When I left for work this morning I pulled out my mittens for the first time this fall. "Hm," I thought to myself, "I'd better get cracking on those elephant mittens."
I used to think of mittens as a quick and easy project, but my last two pairs of mittens have been slow and painful knits. Pair #1 did have a lot going on: an Estonian braided cast-on, a lining, a flip-top, a button loop, a patterned afterthought thumb, so much finishing that I can't even call it a boatload of finishing; it was more like a QE2-load. They were a pain in my butt, I must say. But they are excellent mittens, it turns out, so I'm glad I persevered.
I told myself the ones I cast on for Stella back in January would be easier. While they are unlined with no flip top, they do have a picot cast-on, a Latvian braid, non-intuitive patterning with long floats, and a patterned afterthought thumb. ALSO they're worsted weight yarn worked on size 3 needles, which is not my favorite; ALSO ALSO they're really long so the hassle just keeps grinding on.
But as you can see, I'm getting closer.
The palm-side patterning is pretty, isn't it?
I only have five rounds to go before I start decreasing, and then 13 decrease rounds, and then a thumb. And then the finishing, but it should be more of a paddleboat situation than a QE2 situation this time around.
Maybe I'll even see if I can knock out those last five pre-decrease rounds this evening. To be continued...
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