Hedgerow Mitts

Inspiration: I knit myself some fingerless gloves in January. They haven't been blogged yet because I knit them in my "backwards knitting" stage, and it bothered me so much that I ripped them out and am reknitting them. But Mom liked them, and asked if I'd make her some mitts if she supplied the yarn. This pattern is terribly simple, but it was just what I needed for working out my dpn ladder problems.

Pattern: Toasty from A Friend to Knit With.

I modified it by knitting only 7" before slipping the thumb stitches, and to 9" total length. This was so that I could get both mitts out of one skein. An inadvertent mod was casting on one extra stitch... I noticed after a few rows and didn't feel like starting over. I could have added two extra rounds to each mitt if not for that stitch, but they actually turned out to be a great length for Mom.

Yarn: one skein Classic Elite Portland Tweed (50% wool/25% alpaca/25% viscose) in 5036 Desert Sand from Patternworks.

I don't expect to use a lot of multicolored yarns in my knitting. But *tweeds* are another story. I love tweed. And this one is terrific, beige with flecks of mustard and caramel and dark brown and white. I felt like grinning every time one showed up on the needles. Weird but true.

Needles: US #7 Bryspun dpns.

Notes: An inch or so into the first try at these, I had horrible ladders. It was at night, so I ripped the work, cast on again (with said extra stitch), and set it aside for morning.

The next morning, I did more research on the internet. Was I to have the unhappy distinction of being conquered by double-pointed needles? I decided to try every tip I had read, which included:

1. knitting on five dpns rather than four
2. holding the first stitch on the new right needle close against the last stitch on the previous right needle
3. pulling the second stitch on a new needle tight, the third semi-tight
4. knitting with work right side out (is this what everyone does? Was I weird to knit inside out previously?)
   
5. starting the new right needle under the previous right needle
   

I don't know which of these changes was the difference, and I really don't care. Something worked. Ladders are almost completely gone; I expect practice to take care of the rest. Socks, here I come!

Conclusion: An extremely easy knit, very fast.