Recycled Sari Silk Mittens (or as I like to call them Happy Hippy Mittens)

In my last post, I talked about the recycled sari silk mittens I was working on. I finished them tonight, and figured I'd write up the pattern here. Even though it's a really basic mitten pattern, its nice to have someone else figure out all the math stuff for you. I looked for patterns to use this ball of yarn so I could admire all of its colours and textures, but came up short. Unless I liked drop-stitch scarves (which I don't, all that loose yarn makes me anxious), or had just a bit more yarn to knit a bag (that I probably would not use, so that would be a waste), there just was't much out there. So I decided to use it to knit my favorite thing, mittens!

Mittens are a little bit of an unconventional use for this sort of yarn. It's not really stretchy or particularly soft and fuzzy (although a bit of washing with a gentle conditioner goes a long way!), and some people find it really difficult to work with. Maybe it is the particular brand, (Darn Good Yarn Wild Peacock Recycled Silk), but this stuff knit up really well. And quick! Because it's so chunky they knit up crazy fast, and only took a few hours per mitten. Sure they are not warm fuzzy wool mittens, but think of how much more positive your outlook will be on a cold February morning when you are wearing such colourful and exotic mittens! Like their yarn's namesake, they look like vibrant peacocks strutting their stuff. No one is going to be mistaking these mitts for their Thinsulate flip top mittens. Anyways, on to the pattern.

Happy Hippy Recycled Sari Silk Mittens

Yarn:
Darn Good Yarn Wild Peacock Recycled Silk (or any chunky recycled silk yarn)
The ball is 155 meters (or 170 yards), and I would say each mitten used about a third of it.
Needles:
Size 8 (5.0mm) double-pointed needles
Gauge:
17 rows and 14 stitches in a 4 by 4 inch square
Size:
Finished mitten is 9 inches long and 3 3/4 inches wide, it's on the larger side of medium
Note:
In the shaping of the thumb gusset, when I say M1, I mean make or increase however you feel comfortable, as long as it does not make a hole. I KFB'd (knit into the front and back of one stitch). For more information on increases look here. And here are decreases for good measure.

Pattern:
Cuff:

Cast on 21 stitches and divide equally between 3 needles

Knit 10 rows

This will give you a cuff of about 1 1/2 inches, if you want a larger cuff, just knit a few extra rows.

Shape Thumb Gusset:

K10, M1, K1, M1, K10 (23 stitches on needles)

Knit one row

K10, M1, K3, M1, K10 (25 stitches on needles)

Knit one row

K10, M1, K5, M1, K10 (27 stitches on needles)

Knit one row

K10, M1, K7, M1, K10 (29 stitches on needles)

Knit two rows

K10, put 9 stitches on holder or waste yarn, k10 (20 stitches on needles)

Body:

Right mitten:
M1, K10, M1, K10 (22 stitches on needles)
Left mitten:
K10, M1, K10, M1 (22 stitches on needles)

Both mittens:
Knit 17 rows

Top:

K2tog, K7, SKP, K2tog, K7, SKP (18 stitches on needles)

Knit 1 row

K2tog, K5, SKP, K2tog, K5, SKP (14 stitches on needles)

Place 7 stitches on each on two needles and bind off using kitchener stitch

Thumb:

Pick up 9 stitches from waste yarn, as well as one from each side of the inside thumb (11 stitches)

Knit 10 rows. In the first row knit the two picked up stitches together (10 stitches)

K2tog, K1, SKP, K2tog, K1, SKP (6 stitches)

Knit 1 row

Place 3 stitches each on 2 needles. Bind off using kitchener stitch

Weave in all ends and gently hand wash with a gentle conditioner to soften. Air dry. Dazzle!

Smitten with mittens...

All I can think about are mittens! Mittens I want to make. I am almost done my second pair in the past few days. The first, which is just drying, is a pair of felted neon-y Noro Kureyon and black stranded mittens in a geometric pattern I made up. The pattern is comprised of rows of leaves and petals that have been distilled from their original inspiration (bright flowers on the cover of Good Housekeeping) into a more South American geometric mitten aesthetic. When I was younger I remember getting mittens and gloves from Global Connections at The Forks that were handmade in South America. The geometric patterns were so simple and pretty, and the colours really made the bold pattern pop. I wanted to use a yarn that was really bright, inspired by both the flowers on the cover and these original mittens I once had (and lost, of course). Anyways. So I bought the brightest Kureyon I could find at Ram Wools. I paired it with a solid black Istex Lett Lopi. I find the Lett Lopi pairs really well with Kureyon, as they both have similar weights and textures, amoung other qualities. It also comes in a decent amount of solid colours to counterpoint the crazy  colour-changes in the Kureyon. Then after spending lots of time with graph paper and pencil, I came to a final pattern. It was a super quick knit, taking only a few hours for each mitten. Then I washed them twice to felt them up a little for extra warmth. If you click on the picture it goes to the corresponding Ravelry page. I am going to update it with the final felted project soon.

Ben was really excited by the finished mittens. He kept poking one with one of my needles saying "Making holes, fixing holes." Then he kept stealing them and using them as driving gloves. He told me "Just like a race car (driver)." What a cutie.

The other pair of mittens that I am still working on, is a pair of recycled sari silk mittens. It's a little bit of an unconventional mitten yarn, but when I tried to find a good pattern for the ball of Wild Peacock Recycled Silk I got from Darn Good Yarn, all I could find was drop-stitch scarves, and I am just not a fan of them. So I decided, why not make mittens! Because the yarn is so chunky, and the needles so big (8), they are a super super quick knit. I made up the pattern on the fly, and it turned out well. I think the mittens show off all the colours and intricacies of the recycled silk so well. I love all the colours! I can see these giving a lot of hope for warmer days come winter. Again, the picture links to the corresponding Ravelry page.

Little O is doing so well. He is almost 4 months old.He rolls over both ways, and is trying so hard to move around on his tummy. I brought out B's old spinning play mat (that is not quite the same one, its a newer model, but the idea is the same), so he could have a bit more fun while wiggling around. I found both of the boys really liked this because it allowed them to spin about really easily just by inadvertent foot or hand movements. Which made them both enjoy tummy time a lot more, because I found they were mostly getting frustrated by not being able to move. O's little coos sound less screechy and more syllable-ish every day. 

B is such a funny little guy. He loves his cars. Above is a picture of him with a car mall he asked me to make for him. He loves having places to park them. He calls parking garages "car houses." Anything an item is stored in is its house, and he loves finding houses for things. Sometimes I will find his Hot Wheels in perfect-sized spots for them in between books in his bookcase. He's recently started identifying objects by how many there are. He can identify one to four things. Like three cars or two books. Anything over four is four. 

The next few days will be busy. I have lots of baking to do (buns, cinnamon bread, cookies, cheese crackers, regular crackers, and scones or muffins) and the preparatory shopping for that. Our library books are due this weekend, and I have some more ideas for mittens I need to work out.

Just waiting for paint to dry...

I figured I'd use the time waiting for my nails to dry to type out a blog post. A french manicure with hot purple tips. Oh yeah. Not a lot is new, but I've felt really busy. Last week was my birthday. Ryan took me to Kawaii Crepe. It was delicious. Most of all I was really impressed at their comprehensive branding. It is so simple to do things like use branded cups or even a logo, but so few places here do it. I had a good birthday and now have a lot more yarn. Yikes! On top of my darngoodyarn.com order which I am still waiting on, I placed a knitpicks.com order and went to Ram Wools yesterday. Most excitingly, I got the set of Harmony needles I wanted. Oh yeah, and Ryan took me to Where the Wool Things Are and I got some Dream in Colour Smooshy (in Happy Forest). I set out looking for patterns for it, and then remembered the pattern I mentioned in my last post, the Kai-Mei socks which are made in that exact yarn (even the same colour). So instead of finishing my projects like I had intended, I rushed out to buy Sock Innovation and started on them. I've been to busy to do much on them, but I am halfway through the first heel. I appreciate that the more boring part of these socks is the first part, I always get bored when the end is all the same. Like the sleeves on the sweater I still have to finish. At least I have 8 or so months to finish them. And everything else. Dear family, I hope you like hand knit presents!

Tomorrow my sister and I are going to see Sex in the City 2. I know, there's been lots of bad reviews, but I could really use some sitting in a theatre, relaxing, and watching something silly time. And eat popcorn. And if there is time, a trip to Sephora beforehand.

The boys are doing so well. O has been a bit cranky with his bottom teeth coming in, but even when he is cranky he has lots of smiles.B has calmed down from his terrible two attack, and has become a lot more reasonable, which is a relief! And he grew an inch in the last month. No wonder I've had to put aside so much of his clothes. Not much else going on really. All is well. As usual, B just gets more and more expressive every day. And O is getting bigger and cuter. Anyways. Now I will get back to my nails, knitting, and Mall Cops: Mall of America.

Busy, blah blah excuses.

I think i have been busy, but not really. It usually comes down to a choice of knitting or blogging, and the former almost always wins. Mostly because I want to finish up some stuff (of course I started two extra projects after finishing one, so I still have three on the go... which I will fix, I swear) before my sari silk comes. I still don't know 100% what I am going to do with it, but it's down to crazy mittens or shawl. I will probably do mittens because I hate doing scarves for the most part, and I think they would be beautiful mittens. Have I ever mentioned how much I love making mittens? They are my favorite kind of project. They are small enough that it's hard to get too bored, and for the most part, one ball of yarn makes two mittens, so you can invest in some really  pretty yarn. And you can do really intricate colour work in small doses. Most importantly, at least living up here, everyone needs mittens. So there is always someone to offload your creations to. I've been working out a few small patterns of my own lately, and I hope to properly knit them up soon once I get some more yarn.


I always said I would never knit socks, but then I saw this book the other day, and it changed my mind. Soo pretty. I especially want to make the Kai-Mei socks in a really pretty tonal yarn. But I think I'll start with some regular stripey Noro socks first. I love the way that stuff changes colour. The changes are so subtle and gradual, but the colours are always so different, its amazing. Knitting is a bad hobby for someone who loves colour so much! I just want to buy all the colours! Although, I must say finding the perfect green is really hard. They are never vibrant enough, or lean a little too blue, or are a little too muddy. One day!


It's my birthday this week which is fun. My dad is going to watch B for the evening. O will come with us, because he is pretty attached to me these days, and he is still young enough (and happy enough) to be portable. He is so adorable. Whenever I look at him he smiles and giggles at me. It's awesome. I think I am going to make Ryan take me to Kawaii Crepe. Yum.

Sewing and doing...

Yesterday was the start of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. Having no time to sew, I spent some time cutting last night, and then a couple of hours sewing this morning. I made B some slippers, finished up some bibs I had already cut up, and a t-shirt for B. It was mildly disastrous, I have lost a lot of my sewing ability, and especially my pattern making ability. And the stupid machine kept un-threading (mostly my own fault). Even though my work is a little wonky, B likes it, and I guess that is what matters. He is wearing his slippers right now (based on this pattern - I made cutouts on the bottom and put a piece of fake leather I had around between the two sole pieces for grip). The bibs are pretty straightforward. The pattern is from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby, but really, it's not the sort of thing you need a pattern for. The t-shirt I made the pattern for using one of B's t-shirts. The sleeves are a little off because I did them all wrong. When the Apple Store opened here, they were giving out free shirts, and I had meant to make mine B sized, because it's not the sort of shirt I would wear, so I am glad I finally got around to doing that. B LOVES the Apple Store. I think it's because they clapped a lot when it opened and he got really excited. And they have computers for him to play on. And he likes the mall in general.

I finished the body of one of my Squirrelly Swedish Mittens yesterday, I just need to add the thumb. I really like the colours and they are so soft. I know they will probably pill a lot, being alpaca, but I don't care, they are that soft. I want to finish all my on-the-go projects in the next week so I can start new ones! For Mother's Day I got a gift certificate to Darn Good Yarn (and a really colourful necklace from Aldo that B picked out and likes a lot, he sits there naming the shapes). I ordered some Banana Fiber in Rocky Mountain, and a skein of slightly unrefined Sari Silk. I hear the Sari Silk is a bit tricky to work with, but the colour payout is worth it. And the banana fiber sounds fun! I am excited. I love getting packages in the mail. I finished the Little Seedling Soaker, but not in time. It looks pretty cute on O though, so it's all good. It will be perfect with a t-shirt in the summer. I love the yarn, I wish I had more!

We gave B a mohawk the other day, it's pretty darn cute. He also got these new sunglasses that make him look extra cool. B and I spent a lot of time last week working on Mother's Day presents. They look really simple, but the amount of energy that it takes to get a 2 year old to focus on such a task for long enough is a lot. I helped him colour two mugs and paint a tote bag. If I had a nickel for every time I told him to keep his hands in the air while they were covered in fabric paint, I'd be rich! And it worked! No mess! This week so far, we are just taking it easy, no grand plans.

Lots on the go...

So I finished the Chronicles of Narnia baby sweater. I was really worried while knitting it that it looked too large, but upon finishing, I tried it on little O, and it fit him pretty well. Since he is a large 3 month old, and it is for a 3-6 month old girl, I'd say it's pretty true to size. And I love the puffy sleeves. The colour work in the flowers could be a little neater, but that's my fault for doing it on such a loose knit. Next time I need to remember loose knit=stitch it on after. But I finished it and am overall happy with it (and the choice to make it short sleeved!) Now I am just on a quick diaper cover to go with a friend's son's birthday present (I love the yarn! It has a nice texture and is really spring-y.), and then I HAVE to finish the Squirrel Mittens and the hoodie for O. I am not going to let myself start the next project until I do, even though I have bought all the yarn and needles. After that I have a really good idea for a mitten design I want to try to make work.


We've been busy crafting for Mother's Day this week. B survived both permanent markers and t-shirt paint without any major incidents! I am not going to post any pictures until after the day, just in case. Yesterday I was sick, so we might have had a bit of a Yo Gabba Gabba day. We watched an episode about Superheroes, and B spent some time running around "flying." When Ryan was done working, I quickly sewed him up a cape and he loved it.


Next week is the Kids Clothing Week Challenge, and I am trying to plan out what to sew. I for sure am going to finish the cowboy bibs I have cut out and ready to sew, but other than that, I am a little lost. I've been looking at Crewcuts by J Crew for inspiration. I love their kids clothes. I might try to make a summer cardigan and some pants for B. O does nor really need anything clothes-wise, so I think I will focus on B, who has outgrown most of his 2T clothing.I like this pant pattern a lot. And he really wants some slippers, for which I have the most perfect heavy wool felt leftover from his Halloween costume (I thought it was pretty smart of me to make the pirate jacket out of real heavy jacket material in this climate). Something easy to slip on like this (I know they are for babies, but they will still work well for B). I think I will spend some time tomorrow planning and cutting. Today I have to finish the diaper cover, make a grocery list/meal plan, and shop.

Baking and making...

So I decided to take the make-it-yourself plunge today. I really want to reduce the amount of processed junk B eats, and keep O from eating too much. At least when they are at home. I've been talking about it for a bit and reading and planning as I am one to do. Last night, I decided to just jump into it. Since we have a lot planned over the next week, I did not need to do too much grocery shopping so I decided we'd go to Organza and the Bulk Barn this morning. Checking their website I found that Organza opened at 10 this morning, which is awesome, because B usually naps around noon,which is when I would have gone. We got some good stuff like blood oranges and butter lettuce grown in Landmark and funny organic cookies shaped like Priuses (is that the plural of Prius?)and windmills. We had some time to kill between Organza and the Bulk Barn so we decided to go to the Forks and get some coffee and delicious cinnamon buns (I always want to try the roasted vegetable bread pudding, but always seem to be there between meals). Then to the Bulk Barn for some baking supplies. I needed stuff to start making stuff. I picked up some organic gummy bears for B, and they are really really good. Organic gummy bears might seem a little overkill, I know, but it's the junk they replace sugar with that bugs me the most. I mean, if my kid is going to go crazy on anything, it better be the gold standard in sweetness, not corn. Corn is barely nutritious in its unadulterated form other than the fiber, so I don't like to think about what they do to it to make it sweeten food. It just does not seem right. Anyways. Next weekend I think we'll go shopping at the Forks, it opens at 9:30 and has cinnamon buns.

So after we got home, I got to some baking. I took the "goldfish" cracker dough that I had made last night out of the fridge and all cut up. I could not find any fish cookie cutters, so I got a hippo, a triceratops, a squirrel, and a bear (which really looks more like a burly dog). And I cut and cut, till I had filled my two cookie sheets three times each. Which is a lot of little crackers. And I baked and baked while they puffed up. B helped by stealing all my kitchen implements and insisting I find more for him to pretend to cook with, while O giggled at me. And when they were done, I gave one to B, nervous over wasting so much time baking something he would not like. And then he left the room and brought me the crackers he had been eating earlier and said "No more this, more THIS!" and pointed at the crackers I had just made. Victory! Flour, butter, cheese, salt, and pepper, so simple but really really good. If you have a cheesy cracker lover in your house, you should make these. Then I got super hippy and made Ryan some granola for breakfast, because he likes it. With oats, brown sugar, raisins, cherries, almonds, coconut and honey. So good. Tomorrow I am going to try to make something Bear Paw like with the old bananas we have around. I can't find a recipe so I am going to wing it. It feels good to make things. Something about baking elevating your mood.

I also quickly sewed up some snack pouches. They are more prototypes, and I did not have much time to do them, but they turned out pretty good. I dig it. Easier, cuter, and less garbage making than ziplock bags. Especially the cuter part. And when you flip the top they form a nice bowl. After I do a few tweaks (and maybe a trip to Fabricland) I am going to make some more. Making wise, I am still working on the sweater. I just moved the sleeve stitches (I made them extra poofy) to some waste yarn, and don't have too much more to do. Mostly because I am making it short-sleeved. The flowers are a touch wonky, but they just need some fixing with a crochet hook when it's all done. Yup. And now I am going to relax and work on it.