about that whole knitting with handspun thing. a couple of our organist friends who went on the trip to france with ben and katie were total troopers – carrying luggage and pushing her in a wheel chair through the streets of paris.
so last week, i dedicated some time to making them some mitts as a thank you. mitts are organist’s, who play in cold, drafty churches, favorite knit item.
red/gold as requested. they’re adam’s fraternity colors – fun fact: also, mine and ben’s high school colors.
that means i figured out the colors, spun the yarn fairly thin (maybe dk weight after washing? that falkland always plumps up!), washed, thwacked, dried, balled, and then knit them.
i ended up knitting them on size 7 needles, which created a really nice fabric. i was playing a bit in the spinning. the red/gold has more twist in it than the summery colored mitts. even with the added twist, they’re not that different in softness. but it means the red/gold pair will pill a bit less and last a bit longer (not that i predict either will wear out any time soon!). the other thing to notice is that i spun the summery pair a bit lighter weight.
the recipient’s hands are smaller than ben’s. ben’s are a bit big for these.
i was surprised to find that these mitts are a delicate and light. it took under 2 oz of each skein to make each pair. i must say that i envisioned them with more stripes and was rather shocked when they took so little yarn.
the other thing i must note on this adventure is that although i like these, i like subtle stripes kits spun up into fatter yarns better on the whole. you can see all the colors better that way. they don’t have to be super bulky, but i will certainly never make subtle stripes in sock weight!
jacob’s mitts – he likes bright colors! [my project on ravelry]
it just seems to me that the colors are fighting a bit in the yarn rather than letting both show. that said, i really want a dk weight subtle stripes pullover! really really i do.
all in all, these were fun. i also declare them successful, just what i was going for weight-wise and colors that they guys will love. that and i didn’t have to knit a boring pair of mitts in red and gold stripes! huzzah.
now the question is, what do i do with the other half balls? my brian is churning as i write ;)
cosymakes 
I see what you mean about the visual difference of the subtle stripes in chunky vs. dk weights – but I do like the dk, too. Can’t wait to see that dk-weight sweater, whenever you get around to making it!
Cosy!! Those are gorgeous, and what a beautiful cause! It’s so nice to know that there are wonderful people all over the world.
And I have to say that I might disagree with you on the second set. I think those colors are wonderful and I don’t see the fight at all. Of course I’m sitting here on the other side of my monitor, and not looking in person ;-) That being said, I do think they are a different combination than what I’ve seen you work with before, maybe that’s one of the reasons you’re feeling a bit critical of them?
And, just in case you read this far down, if you can’t think of anything else to do with that second half of the second colorway, I know where it can find a good, loving home ;-)
oh! i wasn’t implying the second pair was bad. i was just being generic in the comment about dk vs bulkier. i love the colors in them! really i do ;)
Beautiful mitts. I love the incongruity of the second pair.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with for the second half of the yarn.
up, the incongruity was a must. ben says that sometimes jacob wears different colored shoes!
Great mitts! I get the whole subtle striping thing now. I originally thought the kits for making a Noro type striping yarn. This is cooler and more awesomely homespun.
I know what you mean about the Falkland plumping up. It even started plumping while I was plying my latest fibre club bump. Question: how do you finish your yarns? Do you do the whole simmering on the stove thing or wash, thwack and dry?
i’m always surprised by the plumping. perhaps it’s because i’m slow :D
to set my yarns, i put some cold water in my washer and put the yarn in to soak for at least 20 min. then i spin it out using the spin cycle (i’ve known people to use salad spinners for this too), when i spun less, i used to squish it in a towel to get the excess moisture out then i thwack it a few times for good measure (although i’m not nearly as aggressive as other people i know!) and hang it up to dry
that said, sometimes they even get knit with before being set. whoops!
“and it appears that i cannot stop knitting with handspun!” – You said it right…I sure know that feeling:-)
I love your handspun hats and mitts!
Those leftover little balls drive me crazy….it IS fun to figure out what to do with them though.
thank you! i, if nothing else, thrive on those little left over balls. nothing like that to get my creativity flying.
Have.to.make.those.mitts.