Mittens!

I sent off my swap-mate's package late last week and she let me know today she already received it!  Woot!  So, I can now reveal the mitten FO details that I sent to her.  Irene doesn't have a blog, but if you have a Ravelry account, you can check out all her lovely knitted work at user name Reanbean.  Kind of a high standard to be held to for your swap partner with all her wonderful stranded work.

For her gift pair, I picked the Bosnian Mittens from Blackberry Ridge Mill.  The colors were perfect for Irene - green and brown with a hint of rusty orange.

Project Specs:

• Yarn:  75% wool, 25% mohair from Blackberry Ridge Mill.  I am not usually a fan of mohair, but this yarn is absolutely wonderful.  The mohair gives it a wonderful sheen without being prickly or fuzzy, and super-saturates the colors.  The brown is actually a natural brown-sheep wool.  I predict these will wear like iron and they are VERY warm, perfect for New England. This is a worsted weight yarn, so it knits up quickly.
• Pattern:  Bosnian Mittens by Beth Morimoto.  Available through Blackberry Ridge as either a stand-alone pattern or in a kit.  Some basic colorwork skills are needed.  It would have been nice if they had included a photo of the palm, as you sort of had to wing what the thumb looked like.  The pattern also assumes you have some knowledge of mitten construction as well.
• Needles:  US size 2 and 4.
• Summary:  I was happy with these.  I was a little concerned if I picked itsy-bitsy yarn and needles (which tends to be my penchant), I wouldn't have them done in time, so I am glad I went with a heavier yarn.  I enjoyed working with this yarn so much, I did a little stash enhancement and went back and got yarn for 2 more (different) pairs. 

Enjoy them, Irene! 

All for now....

Comments

[Marcia Cooke]

Oh, I just love those! I might even have to try them....colorwork and all!

[Alarming Female]

just beautiful

[amy]

Very nice!

[Laurie]

Those are thoroughly beautiful. Nice stranding. I'm finding the yarn to be delicious to work with, and hope to knit Mr. E a sweater with it. It's soft, but sturdy, and the texture is great, despite the mohair, as you point out. My mittens are coming slower, but the colorwork is FUN.

[Norma]

Mmmm, they's gorgeous. Sure am glad you're not requiring registration for the comments any more!

[margene]

So pretty...such a lucky swap partner!

[Margaret]

Hope she loves them, as they sure are pretty! I'll bet the mohair does make them nice and warm. Irene was my swap pal, and let's just say she deserves some great mittens.

[Toby]

Those are beautiful! What a nice accent they'll make when worn with a Winter coat.

I'm excited that you said the yarn is worsted weight for this pattern. Another of my goals for this year is to experiment more with colorwork and not only do I have a variety of colors in worsted weight, but it seems it would be easier to start with worsted than fingering weight yarn.

[Liz]

stunning! and ww to boot, that's too cool!

[Laura]

These are so beautiful! I know Irene will treasure them.

[Mia]

Pretty mittens. And tiny yarn and tiny needles do equal slow knitting at times.

[AmyP]

Lovely mittens - and thanks for the sneaky heads-up last week! I kept quiet!

[keri]

what beautiful mittens - the color and pattern go beautifully together!

[PJ]

Beautiful mittens!!