I got bored in the middle of the summer and despite my sticky fingers made a hat. My roommate is very happy with this development, as lately I have found I have too many hats and socks, but I can’t seem to stop knitting. Solution: give things to roommate. Ta-da!

Hello Orange (Ravelry)
Pattern: Opus Spicatum by Kate Osborn
Yarn: Leftover Cascade 220. Love that stuff.
Needles: US 6 & 7

(I could probably eat a few Creamsicles right now—it’s hot enough, geez.)

I’m kind of in love with these. I hope Becky will be too. They’re orange! And swirly! They will totally brighten up anyone’s winter.

The pattern is pretty great, too. I’m soooo glad I finally got a chance to try it—I’ve been envisioning a pair of these with a midnight blue yarn in the “background” and another cream for the foreground—or maybe not cream. I haven’t figured it out yet; I’ll have to go outside at night sometime and figure out some good colors that go together. And I’ll go to the yarn store and drool over some yarns, I bet.

I am not very happy with KnitPicks Palette anymore though. Did it have to grow that much?! Did the row gauge have to be that long?! I’m a little embarrassed that these mittens are going to be so long. I think they’re still usable, but definitely a bit roomy. Oh well. Live and learn, hey?

Creamsicle (Ravelry):
Pattern: Anemoi Mittens by Eunny Jang
Yarn: KnitPicks Palette in Orange and Cream
Needles: 2.5mm KnitPicks Harmony DPNs (which I do love)

So, excepting the long length, which I think I accounted for enough, pretty good, if I do say so myself. :) Woo hoo!

I’ve also renamed the project Creamsicle. Or Orangsicle if you prefer. Those are perfect July treats—and the mittens definitely evoke the image!

I’m trying to finish these as soon as possible, but I know there’s no way to have them done by the birthday. Oh well. I’m trying to minimize the lateness, but still, better late than never!

I’m having some trouble with the mittens. I suggested this pattern and Becky said she wanted orange. So I thought, orange fading into the background with cream popping out would look great—a little bit of bright color to freshen up your outfit, but not too much that it screams. (I’m actually really okay with loud, screaming colors—but it’s not what I pictured for this project.)

I had thought that by placing orange as the so-called “background” color, it would fade into the background and the cream would be able to cut sharply across it. But that doesn’t seem to be how this pattern is set up. I wanted orange as the accent color in this project. But it doesn’t seem to be working: it’s taking over so much that the actual pattern is getting hard to discern. Did I make a mistake in making orange the “background” color? Should I switch the colors?

I tried to make it better by making the cream the “dominant” color (with this going through my head: “hello, my knitting. I can make whichever color I want dominant”), but I don’t think it’s noticeable on the right side, though it certainly is on the inside:

Though the final decision really rests in Becky’s hands (ha ha, I made a pun), I’d like your input: would you switch the colors? Make orange the contrast color so it’s not as loud? Or do you like it how it is?

(P.S. Becky—make a decision! I’d be more than happy to rip it out and start all over switching the colors, it’s really fun knitting, I assure you. Let me know!)

Despite some conjecture over the closing of Lunsh.net, Becky and I are not mad at each other. We were just tired of Lunsh. :) Anyway, she’s moving to Boston from Texas, so she doesn’t have real winter clothes, and her birthday is coming up, so I decided (especially since she claims to wear her last birthday present all the time) that I would knit her something for her upcoming birthday: mittens, hat or scarf. She chose mittens. At some point this set of ribbing will become a pair of Anemoi Mittens Just you wait and see.

And before I go, a quick photo from the beach I stumbled upon yesterday:

(Okay, I got a little lost. But I wasn’t really lost. I was sort of sightseeing with a vague idea of how to get back. :D)

*waves*

That’s the palm side, which is about the same on both sides.

And that’s the not-palm side. The cool patterned side. The cool patterned side that you can’t really tell is all that patterned.

Anyway. What can I say? I’m no master knitter, that’s for sure.

I do, however, like to practice my evil hand rubbing technique while Pepper thinks I’m nuts.

turquoise and grey (Ravelry):
Pattern: Clematis by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering in Sharks and Louet Gems Fingering Weight in Steel Grey
Needles: Uhhh… I have no clue anymore. 2.5mm? 2.25mm? Who knows?

Okay, one more thing crossed off… Does anyone else really want to cast something on today? Something is nagging at the back of my mind but I don’t know what it could be.