Mittens


Mittens – a little too short in the fingers…


Mittens for Jason – learning from my mistakes

Fingerless Gloves – S.R. Kertzer On Your Toes 4 Ply with Aloe Vera


Fingerless Gloves – S.R. Kertzer On Your Toes 4 Ply with Aloe Vera

Cat Bed – Bernat Felting Natural Wool


Lacework Bag – Bernat Handicrafter Cotton


Softee Chunky Throw – Bernat Softee Chunky


Scarf – Freedom Spirit

UFOs (UnFinished Objects) have taken over my craft area.  I had previously posted about the numerous projects I had on the needles that I had set aside and had not picked up again.  I’d decided that I was going to either finish or frog (rip it, rip it) all of these projects.
The first step was to take a good look at each project and decide whether I was ever going to resume knitting them and complete them.  Most of them, I had to admit, I would probably never get around to finishing.  In the last week, I have reclaimed the yarn from quite a few projects: the hat for my sister, a dozen or so granny squares I crocheted in the ’90s, a one third completed afghan I started to crochet in the ’90s, the baby sweaters I started for Lara’s twins on Labour Day weekend, a pair of mittens for myself matching the real wool scarf I knit myself last winter, and a few others that I could immediately identify because I had not gotten very far into the project when I set it aside.

After I frogged all the UFO’s that I knew I would never come back to, I had to prioritize the remaining projects – and let me tell you, there were very few of them.  I had initially promised myself that I would not start another new project until I had finished all my UFOs, but I wasn’t really feeling inspired to pick up any of them.

Last weekend, I decided to make a pair of mittens from some of the newly reclaimed yarn.  Unfortunately, I made a slight modification to the pattern without adjusting the measurements accordingly, and they ended up way too short in the fingers.

On Monday, I started another pair of mittens, this time taking proper measurements into consideration when I make modifications to the pattern.  Both pairs of mittens were/are knitted flat, which means I have to sew up a side seam on them when I am done the project.  Most mitten patterns are knitted in the round, either on a circular needle or a set of double-pointed needles (dpn).  I was never confident enough to try dpns and I had difficulty getting used to the circular needles I have – the cause cramping in my fingers, possibly because the needle part is too short.

On Tuesday, I decided to bite the bullet and cast on the dpns and make a hat.  I used the yarn I reclaimed from the granny squares that I frogged.  I had to frog and restart the hat after about 20 rounds, but my second go around was a HUGE success, if I do say so myself.  I worked on it on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

After completing the hat on Thursday evening, I used the new technique I had mastered – hahaha “mastered” – to knit the thumbs on the mittens project in the round.  So no seams on the thumbs, and I think I might even be able to complete the rest of the hand/fingers in the round, so that the only seam will run along the wrist cuff and about an inch of what way up the palm on the outside edge.

My immediate plans for future projects… I cast on another hat – this one for Jason – on Friday afternoon.  I’m planning to complete the mittens and that hat this weekend.

I have a huge stash of yarn – wool, cotton, acrylic, hemp, you get the idea. I also have many books and magazines and printouts of patterns that I have collected in the last 18 months or so. I also have numerous projects that I have started in the past 18 months, but that I never quite finished.

There are 3 95% completed newborn baby cardigans that I started last January, for Lara and Vicky’s babies (born in May and June 2009). There’s a hat for my sister Melissa that I started last February. There’s a scarf for my mother that I have started and ripped and restarted so many times I cannot count. There are 2 5% finished 6-month old baby cardigans that I started last fall to replace the ones I started last January, for Lara’s babies (who are now 8 months old). And many others.

I am thinking of taking the bull by the horns and digging out all my unfinished projects, laying them all out, photographing them all and then doing something about them. It’s time to admit that some projects are not destined to be completed, and those need to be ripped out. As for the rest of them, it’s time to buckle down and finish them off.

Wish me luck, and stay tuned for updates (with photos).