I have to tell you: Lucy is one helpful kitty. She always helps me write my blog:

Lucy at the computer 013108

Last night I headed into my bedroom early, to sit on the bed and knit in front of the bedroom tv. At one point I got up to read email or something, and came back to this:

Lucy on the Bed 013108

The next time I got up, I came back to this:

Lucy

That’s one of Lucy’s favorite toys: a paper ball. She brings them to us when she wants to play. Sometimes she just discreetly places one near you and disappears.

And you wonder how I get so much knitting done? Look at all the help I have!

Speaking of getting knitting done, I am now knitting a thumb.

Thumb in Progress 013108

I’ll show you the finished mitten on Sunday.

Colleen asked:

Do you use regular cast on and sew it down for the picot hem for a particular reason, as opposed to prov cast on and knitting it together with the 13th row? Because you feel like it, because it looks better, because you can’t stand the juggling when knitting from two parallel needles, some other reason?

My reasons are two-fold.

1. When I do a picot edge in the manner you describe, I find that it sometimes pulls in on the row where you knit the cast-on to the inside and I don’t like the look of it.

2. When I started this mitten I was watching a movie with Lucy in my lap and was disinclined to get up for a crochet hook and a piece of waste yarn.

Honesty compels me to tell you that it was more of #2 than #1.

10 Bloggers Who Make My Day

When cruising through Bloglines this morning, I was pleased and honored to see that my longtime online buddy Liz listed me as one of her 10 bloggers who make her day. Thanks, Liz!

I’ve composed a list of 10 bloggers (out of many) who make my day. I’m cheating a little because reading Liz’ blog definitely makes my day(go see her beautiful twins!) but since I linked her up there, I am listing ten more blogs, in alphabetical order.

All Tangled Up — I’ve been reading Polly’s blog forever, and love her socks, her scientific approach to knitting puzzles, and all the wonderful places she travels to.

Black Dog Knits — Nora’s blog is filled with beauty and creativity. I wish I had half her skill as a photographer.

Born to Knit — My friend Johanne likes to knit the same sort of things I do, so her blog is always a pleasure for me to visit. Apart from the knitting, she has two beautiful children who sometimes make an appearance on the blog.

Cabin Cove — Dave is daddy to the beautiful Miss Lulu Kitty, so Lucy visits there for photos of her online buddy. I’m also in it for the spinning and glorious color!

Go Knit in Your Hat — Carol’s blog is always a pleasure because of her sense of humor and way with words, not to mention her great “No-Bull” Book Reviews.

January One — I admire Cara for her beautiful photography, her color sense, and her open and honest writing style.

Lady of the Loom — I’ve known Alice since the world was new. She knits, she spins, she weaves, and she has a gorgeous new kitty!

Mason Dixon Knitting — Do I really need to say anything here? When I see a Mason-Dixon update on Bloglines I save it for last because it is always a treat.

Sheri at the Loopy Ewe — I never read Sheri’s blog without feeling good afterwards. I love her lists, her positive outlook, and her enabling ways. And who else could get me saying FPS instead of WTF?

We Heart Yarn — I love that Neuroknitter updates almost daily with beautiful artsy shots of her socks. Lucy loves the occasional glimpses of Gibson kitty!

So there you have it, kids. Ten blogs that make my day.

Something else that makes my day? I took the day off work tomorrow. Woo-hoo! Why? Because I am going shopping.

Yes, I plan to go over to the dark side . . .

Hey, thanks, you guys, for all the great comments on my Hot Stuff! mittens. I’m blushing here.

I shall now proceed to answer some questions.

Corianne asked:

I’ve never made two color mittens. Do nails, rings, etc. ever bother the floats?

Well, they could.

Long-time readers will remember that I am a floater, not a weaver. But for mittens and gloves I make an exception and I weave more along the back, specifically so that there is less chance of catching a float when inserting or extracting a hand. I generally don’t have a problem with this because I tend not to wear rings in the winter, and my nails are always filed the moment they develop a rough spot.

And Melissa asked:

Could you show a picture of how the inside of one looks?

Well, if you insist.

Hot Stuff Innerds 013008

Peggy in Chicago commented:

I especially love the picot edging. Is that Channel Island cast on?

No, that is the Lazy Woman’s picot edge. Regular cast-on, knit 6 rows. Knit one row of yarn-over, knit 2 together around, Then knit straight and turn the 6-row facing to the inside and sew down.

There’s not a lot of progress since yesterday’s photo. I’ve been horribly busy — I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, so that my knitting time has been curtailed. This will likely continue through most of February, so be forewarned.

That said, here is the current state of the mitten. And a blurry picture at that.

Hot Stuff 013008

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Lucy continues to feign innocence . . .

Lucy 013008

The votes are in, and the name Millefiore Mittens was the popular favorite, so Millfiore Mittens they are. Or rather, I have one Millefiore Mitten so far.

And I flitted over to a different project, this:

Hot Stuff 012908

I had no problem thinking of a name for this design. It’s “Hot Stuff! Mittens.” Because, you see, those are supposed to be flames on the back of the mitten.

The palm has a simple all-over pattern. And there will be a flame on the thumb.

Hot Stuff Palm 012908

The black yarn is Socks That Rock Lightweight in the “Shadow” colorway, from the Raven series. The flames are knit from Wollmeise sock yarn in the “Campari Orange” colorway. I think it makes great flames!

I’m not sure how the idea for this mitten design entered my head. I just sort of found it there one night. I then looked at some photos of car paint jobs with flames down the sides, mentally rotated one photo 90 degrees, and charted the flames freehand.

One good thing about this design? If I make a mistake, no one will ever know.

Lucy seems to have settled down a bit, now that she realizes that I’ve discovered her plan for world-wide domination.

Lucy 012908

She looks so innocent, doesn’t she?

No, I will not be ripping back and fixing the blooper in my mitten.

It’s funny that I never noticed it. It wasn’t until I was uploading the photo that I spotted the error on the photo. I even went back and looked at the mitten because I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen it. But no, I didn’t.

I must have moved my place marker up the chart twice at that point because my chart is correct. And it occurred one full repeat after I tried the mitten on for the photo last week, so that had nothing to do with it.

Will I knit the left mitten to match? Nope. I’ll endeavor to knit that one without error.

Anyhow, thanks for all your name suggestions for this mitten. There were so many good ones that I was hard pressed to select just a few for the poll. But I did, and here they are:

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Again, here’s the photo:

Mitten 012708
I’m not starting the second mitten right away. I’ve started something else, being knit from these two yarns:

Yarn 012808

That’s Socks That Rock Lightweight in the Shadow colorway (from the Raven series) and Wollmesie in the Campari Orange colorway.

Wait’ll you see what those two beauties are being knit up into! I’m loving it so far . . .

I’ll show you tomorrow.

Lucy Is Up To Something

Lucy has been muttering to herself the past few days. I finally got close enough to hear what she was saying without her realizing that I was listening. It was “Four legs good, two legs better.”

That explains this behavior, caught on digital film by the KOARC.

lucy2008jan26a

She’s practicing walking upright.

And then, last night I saw a stack of these in my printer:

Lucy Money

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I finished the first of my current mittens-in-progress.

Mitten 012708

It wasn’t until I downloaded the  photos to my computer that I spotted the error in the pattern on the back of the hand. Can you see it?

Here’s the palm:

Palm 012708

And with the thumb up:

Thumb Up 012708

Anyone want to offer a name for this pattern? Leave all suggestions in the comments, please!

I also finished the second of my Temptatio top-down socks:

Temptation Top Down Socks 012708

To recap, these are knit from Tempted sock yarn in the “Roxanne” colorway, on 2mm needles. Top down. The free pattern is available in pdf format here.

Lucy seems underwhelmed, doesn’t she?

Lucy 012708