Here is my progress after Friday night, Saturday night and some of Sunday.
The mitts will be a gift for a good friend of mine for x-mas. After 1000 ideas what to make for her finally got me into the yarn shop and looking around and when seeing this yarn I knew what to make.
The yarn is “Cool Wool Seta” by Lana Grossa - 30 % silk, 70 % virgin wool.
The pattern work drove me nuts. I did not make it to memorize the repeat within the first mitt so there is a little mistake in the thumb gusset pattern. But I will keep it this way. The second one is getting a lot quicker and easier.
The Fair Isle and Weaving is not my problem, as you know. But the repeat… silly but true, I do admit it.
(PS: The slow-mo-video of the weaving technique is online in my blog and a text-explanation will follow).
thank you. I am into the thumb gusset of the second one (about half way up the thumb part). I would be happily knitting away, but it is late and I need to go to be (after midnight here). I am getting a lot quicker on this. I should probably not have been working on them when I was flatened by a tiring week on Friday night. I think that started me out badly with them. But the feel good and they are nice to work up once you make friends with them.
My friend just loves this tone of greenish blue. She was actually wearing a shirt in that exact color today and said that was one of her favs. Well, that shirt might get an accessory soon. Why not.
thanks, slim!
color work becomes one of my trademarks at the moment, I guess. Well with so many people asking about the woven inside, I felt like I should do more of this and for xmas presents it is nice: looks effective and goes pretty smoothly - once you figure it out
When they are done I will post pics of the inside, too. That will show the woven strands and double thickness - comes in handy for mittens, really.
The yarn is just forming a very tight fabric with such small needles. I hope that will be liked.
Your colorwork is beautiful – perfectly even stitches. I have looked at your video once, but am going to look at it again. I love colorwork, but have had no luck with it.
Hi!
thanks for the compliments. It really is not so hard.
When you do the stranding the way I do - or any other woven way, really - you do not have that tension problem so much. No floats means more even work… that is the other benefit.
I am currently working on a text-and-photo-instruction. I will shout out loud when it is done. Maybe that will be easier for everyone to follow - since the pics are standing still. And: Everybody is a different learning type. Some need to hear, some need to see, others prefer to read… so maybe I can help some people on with good color work instruction. I will do my best.
(did you also see my slow-mo-video? was that helpful?)
They look wonderful! I’m sure that your friend will LOVE them!
You really do beautiful colorwork, and it’s great to see that you are putting so much effort into providing learning resources for those who wish to learn your techniques. I found your video extremely helpful in attempting my first colorwork project, so hopefully others who are interested in giving it a try will check out your resources on the subject and find themselves acquiring a new knitting skill! :knitting:
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][COLOR=Purple]Your knitting is always exquisite.
But what truly amazes me is that you knit so beautifully [I]and fast[/I],
[B]and[/B] still find time to make videos to teach the rest of us.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] :yay:
oh, it is really no big desal. I am telling you.
For me this is just a project. OK, one that demands more concentration than some, but just a project nontheless.
I am totally humbled by the response to my videos. I will try to make the process clear even to the last one who wants to learn. I would sit down with each and every knitter to teach in person, but that just won’t work.
I have always been a fast knitter and I am trying to take on projects that have more effort so that I do not go through projects too fast. (cost of wool, lack of closet space and such )
The internet also gives me the chance to show things and then I get questions and then… you know… that is all just logical. And it DOES seem to help some people. So I am not sooo far off the path.
Thanks for the video and the Mitts are beautiful. I’m working on a colorwork sweater now and I’m weaving using the Philosophers method. I watched your video and I’ll be trying your method as soon as I pick up my sweater again. I found an error in the chart and I’m waiting for a corrected chart. Your method looks a lot easier and quicker. thanks again for sharing.
Hi!
Thanks for the encouraging words. I have finished the pattern part on the second mitt and will only have to do the top cuffs tonight. So that was going a lot faster the second time around. I was probably just being a wimp about it on round 1.
The Philosopher’s wool method is great! If you can knit with both hands (which I can not really). And I do not know how fast you can get with it. My method works relatively smoothly so it can be sped up with practice.
I did go back and look at the slow-motion. My main problem is that I knit the English style, throwing the yarn over instead of picking it up from the left hand. I tried the Continental style once and my tension was too loose, and I got too nervous. Since I knit for relaxation, I gave up. Your knitting is so smooth and even. I am going to try again as soon as I finish my grandchildren projects.
I am an English knitter as well. When I was working on my first colorwork project just recently I used a combination of Hyperactive’s videos and THIS VIDEOI found on YouTube. The video I’ve linked demonstrates the same principle that Hyperactive uses, only it is done by an English style knitter. It helped me to convert what Hyperactive was describing into the English knitting style.
I will point out that Hyperactive’s video’s are much better/clearer because of the camera view … she positioned the camera behind her so that the viewer gets to “look over her shoulder” and see the knitting being done from the same point of view that they would see it when they are actually doing the knitting themself. The YouTube video above uses a “head on” camera view, which isn’t ideal, but using the two videos in combination I was able to grasp the concept fairly quickly.
Anyways, I just thought I would re-post the link for you (or any other English knitters) in case you find it helpful in getting started!
Hi!
thanks for the compliments. I have the opposite problem: I do only knit Continental and even though I tried English I have made the stitches but never a project like that. So…
Thanks for the helpful video and suggestions. Thanks, too, Hyperactive (I tried to multi-quote, and could not figure it out). I am determined to learn how to do colorwork evenly, with no floaters, but right now I am really enjoying the “cablework” that I am doing.
