an interest in my knitting so it was a pleasant surprise to hear that she liked the design. I took this opportunity to remind her of all the different ways one can use washcloths around the house (I had given her some to try a couple years ago, but have never seen her use them). And I happened to have the variegated Circles cloth in a drawer, so I gave that to her. She commented that the pattern shows up better with the solid yarn. I told her that I'd make her a few more of these in solids. Yay! I've finally found a knitted item that my MIL wants. :-)

I think my MIL tends to like solids over variegateds. I wore the socks I knitting during my Lake Tahoe trip today and showed them to her. I also showed her the socks I'm currently working on which happen to be self-striping. Again, she commented that pattterns would look better in a solid yarn. Ok, I see a trend here. She likes solids. Whew! It's a good thing I knit her Christmas prezzie (socks) in a solid colored yarn! Feeling good here. :-)

Then the Little One shows Grandma the red hat I recently made her (sorry, haven't gotten around to blogging about it yet) , and I mention I could make her a hat too. She was cool with that idea too, except that she would like her hat to have a brim around it. Oh ok. Now I have to figure out what to do for her hat.

Still suffering from a cold however I feel I'm on the recovery end. Have been drinking an obscene amount of fluids, mostly in the form of tea. The downside to this is the SBSB problem. I'm almost out of honey and am hoping I'll have enough to last me through the weekend. And I think the Traditional Medicinals Echinacea Elder tea is helping. Right now I'm enjoying a cup of mint tea. When I say "cup" of tea, I usually mean my 18 oz mug ... you know, the ones that are the same size as those Starbucks city mugs? Right now I am enjoying my tea from a Kings Canyon National Park mug. Yes, 18 ounce capacity. BTW, my MIL was amused to learn that the Little One has her favorite boxes of tea in my tea drawer; her favorite is Sweet Coconut Thai Chai. Decaf for her of course.

Copyright © Smariek Knits 2005-2009. All full copyright rights are reserved by Smariek Knits.
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12 stitch(es):

Cindy G said...

Beautiful teacher gifts!

Radu Butarascu said...

It is cold out today and little one and I are sporting the mittens you made for us last year. :) :) :) Warmmmmm........ :)

Radu Butarascu said...

Hope you feel better real soon! :)

Ariel said...

Lucky teachers!!! They're beautiful.

SusanB-knits said...

Beautiful mitts! I love the cables.
My MIL likes knitted dishcloths so I try to knit her a few every Christmas to include with her Red Lobster gift card.
I hope you feel better soon.

Jean said...

The teachers will feel so appreciated - home knit gifts are the best. Glad to hear that you are recovering from your cold, tea and honey are so helpful. Nice Mitts by the way.

Unknown said...

I had the same problem with my MIL. Until she saw one of my market bags so that is what she is getting for christmas this year.

Cactusneedles said...

I like your mitts. They will be well appreciated! (When I have tea, I make a tea pot full and drink the whole thing!) Hope you feel better soon and Merry Christmas!

pdxknitterati/MicheleLB said...

Beautiful mitts; lucky teachers!

hakucho said...

Those mitts are beautiful and they make such a nice teacher present...those teachers will not have duplicates...will they? They'll love them...I'm sure!

That's so nice your MIL likes your knitting finally!! (I'm tickled she likes the Circle cloth pattern ;)) The only trouble with handknitted gifts is people start to expect them even if you really don't have the time to knit for them :) I've had to scramble to do Christmas knitting that I hadn't planned. Guess I should be pleased that these people appreciate my knitting :)

Have a really wonderful Christmas.....and happy knitting :)

Rzimmerman said...

How lovely - I am lucky to get cookies baked and my little one (age 6) is making a bead necklace for the teacher... have a great restful holiday - I have enjoyed reading your blog and contemplating knitting your beautiful patterns - thank you! Cheers...

Linda said...

I love all of your knit hats. They are so amazing. I'm just getting into the whole knitting world. Do you know of some good places to shop for knitting supplies? I know of one place that I've used, its stuff for knitting but I like to have a few options. Thanks.