Knit Mitten Kit Swap

Check out the fabulous mitten kit that arrived this afternoon! Rebecca really put together a wonderful kit:

I *love* the blue and orange combination of both the bag and the yarn – it’s not something I would have ever thought to put together myself, but it’s so perfect! (After all, they’re two of my favorite colors, why have I never put them together?) It will also go wonderfully with my blue winter coat. The yarn is an alpaca and silk blend. It is so incredibly soft and wonderful, I might just have to pet it for a while before I knit it up. I’ll have to think about how I’d like to do the mittens, since the included pattern is a great basic mitten pattern which leaves a lot of options for customization. Stripes? Fair isle? The possibilities are endless.

Also in this package are several packets of peppermint hot chocolate, a couple of polar bear smooches (which Denis tried to make off with but I insisted they had to be photographed first), and some lovely beaded stitch markers (blue and orange, of course!) made by Rebecca’s sister Sarah.

What a great package! Thanks, Rebecca! I’m off to go drink some fabulously yummy-sounding peppermint cocoa and pet my new yarn for a bit.

I meant to post this the day I mailed out the kit, but we’ve been cleaning house and I’ve barely had the time to check my email, let alone blog.

Anyway, after two trips through the washer, countless hours on the shelf in the dryer (it’s amazing how much water can still be soaked into wool after rolling it in a towel several times), and a few stitches here and there, the bag was ready for needle felting. I definitely foresee more needle felted projects in my future. I had to restrain myself from putting needle felted flowers all over the bag.

Since I delayed so much in posting this, Mary Lynn already received her kit so I can say who it was for! I really enjoyed putting this kit together, even if I did wait until the 11th hour. I love doing swaps. Usually the recipient’s tastes are not quite what mine would be, so when I choose the project or the colors it wouldn’t necessarily be something I would wear/use/want. But then by the time I’m done with the project or I put a kit together, I really like it. It lets me try out new colors or patterns without being committed to, say, owning a pair of neon yellow lace socks. Of course, this bag is two colors I adore, so I had a harder time than usual mailing it off. I can’t wait to see what’s in my kit when it gets here all the way from Alaska! I was working so hard on Mary Lynn’s kit that I actually forgot I would be getting one in return until my pal left a comment the other day.

There are more details on the project page.

Carrie is modeling the bag I’m knitting for the knit mitten kit swap. It’s currently on it’s second trip through the wash cycle. It looked pretty good after the first trip, but it was a bit bigger than I’d planned and I thought it would be sturdier after a second felting. Hopefully it won’t be too small when I go down to check on it in a few minutes! And then I just have to hope it dries in time to do the needle felting embellishment and get it in the mail on Tuesday.

I have to confess, I love these colors so much that I went back to the yarn shop yesterday to get more. I’m going to try to make a Janda-style sweater, but as a cardigan. I got a lighter green as well, thinking I could make a Carrie-sized sweater. Because, of course, I have no other yarn anywhere in the house that could be made into Sarah- or Carrie-sized sweaters. The yarn is Cascade 220, so it’s already pretty cheap, and it was on sale for 25% off. How could I pass it up? Or the skein of sock yarn (oranges, purples, yellows and greens!) that somehow magically appeared in my basket when I was checking out?

My goal for the week: find all the sock yarn in my craft room and put it in one place. I’m pretty sure, after going to this huge sale at my LYS no less than three (3!) times, that I now qualify as having an obscene amount of sock yarn. How many socks can one person knit, anyway?!?

Uh-oh. Somehow the days (weeks, months, etc.) have gotten away from me. I didn’t get started on my bag for the mitten kit swap until Saturday. So I have to finish knitting it, felt it, embellish it, fill it with goodies, and mail it by a week from tomorrow.

The good news is that it’s a fast knit. But with auditions for West Side Story starting tomorrow I’ve been having to split my knitting time with rehearing the (insanely difficult) piano music. If I can get everything knit, sewn up, and in the washer by Saturday afternoon I think it will be OK. I think. Otherwise, hopefully my pal will be understanding if it’s a day or two late…

Anyway, I’m excited about the colors and pattern for the bag. You can check them out on the project page. As is always the case, I think this one will be hard to give away!

I’m finally answering the questions from the Knit Mitten Kit Swap. Apologies to my pal, who has been waiting patiently.

Are you allergic to any fibers? I’m not actually allergic to anything as far as I know, but mohair makes me itch like crazy.

What are your favorite colors? Blue, green, purple, pink, orange…um…almost anything? More intense colors are more my style than pastels, and I think I look pretty awful in yellows and tans.

Are you a new mitt knitter? How long have you been knitting mittens? I’ve knit mittens before. I have no idea when I knit my first pair – at least a few years ago, anyway.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? I like both!

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn? Wool! I’m not too worried about washability, since mittens don’t tend to need washing so often.

Where do you usually knit mittens? Wherever I’d knit anything else.

How do you usually carry/store small projects? I have various tote bags I rotate projects into when I’m working on them, and my craft room – where I store things I’m *not* currently working on – is a complete disaster of bags, baskets, boxes, and…piles. Piles of things.

What are your favorite mitten patterns? I don’t really have a favorite pattern. Most of my mittens have been made up. I’d actually like to have a pattern!

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques? When I’m not using a pattern I basically knit them fingers-down, like toe-up socks, only for your hands.

What new techniques would you like to try? Maybe some colorwork or cabled mittens? I’ve done both techniques before, but not on mittens.

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens? Circulars – I’m starting to really like the few KnitPicks needles I’ve gotten my hands on, more even than my beloved Addis…

What are some of your favorite yarns? I really like a lot of yarns, and I don’t think I really have a particular favorite. I gravitate towards natural fibers, and am most tempted by the soft, squishy hanks of hand painted yarns in the store.

What yarn do you totally covet? Nothing in particular.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? I haven’t really looked at mitten patterns all that much, so, no.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? KnitPicks circulars are my new favorites!

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Uh…I don’t know.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Dark chocolate.

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