Wednesday, October 31, 2007

more mittens

I have made a good start on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Norwegian Mittens, and I certainly learned a good deal about the genius of EZ.
Please ignore the dreadful color combo (delft and delphinium)! This was the only Telemark around, and I couldn't wait for my new order to arrive to swatch.

So, EZ recommends using an i-cord cast-on for this (knitting 56 rows of i-cord, joining the ends, then picking up 56 stitches). Yeah, I thought that sounded like a pain in the a%&, so I used the long-tail cast-on, knit a couple ridges of garter stitch and began the colorwork. Bad plan! Look at the awful curling.

After my new yarn arrived (alpine frost and snow leopard -- nice wintry names!), I tried out her fancy cast-on.
Guess what? It rocks! No curling, there's a really neat, corded edge, and I'm thrilled with it. EZ was right, but I was right, too -- it was a pain in the a$% to do. It's worth it, though. Hmm... the color combos don't look too different on the computer, but they look quite different in real life.

In other news, a marvelous parcel from Allison arrived on my doorstep for the Knitter's Tea Swap (details on that blog). Thanks, Allison!

Happy Halloween!
I'm spending the evening at home in front of a roaring fire, knitting, and possibly watching season 1 of Angel. Oh yes, grading papers, too.

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