26. November 2010 11:07
by Jobo
3 Comments
I've been chugging along on my Christmas knitting... trying to make a little progress each day. Last night, I completed the outer shell of my Moody Blue Mittens... and got the Angora/Merino Blend carded up to start on the linings asap.
Here they are... complete with the shiny Mother-of-Pearl Buttons and tiny cable cuffs. I really like the way this yarn has knit up... the 3-ply really did break up the colors from the roving, and gave a nice overall grey/blue coloring.
I decided against doing a full button plackett, and instead settled on a small button "tab" as it were. The square buttons I had originally considered for this project turned out to be too angular for the mittens. In the end, I think the round shape compliments the girly cable ribbing better, especially since the mittens are not such a feminine color - they needed some softness to balance out the design.
I've carded up the lining blend... 10 - 15% Angora... and started spinning a bit of it too. The drum carder really comes in handy with carding large batches of fiber. I was able to blend all 3 ounces I needed in about 30 minutes, which is great! I wanted the lining to have a bit of soft fuzzy halo, but not so much that it would shed, or be excessively warm. These mittens already have a nice lofty 100% merino outer shell, if I had made the linings with 100% Merino, they likely would have been too warm to wear (unless you live in Nunavut!)
As for the outer shells themselves... I just have to tie in the dreaded ends, and they are complete :)
