I have really been enjoying knitting the last couple of weeks. First I was in a frantic flurry knitting Christmas gifts for the kids. Then there was the after Christmas knitting added to that. Then came the envy knitting for the family members who wanted something like I had made for other members in the family.
This week was mostly spent working on finishing the lined, felted mittens for M.
The outer mittens were knit with one strand of Misti Alpaca lace weight and one strand of an alpaca yarn for which I no longer had the label. I had the yarn in two colorways, a brown and a grey and had used it for sweaters for the boys more than 10 years ago. Miss P is almost big enough to wear the smaller of the sweaters.
But, oh my, this yarn is SO soft. When I first gave the boys their sweaters, Mr M wore his EVERY DAY of winter break that year.
If these mittens were mine, they'd double as mittens and scarf because I don't think I'd be able to keep them away from my face.
They are THAT soft.
The linings are knit from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino on size 4 needles. Since they will be inside the felted mittens I was able to use up some odd leftovers of this yarn. The cuffs are both knit with black but after the cuffs I used up whatever small bits of baby cashmerino were left from other projects.
It always feels good to use up leftover bits of yarn.
Actually, I've been having a conversation on Instagram with a few others about a yarn/fabric stash busting project. It's been ages since I've actually bought any yarn but mostly that's because I have been too focused on quilting projects. This week, in trying to find the outgrown alpaca sweaters, which I actually had stored in the deep freezer in the basement, I dug out most of my yarn stash and now it's in a big pile in the living room. Some of it has been out of sight for so long it's as if it's new to me again. I've taken a quick inventory and will challenge myself to make 100 projects without purchasing any more yarn/fabric. I will allow myself to purchase items needed to complete a project but want to work mainly from my stash. I'm going to count my recent knits in December which makes this pair of mittens Stash Project 7.
And here is a start on Stash Project 8, alpaca fingerless mitts for myself.
