Wednesday 24 November 2010

WIP: Fiddlehead Mitts

It recently became abundantly clear that I needed a new pair of mittens. For those that are sensitive to horrible scenes of mitten tragedy, please avert your eyes:
dead mittens
 They are store-bought mittens that my grandmother gave me years ago. When she passed in 2008, and I couldn't bring myself to use any other mittens than these, the last ones she ever gave me. But as you can plainly see, they are done. They fought the good fight, but they are ready to go to that great mitten cupboard in the sky. 

The Fiddlehead Mittens were on my knitting hit list. I have a Tanis Fiber Arts Mitten kit, but the yarn colours were perfect for another project I want to work on so I substituted the yarns. I have now have one completed mitt:
fiddlehead 2
fiddlehead inside
 These mittens really came about because of Turtlegirl, who had originally got the lovely skein of  Lollipop Cabin Sock Yarn, and then generously gave it to me! Thank you!!

The colourway is called 'Laughing in the Autumn Leaves along the Pacific Crest Trail'. I love the colours, it has knitted up beautifully against the Tanis Fiber Arts DK weight, which is the contrasting colour. The lining is knitting up in Knitpicks Suri Dream, which is so buttery soft, fuzzy, and warm.I don't usually knit colourwork items, so this was a nice change of knitting pace. It was so interesting to watch the pattern develop, and I think this project has given me more confidence with my stranded knitting.

G says is looks like an oven mitt, it's so thick. But I don't care- I love it. I can't wait to finish the second one.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

That mitten does look warm, thick and toasty. I bet it will be lovely come Canadian winter!

nicole said...

RIP sweet old mitten.

Love the new Fiddlehead. Your colour choice is so pretty.

I was wondering though, did you think to perhaps copy the ones your grandma gave you? You can never have too many mittens, right?

Jill Nault said...

I love the name of that yarn! Who wouldn't want a lovely pair of new mittens this winter?!

Pam said...

It's a beautiful mitten. I love knitting mittens - they're fast-ish like socks, but you can more easily admire them when you wear them.

Congrats on your lovely colorwork!

jennifer said...

Oh, just beautiful! I salute you, old mittens.

Kara said...

Oven mitt, pah! It is a stunner. And so warm!

Unknown said...

I love the story of the old mittens. What a treasure. Those new mittens are looking pretty nice too!

Crystal said...

Gorgeous, love the colours in that yarn even if the name is like a run-on sentence! I have colourwork mitten obsessions and once I started knitting them I just couldn't stop. Hopefully you will be able to resist the draw to make yourself more and more :)

Anonymous said...

Ooooh I love these crazy colours! So cuddly!

polkaknits said...

They're just stunning! Love the colour! I should make some mittens for myself. The first snow just appeared here in Warsaw.

Jolene said...

I've been eying the Fiddleheads, myself. Love your color choices!

yoel said...

RIP old mittens...

The 2 colorways are gorgeous together in this fiddlehead pattern!

Anonymous said...

Your new mitt is lovely. I'm sure your Grandma would be proud of your work.

Anonymous said...

Pretty! It's actually snowing in Vancouver, so I'm tempted to try some mittens myself...

roxie said...

Inspired color and design combination. May you not suffer second mitten syndrome. It's gonna be a cold winter!

Teresa said...

As it should be very thick! They're winter mitts, man :) They look fabulous.

Nat at Made in Home said...

These are stunning. Great choice of colours!

Allison said...

I love the reversed color combo you've chosen, with the lighter solid for the fiddleheads!

Anonymous said...

Whoa! That is some graphic knitting carnage. The new mittens look just lovely! Are you finding that the suri dream sheds a lot though? Maybe at a tighter gauge it's ok.

Cheers!
Daisy

Hilary said...

Oh my goodness, that is an awesome mitten. I actually gasped out loud and showed my husband..."Isn't this a gorgeous mitten??" He was also impressed, which is usually hard to do with knitwear. The variegated yarn is so, so perfect as a backdrop to the cream pattern. I'd be itching to cast on the second one, too!

Maryse said...

Sorry that your grandmother mittens are no longer wearable... Your new mittens are absolutely gorgeous!

Michele Saunders said...

Your mitten looks great - and so warm! Lovely yarn colors.
My husband makes comments about my knitting too - he thinks he is being funny but he just gets the side-eye from me.

Sandy said...

Beautiful job!

Jacey said...

Your new mitten looks fantastic! I'm sorry to hear about your old ones biting the dust, but it looks like you've got the remedy.

Jen (pieKnits) said...

Ha, that sounds like something Mr. Pieknits would say too. I choose to not care as well. :) They're beautiful mittens!