Making More Mittens!

When this current cold snap courtesy of an Alberta Clipper was forecast and I heard that we'd be enjoying temps close to zero, when our typical temps here in the D.C. area are usually in the mid to upper 30's to low 40's in the winter, I knew that my girls would be needing some mittens to keep their little fingers warm.

For Jordan, I found a small amount of pretty purple wool, which was enough for the cuffs, and a ball of leftover Noro Kureyon in pinks and purples for the hand. I held a strand of Baby Ull to add extra warmth and softness to the Noro, which tends to be a bit scratchy. I knit her up a pair of basic mittens and they came out cute. Here she is showing them off:



For Leila, I used some leftover Knitpicks worsted superwash Merino the Camel Heather colorway, and some random green worsted yarn to add stripes to the cuff. In my hurry to finish them in time for her to wear them to school (don't ask me why I didn't make her mittens as well) I've not yet taken a picture of her gloves, so I'll add one later.

Now I'm working on a pair of mittens using Norah Gaughn's Target Wave Mittens pattern that was included as a book excerpt in the Fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits. I'm using Lemongrass Heather Swish Superwash from Knitpicks, and some chocolate brown Lion Brand worsted weight wool.

I have enough of the Noro left over to make another pair of these mittens, so I'll cast on for them when I'm done with the second mitten. These will both be donated along with some scarves and hats that I have made to a homeless shelter.

Saturday Knitting Club

This past Saturday afternoon was the first meeting of the Saturday knitting group at the Eastern Market branch of the library. We began because the librarian is a knitter, and one afternoon a few weeks back a knitter friend of mine and I ran into each other in Eastern Market and decided to go sit and knit at the library while we waited until it was time to pick our girls up from school. The librarian brought her knitting and came over and sat with us and we cooked up the idea to have a regular group on Saturday afternoons.

Today when I arrived there was already a mom there with her daughter knitting a scarf for her doll, and an older woman working on an afghan square. Jordan was still trying to get the hang of the knit stitch, and Leila was browsing through the 'One Skein Wonders' book trying to decide what to knit. She settled on a ruffled scarf and went to work. I was working on a "Sweet Mary Jane' lacy bed jacket using lace weight yarn and size 6 circular needles. When the ladies saw me knitting and noticed that I was using the continental style or method of forming the stitches, they asked me to do an impromptu continental knitting lesson.

One of the reasons that I sort of drifted away from the knitting groups that I used attend regularly, is because I usually ended up teaching for most of the time and I did not get to work on my project. I like attending knitting groups for the fellowship of gathering together with other who share my love of knitting. But when I end up in essence becoming the teacher--fixing people's mistakes, teaching new techniques, answering questions it begins to feel too much like work. Even as I write this it sound whiney because I really love teaching. If it were a structured class and I had the intention of teaching, then of course it would not bother me at all.

We had a lovely time knitting and laughing and chatting inside while the cold rain and wind blew outside. We all talked about our plans for inauguration weekend--a time that will change all of our lives here in D.C. and around the country. We mostly agreed that we were both nervous and excited about what was going to happen. I'm thinking that change is definitely coming to D.C. and I can't wait to see it.