Monday 19 July 2010

Chilly

I've written my first pattern
...for fingerless mitts!
It's winter here in the Land of Oz and it has been very, very chilly in the mornings. I have really needed something to keep my hands warm
and I've come up with these:







They are made out of 8 ply wool, although the pattern is easily adapted to 10 ply, they're crocheted in the round so that you can fit them as you go
and they're super quick to make.
I'm planning on posting the pattern in the next couple of weeks (once I've finished tweaking the construction of the right hand glove and when I can fit blogging into this crazy, busy life of mine.)
I haven't come up with a name for them yet. I'm considering something Dickensian ~ fingerless mitts always make me think of Dickens and I actually crocheted one of these while watching (and loving) the television adaption of Little Dorrit. I could call them Little Dorrits, perhaps? I've also thought of naming them Crisp Morning Mitts, which is a play on my name. My pun loving sister came up with What the Dickens. Or maybe I should go with something more sensible like Lacy Fitted Mitts?
What do you think?

I came up with my own pattern after making two sets of Shell Lace Fitted Fingerless Gloves:




This is one of the most clearly written patterns I've ever worked from and really helped me to understand how fingerless mitts are constructed.

In other crafty news,
I received this gorgeous knitted washcloth and soap in a Ravelry swap from the wonderful WendyLew, my swap partner




and Little Red Hen gave me one of her beautiful HANDbags when we met up for coffee:




It's constructed so cleverly and I love the pretty floral fabric.
As well as generously giving me some of her handiwork Little Red Hen engaged me in a really interesting conversation that covered, amongst other things, travelling, teaching and selling art which was very thought provoking. I never usually sell any of my work but after talking about how validating it can make you feel, as an artist, I'm thinking that I might exhibit some of my paintings some time in the not~too~distant future.
Thanks for the inspiration, Dette.

I've enjoyed cooking comfort food during this cold snap. I made a Bread and Butter Pudding for a family dinner that was so nice I came home and cooked another one just for me!





The recipe asks for vanilla beans, and demerara sugar that's sprinkled over the pudding to create a crunchy, caramelised top. I left the crusts on the bread and that made it even crunchier, a fantastic contrast to the egg custard beneath.
Yum. Yum. YUM.
(It was so delicious I had it for breakfast too.)

It's been too cold to do much outside
but my garden's bloomed,
regardless:





Flowers bring me so much pleasure.



I hope this finds you enjoying the comforts of home too.

Blessings.
x







8 comments:

Katherine said...

I think you should go for a name with personality! Like "What the Dickens Mittens" or "Shells for Dorrit". "Little Dorrit" doesn't really seem to work - I think it would suit something like a hat (with just one item made, not two like these gloves).

Whatever you call them, they are very cute! Well done! xx

Fruitful Fusion said...

Those mittens look great! Love the colour too! I like "What the Dickens". The pudding looks yummy!

Linda said...

I love fingerless gloves so I'll be on the look out for your pattern. Right now I'm knitting a pair for a gift. It's been about 40 Celsius with the humidex but it is never too early to get starting on cold weather items. Got to be prepared.

Kathleen said...

Love all the pretty things you've posted today. I especially love the fingerless. Very Nice!

Balkan Style Bloggers said...

We're big fans of fingerless mitts here! Your Little Dorrits are lovely! :)

2paw said...

Oh they are lovely, I like 'What the Dickens' too!! Sadly, it is way too cold here at the moment for their lacy wonderfulness, but I shall add them to my queue when the pattern is ready!!
I must ask Wendylew about that gorgeous pattern too, and LRH's bag is so lovely.
Yum, pudding!!
Your garden looks like Summer!!

Red Hen (dette) said...

I may have to make some of those mittens myself, to go with my cardi. It has indeed been a little bit chilly, not so bad when on holidays but I'm not looking forward to duty this week. The pudding looks delicious just the thing for the cold cold night and I like the idea of having some for breaky too (might just get some left overs with my son away in darwin)
I hope you do have some works on exhibition, I look forward to attending it.

faeryfay said...

Ooooh, I'd love that gorgeous pattern! :-)