Back in the Saddle and Knitting...

Yes...the nasty bug has left me...Tis the season for respiratory infections/colds and tummy aches around here... is it where you live? We've kissed the bugs goodbye here for a bit.


The day the nasty cold came, a friend begged me to head to a LYS with her to exchange some dpns...she needed a shorter needle. I vowed not to buy yarn. I felt the Manos, picked up the Manos...but common sense (and checkbook) reminded me that I have enough Manos at home to make a few (or even many) more blocks for the Manos throw, or at least until after Thanksgiving.


So, I put the Manos back. Ahem...on checkout, I saw little filled bags...my curiosity got the better of me. Taking a peek inside, I noticed various rainbow shades of yarn and roving...AND the LYS store model for a nice thrummed mitten.
Well...never having made mittens before...never mind a thrummed one...I was intrigued. I saw the blueberry Mauch Chunky (Kraemer Yarn) that is 60% New Zealand wool and 40% domestic wool...along with some huckleberry color roving in a cute bag with directions, and I grabbed the bag and a short-sized stitch holder and went to the checkout. I think that's called impulse buying...right?
While sitting at the kitchen table while my third grader does his math and home school work, I whipped out a fun mitten...and feel SO good! Why didn't anyone TELL me that mittens are SO easy...and so is thrumming! These mittens will work out great for the New Hampshire winter that's bound to arrive here sooner or later. One slight problem: I think I put 2/3rds of the roving into the first glove, so it will be interesting on my second glove as I try to "equalize" the thrumming into both gloves. Here is the outside and inside of my first glove:


Note: While the LYS provided mitten instructions, I didn't find them helpful to a new mitten knitter using thrumming. So...I went online, and found these helpful sites:
The Yarn Harlot's article and photos on thrumming, step by step
Yarn Forward Thrummed Mitten pattern for 4 dpns
Newfoundland Thrummed Mittens
and the pattern that I used for Thrummed Mittens from Knitting On The Net.


I just love the warmth of the roving inside the glove...