Noro Silk Garden, color 269

Now I've seen this colorway twice today, and I love it in both projects. This may be the most muted colorway that Noro makes, but it's gorgeous! However, it seems to be discontinued! There is a similar colorway in Kureyon that would work in the patterns.

First pattern: Deille by Mathew Gnagy in Knitting of the Axis. This lace cardigan is knit sideways so that the striping occurs vertically. The subtle monochromatic colors work nicely and don't stand out too much.

Second pattern: Oyster Mittens by Rebecca of "Dolies are Stylish" -- They do look like the pearly inside of an oyster shell or the oyster itself.

Broad Street Convertible Mittens

I've been wanting to make these for awhile, and I've had the yarn for awhile, too. Finally got around to making them. The yarn is very nice to knit with and stripes subtly, but feels a bit thin for warmth. And right now the weather is too nice to really test them.

The pattern was fairly easy and straightforward, just need to pay attention to thumb gusset and fingers. And a tip from a Bernat pattern: knit the row for the mitten cap with a life-line or larger needle to make it easier to pick up stitches after you've finished the fingers.

Convertible Mittens for Kelly

Pair, originally uploaded by toadncat.

Love these! They are so cute, I want a pair for myself.

Kelly's hands have been cold on her walk to and from school, so I found a pattern for converitable mittens. This way her hands stay warm, but she can still use her iPod Touch.

The pattern gauge was larger than my yarn's gauge, so I used the medium size for my guide. I also traced Kelly's hand on paper so I could see if the size of the mitten was right.

These match Oso's sweater, so they can be coordinated when they go out together. I still have some yarn, so there may be a Christmas stocking for Oso...

Stash Buster, Part 2

Stash Buster, originally uploaded by toadncat.

From the Vampire Knits book, I present "Palm Readers"! I used Plymouth Boku, which is not super-soft, but I like the subtle shading. And there was even some yarn leftover. I'm trying to think of projects for all of the multi-colored worsted yarns ends that I've accumulated...

I'm not sure if these will end up in the archives or as a gift. But I'm on my way to start my holiday knitting. :-)

Starry Night Fingerless Mittens

I love Manos del Uruguay! And I was so excited when the silk blend came out, but I don't really want a whole sweater of it. So a little bit goes a long way. This pattern from Churchmouse Yarns & Tea is quick and easy and looks like a million bucks.

My mittens have only 4 purl ridges but I did put in another 3 knit rows so my mittens come pretty far down on my wrists. I like the way the purl stitches frame the thumb gusset; it is the most elegant way to make a thumb.

The yarn has a subtle sheen and the Stellar colorway looks like a velvety blue sky with golden stars. Ah!