Blue Antler

The Antler cardigan is all done. Even the buttons are sewn on! And all the ends woven in.

 

I had bought the Fleece artist BFL Aran yarn at my LYS last year as a kit to knit the Imogen cardigan. But I decided to use it for the Antler cardi instead.

I'm so glad I did.

It was a nice treat to knit in such a thick yarn. It seemed like a fast project even though there were many hours of stockinette stitch involved.

Once I got to the yoke and the cables started to appear, I gave it as much time as I could.

I know I'll get a lot of wear out of this cardi. It will be great for spring and fall and a few of our cooler summer evenings. 

Project information here.

After knitting the little Lovebug booties last week,

I decided to cast on for a little baby knit that I've had my eye on for a very long time.

Milo is a sleeveless top made from the top down with no seaming whatsoever!

My kind of knit.

 I've been knitting on Milo on and off during the many days of Christmas fun.

 

I have about 2 inches to knit BUT do you see that little ball of yarn on the left hand side? That's what is left of my skein and I am going to run out anytime now. I'll make a trip to the LYS tomorrow to see if they have another one. Guess I should have made the booties after the vest.

 

Tin Can Knits is giving out one free pattern of your choice from their pattern collection. You must choose yours by Jan 1st. The coupon code is available here. Let me know which one you got!

I chose Antler Cardigan. The size range in this pattern goes from 0-6 mths all the way to 4XL!!  And I have the perfect yarn to knit myself this cardigan.

 

This yarn was purchased as a kit to knit the Imogen cardigan. But I will use it to knit the Antler cardigan instead. It's a great colour that changes from grey to a dark blue depending on the light. Since I'll be putting the little vest aside till tomorrow (or until I find another skein of yarn), I guess I have no choice but to cast on the Antler tonight!

 

After 5 wonderful days of family gatherings and celebrating, it feels like luxury to sit down and knit!!

 

It's what's on the inside that counts

It all started with wonderful Fleece artist kit that I purchased from my LYS last month to make a pair of Thrummed mittens.
The kit has a great handpainted worsted weight yarn and kid roving dyed to coordinate.

Thrummed mitts are actually a Canadian thing. They have been around for a few hundred years in Northern Newfoundland and Labrador. Bits of fleece were added to the inside of knitted items to add warmth.

After several false starts (a.k.a. frogging), I finally settled on a technique to make the thrums and to thrum a stitch by following the instructions from Biscotte and Cie.
Another great tutorial can be found on Hello Yarn but I did not follow that technique to knit the thrums.

I found that it's best to make a few dozens of thrums at a time.

After knitting a 2 ½ inch cuff, I started to insert thrums every fourth stitch and every fourth row. 

Even the thumb is thrummed.(try saying that three times in a row!) Looks really great on the outside, wait till you see what's on the inside!

How crazy is that? 

Over time, the thrums will felt to eah other and to the knitted mitt to form a warm felted layer on the inside of the mitten. But to help things along, I intend to wet the mitt and start the felting process by gently rubbing with a bit of soap and hot water, just to make sure that the thrums are lined up properly and don't felt in lumps...I would hate lumps on the inside of any mitts.

I intend to make more of these. Too much fun.