Jobo Designs

I really wanted to get as much holiday knitting done as possible well ahead of time this year… not knowing if the baby would arrive on time, or early, or what the situation would be like.  This is one of those projects that I’ve had completed for a while, but just hadn’t gotten around to photographing it with the lousy fall short daylight hours.  It snowed here the last couple of days… so it’s a bit overcast for photo taking, but the fresh fallen snow makes for a nice background :)

These are a pair of Fallberry Fingerless Mittens, as seen in the Knitty.com online knitting magazine.  All of the Knitty patterns are available free of charge… and if you aren’t familiar with this publication… you really should check it out!  Each issue is full of great patterns and a variety of different knit items – from socks to sweaters and shawls. 

I wanted to make something for Mark’s Aunt that would be straightforward, not a ridiculous amount of work, and also that would be useful.  I remember her mentioning before that she had chilly hands from time to time, so I thought fingerless mittens might make a practical accessory.  Normally I wouldn’t be interested in something like a fingerless mitten for myself, thinking that I wouldn’t wear them enough to make the effort justified, but I really like the way that these fit, and am considering making some for me after the holidays are over.

One thing that was really nice about this pattern… you get the illusion of working a fine lacy pattern… but of course, the mitts are made from sport weight yarn, and on decent sized needles so they work up fast.  I decided to go with some KnitPicks Stroll Sport, both for the old standby of practical wool with the added durability of nylon, and for the reasonable price point (less than 4 dollars a ball!).  I knew I’d need more than one ball, but I was able to make the entire pair with about a ball and a quarter.  Really, only the thumbs were worked with the second ball.  So I do actually have enough yarn to make a second pair if I decide to go for it.  (I know I’ve been using a lot of KnitPicks Yarn lately… I don’t work for them, I swear!  I just really like their products!)

I was also pleased with the simplicity of the pattern and the easy to memorize flickering flame style motif.  After a couple of repeats of the chart, I was good to go, and really didn’t have to refer back tot he pattern very often.  Also, because really there were 4 rows of “active” stitch movement, then 4 rows of basically ribbing, the mitts worked up very quickly.  I think it took me around 3 evenings worth of knitting to finish things off.  I made the “large” size, and was a little afraid that they might be too small in the end, but after a little soak and blocking on some mitten blockers, the finished mitts relaxed enough and fit me fine (even in my pregnant, swollen hands and feet state)

I hope the recipient gets lots of use out of them, and enjoys the toasty warm wrists and hands :)

I went up for a drive to Belfast Mini Mills over the weekend... to check out the latest yarns and fibers, but also to get out of the house.  (Might I add, the Mill has a tea room, and some of the best cinnamon buns I've eaten!)

So, knitterjo and I headed out, and wandered up to the mill, chatted with the lovely ladies at the shop, admired some great handcrafts, petted lots of skeins of yarn, "talked" with some of the animals (an especially vocal goat met us at the car) and enjoyed the sunny Saturday.

Among my treasures, I brought home a few skeins of their new Specialty Sock Blend... a nice soft, squishy, bouncy wool and nylon blend.  I really like the feel of this yarn, but it seems too soft and luxurious to be made into socks.  I know it has nylon in it, but it still doesn't feel like it would be hard-wearing enough for the people I make socks for (ahem, husband's father and my dad) though your mileage may vary.  I'd love to hear how this stuff holds up in real day-to-day shoe wear.

I loved this color.  It's purple-liscious.  It's glowing, heathery, periwinkly purply blue.  When we were kids, I remember this being my sister's color.  She has beautiful red hair, and thusly looks excellent in all shades of plum and purple.  I have always loved this color myself too! 

I hope to make something very un-socky with these skeins... maybe an EZ February Baby Sweater or something... time will tell ;)  I'd hate to burden a new mom with a hand-wash wool item... but hey - this IS in fact Superwash, that makes it better... right?

The Shetland Triangle has been a quite enjoyable project... beads included.  The tiny crochet hook was very easy to use, and even the beaded rows flew along at reasonable speeds.  I decided that the shawl didn't need all-over bling, but perhaps just the last few pattern repeats.  After some deliberation, I choose to add them to row 9 (the mostly plain knit row of the 10 row repeat) and then to bead the very points of the border with 3 beads on each point, and the centre one of course.

The beads themselves seem to match in quite nicely.  At first I wasn't sure if the slightly rainbow essence would match the Plum yarn, but I think that they compliment the shawl more than a plain flat black bead would have.  I actually found these beads by accident while shopping at Michael's - they were part of a premade necklace with multiple strands of beads.  There were strands of plain black shiny seed beads, several of these "e" beads that I used for Shetland Triangle, some silver metallic looking "e" beads, and finally some black "e" beads that have the look of hematite.  I bought the whole necklace for 99 cents... and I only used one strand for this piece!  I'm sure I will find something else to do with the rest at some point.

In the end I worked 2 more repeats of the initial lace pattern than the instructions called for, and surprisingly enough, I managed to use only one skein of the KnitPicks Shadow Lace that I had.  I wanted this to be large enough to wrap comfortably around the shoulders, but I don't really know the recipient that well, so I wasn't sure she would want a really huge overpowering shawl.  I think I reached a decent happy medium on size.  This also means I have enough yarn to make another of these... maybe for me, since I am feeling undecided about giving this away.  I think that's usually how I know I did a good job... if I like the item well enough to keep it myself, it's likely nice enough to be giving it away to someone else?

When I was knitting this up... using the prescribed sized needles... I had wondered if maybe I should have used larger needles to get a more airy feel to this shawl.  As usual though, the magic of blocking evened out balance, and I think it feels just about right. 

The finished shawl is light but still has enough substance to warm up the wearer.  I am always amazed at how much warmth a light shawl can give.  I think it's kind of like afghans.  How can something so full of "holes" trap so much heat next to the body?  Must be one of those life mysteries ;)  I hope that the person I made this for will feel good when she wears it.  I tried to think kind and comforting thoughts as I knit along, so I like to think that maybe those good vibes will go along with her wherever she goes.  Positive Energy is Good Medicine in itself.