Tweet
Sweet
I am in love with this little mitten (a mere 6 1/2" long.) It is such an improvement over my first effort, the blue & white Selbu mitten.
The interior thumb join is a much smoother transition, patternwise.
Side by side with the first effort, it's apparent that I'm making some progress on my tension issues. The little mitten is neat and straight, unlike the blue and white one, which despite blocking, bulges out toward the top. Each was made with Satakieli yarn on #1 dpns, but on the second mitten, I switched from metal, Susan Bates needles to Brittany Birch dpns and found them a big improvement. No more slipping and sliding...a real pleasure to knit on.
And the Satakieli? After badmouthing it several times, I think it's growing on me. It does block up beautifully and I do like the traditional look and feel of the finished pieces. I've ordered several similar weight yarns, however, and am waiting for some color cards of Rauma dks to arrive from Nordic Fiber Arts. More variations of these mittens to come. And maybe an actual pair by the time the snow flies!
That is beautiful work. I adore those mittens and an EZ version is on my list of things to knit.
Posted by: Lisa | July 27, 2007 at 08:10 PM
Ohh, those are SO wonderful--I love them! I'm goig to have to make a pair of those for myself . . .
Posted by: femiknitter | July 27, 2007 at 10:05 PM
Wow! It's incredible Jan.
For some reason I always assumed that intricate patterns like that had to be done by a machine. But I'm not a knitter so what do I know.
Posted by: myra | July 27, 2007 at 11:03 PM
Your mittens look lovely, Jan! I love the little birds.
Posted by: terhi | July 28, 2007 at 01:10 AM
Jan it's just gorgeous. Tweet indeed! Well done too on the thumb join. Tricky! Moving to Scandinavia some time soon? :)
Posted by: Lily | July 28, 2007 at 04:21 AM
I don't even have words to express how I envy you that mitten. Charts always seem so fiddly to me (I go for plain, brainless, easy stuff, like self striping socks), but i can see now I need to expand my horizons... I crave those mitts! going to hunt down my fox & geese book, now... Cami
Posted by: Camilla | July 28, 2007 at 04:42 AM
Oh so beautiful! I live in Texas. No need for mittens. I would love to try one of these. I will resist the temptation. Back to quilting. LOL
Posted by: Molly Fryer | July 28, 2007 at 10:11 AM
I love BOTH mittens. I'm enjoying following your progress(ions). I only have one mitten done myself and need to return to the mate soon. I always enjoy your blog.
Posted by: sonja poor | July 28, 2007 at 11:11 AM
tweet? i thought for sure this post would be about none other than yours truly. nice mitten--you're catching up to me!
Posted by: Molly! | July 28, 2007 at 11:33 AM
Your latest mitten looks great! It doesn't take long to get the feel for the tension, does it? And as Sr. Alaquin (my piano teacher who used to rap me on the knuckles with a ruler when I played a wrong note) always used to say -- practice makes perfect!
Posted by: Julie | July 28, 2007 at 11:34 AM
I love these! Mind if I link to them?
Posted by: Faith | July 28, 2007 at 03:42 PM
Looking good. Looks like you have the technique nailed.
Posted by: Kathie | July 28, 2007 at 04:49 PM
You've certainly gotten the hang of it - that red one is fabulous! (Blue's not the least shabby either, but I see your points of improvement.) Now for partners so they don't get lonely.
Posted by: Nancy | July 29, 2007 at 01:19 AM
It's beautiful!
Posted by: Lolly | July 29, 2007 at 07:18 AM
Very sweet! I just love red birds. ;-)
Posted by: margene | July 29, 2007 at 08:15 AM
The mitten turned out lovely! Personally I like to use the Baby Wool from Dale of Norway. It is soft and can be washed in machine and the colours are delicious. The scraps make lovely granny squares.
Inga
Posted by: Inga Helene | July 29, 2007 at 10:01 AM
These turned out sweeeeeeeeeet!
Posted by: Marisa | July 29, 2007 at 04:37 PM
Very nice! I love the bird motif.
Posted by: Leslie | July 29, 2007 at 08:17 PM
Color me impressed! That is such incredibly detailed work!! Wowza.
Posted by: africankelli | July 31, 2007 at 01:05 PM
all i can do is say WOW! i can't imagine making something from yarn so beautiful! truly wonderful...
Posted by: susan | July 31, 2007 at 02:22 PM
Awesome! And it's great to see the progress!!!
Posted by: Scribbles & Bits | August 01, 2007 at 11:46 AM
Oh my goodness, lovely, lovely mittens! Nice work! You must be so proud!
Posted by: Kathy | August 06, 2007 at 06:18 PM
Very inspiring. I just love traditional projects - yours are very sweet!
Posted by: Mary Beth | August 25, 2007 at 08:07 AM
The little mitten is great - love those birds.
Posted by: Chris | August 25, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Looking great! Don't worry about the bulging fingers on the blue ones - many of the old mittens do that, too. It's jut because there are so many more stitches there than at the base off the thumb. You'll be making sweaters in no time!
Posted by: terri | August 27, 2007 at 12:34 PM