Tuesday, November 20, 2007

FO: LMJ Mitts...and a 5ives List

In the spirit of the original 5ives Lists:

Five knitterly announcements that you may or may not already be aware of:

1. It's official. I want a wheel. Like, to spin with. Let's be honest- we all suspected this would happen once I gave it a try. Which is why I held off on trying one for so long. Yeah well, all that blissful ignorance disappeared this past weekend, when I was lucky enough to take a friend's on-loan Lendrum out for a spin (hehe...*ahem*...sorry), thanks to Lori. Lori was a great teacher. MJ, you would be so proud! It took a little while for me to establish the necessary coordination needed in order to get things going, but eventually I did get the hang of it and soon I was spinning! I do enjoy the process of hand spindling, but oh the fun (and quickness) of a wheel! I liken the experience to a tendency I have while baking. Sometimes when I'm baking I prefer to mix ingredients by hand, because I like the process and motion of mixing by hand, using a big ol' bowl and a wooden spoon. At other times, in order to accomplish what I need to accomplish, a mixer is the way to go. I love my spindles, but a wheel. I must have a wheel. Must...have...

2. I don't know how or why it happened, but I've been bitten by the holiday knitting bug. Until a couple weeks ago I didn't intend on knitting any gifts this year. But somehow my brain is now consumed with small-scale holiday gift knitting project ideas. I've even finished one gift so far:

A pair of Cabled Fingerless Mitts by Carissa Browning for my longtime friend/hairstylist. She wears a lot of (if not all) black, so I felt it only fitting to knit these for her in some stash-busting Karabella Aurora 8 in 1148 (aka black). They are oh so soft. I hope she likes them!

3. While knitting the above, I decided that I want a pair of fingerless something-or-anothers for myself. I would love full on mittens, but in SoCal, they are not so practical. Fingerless gloves, on the other hand, completely so. ;) After seeing Julia's, I think I may need to be a copycat and knit me a pair of these.

4. Kat's book, Boho Baby Knits, is available (Congratulations, Kat)! You must check it out. And I'm not just saying this because several dear friends/fellow knitbloggers contributed patterns to this book. I have a copy and I can tell you, all potential biases aside, that this is a beautiful book, filled with lots of cute projects that look like a lot of fun to knit up. (Oh, and the models are freaking adorable!)

5. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, a mass donation day for Ravelry has been planned for Thursday. Some thankful Ravelers (Ravelriers?) came up with this idea which I think it's great. Ravelry has become nearly indispensable for many of us and we have Jess and Casey to thank. If you've been thinking about it, but haven't yet donated a little something to help them out (or even if you have) here's the perfect opportunity to show them some love. Just think- if we all gave even just $1...!

12 comments:

jillian said...

Those mitts are so cute - perfect and classic in the black. And thanks for the heads up about Ravelry!

Marnie said...

Oh, this was a 5ive-tacular post.
So exciting about the wheel. You might take a cue from Julia and rend a wheel or a couple different models, to be sure you really get to know what you want.

The mitts...so cute. I love them and I can't imagine anyone thinking they were anything but spectacular.

And, I'm going to go donate to Ravelry, right now. Brilliant.

lori said...

:)

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the wheel!

Anonymous said...

I love your fingerless gloves! I am very afraid that I'm going to suddenly be bitten by the holiday knitting bug. As of now I have nothing planned, but what if I abruptly decide I need to knit things for everyone I know all of a sudden?? It could happen. I'm scared.

I'll do the Ravelry mass donation! Good idea.

Happy Thanksgiving!

mary said...

Your fingerless gloves are perfect. I'm also making a pair or 2 of cabled ones for christmas gifts. Have a great turkey day!

LotusKnits said...

Love your gloves! And I'm glad you posted about the Ravelry giving too!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

xoxo

Anonymous said...

those mitts are absolutely adorable! Your hairdresser is sure to love them.
I too am very thankful for Ravelry! The mass donation day is a wonderful idea.
Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!

margaux said...

I love those mitts! I have knitted myself one and need to give it a friend - but ohhh are those Endpapers callin' to me too!

And yes in the spirit of Thanksgiving I am giving Ravelry all I can give! I mean hey it brought me closer to my SFAM!! :-)

Shelley said...

Oh heavens ... holiday knitting! I am hoping I can get some of those little projects done in Hawaii. Am I kidding myself? Perhaps ... perhaps. But I've got big plans. nice job on the mitts. Those are on my list too.

mle said...

Nice mitts!! Hey, maybe if you're good Santa will bring you a wheel... :-)

K8 said...

I made some fingerless gloves for a friend of mine one year - really the perfect knit gift. Not alot of time invested, and people usually love them. I've been trying to hold off on the spinning bug myself - though the temptation of a wheel comes and goes. I've seen snippets of the book - it looks great!

I love the Ravelry plan for tomorrow - really, a wonderful idea.

Madge said...

I *knew* you'd be bitten by the spinning wheel bug sooner or later. hehe Looks like the time is now...and what better, with the holidays coming? Better get your Santa's wish list written.

Great mitts!