Help with Norwegian Mittens please...

I’m struggling with my first pair of Norwegian Mittens, and hope someone will be able to help - please…
I have increased the 10 stitches on the palm of the hand for the thumb. The palm of the hand is now 10 stitches wider than the back of the hand. Should I decrease above the thumb hole, or do I continue knitting with the wider palm, in which case the decreases at the top must end up looking a bit weird? HELP - please…

This question has also been posted on Ravelry.

Pi shawl - finished at last

I have, at last, finished my first pi shawl and already I know that it won't be my last! I love the way it lays so perfectly flat and it is so impossibly easy to knit! I have a few more pictures on my blog and the shawl can be found on Ravelry, where I'm know as teeweewonders.

Three cornered hat

I wanted to find a quick knit for a hat that was going to charity and of course the first place I looked was in EZ's "Knitter's Almanac" as it has a wee something for every occasion.





My choice fell on the three cornered hat and as with all of the patterns in this book I feel for it hook, line and sinker! I have added a few details about the charity knit and on my blog, where you'll also find a few details about the hat, which is also on Ravelry.

Another mystery blanket

Having knitted one mystery blanket a wee while back I knew straight away which blanket would be on the agenda, when my sister-in-law said that she would like a knitted pram blanket for my niece. I really enjoy this pattern and it being my second attempt I decided to change the method a tiny bit. I knitted six large squares and when knitting the edge on them I continued the increases in the corners right to the last row. I assembled all the squares and continued knitting a border around the assembled squares. A couple of rows before the end I increased the amount of stitches by about 50% to amass an enormous amount of stitches and make a nice fluted edge.



I didn't have a chance to wash and block before handing the blanket over as it was in use practically before the last end was sewn away!



I have a few more pictures on my blog, if it's of any interest. I can heartily recommend this pattern as it can be knitted in any yarn, any colour, any size etc. I am pretty sure this won't be my last mystery blanket!

February Baby Sweater

Another February Baby Sweater sees the light of day. I will have to give this pattern a rest now for a wee while as I have so many other projects on the go, but it definitely won't be the last one I knit. There are so many possibilities with this pattern and the next time I knit it, I'm going to make one for a slightly larger child, just to prove that I've understood the concept of the increases!

One day I may even make one for myself, in which case I could imagine it may be a good idea to taper the sleeves slightly, or they would be way to wide.

My next EZ project is to knit an aran. In fact, I am planning to knit two! I have bought some cheap yarn for my first attempt to get the sizing right and something slightly better for the second go. I can't wait to get started, as I love cables! I have decided to knit along with the Ravelry group that are knitting their way through the "Knitter's Almanac", but I started with the February Project, as I had a new niece in January and just coulnd't wait until February to knit for her.

More pictures and details of materials used etc. can be found on my blog and on Ravelry, where I'm known as teeweewonders.

Maltese Christmas Hat

EZ's hats are the best thing in the world for limited Christmas knitting. The Maltese fisherman's hat from the Knitter's Almanac (June) is a fantastic pattern and I have to say that the whole thing knit up quickly, clearly, and the shaping is simply brilliant.





I knit the hat in Knitpicks Telemark in Charcoal, Heather, and Drift, held doubled on US6 needles. The hat came out a bit small, and if I were to do it again, I would use 7s or 8s. Fortunately, my brother (for whom I knit this) has a small head and wool stretches and I was able to block the hat into a larger size that should fit him pretty snuggly.

I just love EZ!

Norwegian Mittens

This is the Norwegian Mitten from Knitting Around though EZ also talks about it in the Knitters Almanac and has more instruction for the top of the mitten there. Of course I didn't find that until I had this finished. This is the first of the pair and I have the second one started.

The lighter blue is Brown Sheep Nature Spun yarn and the teal is Lion Wool. I started the cuff with size 4 needles but found that the hand of the mitten was going to be too small. I frogged back to the cuff and used size 5 from there up.

I am still working on keeping the tension right so the stitches lay smoothly but aren't sloppy loose. There are more progress pictures and information on my blog.

Baby Surprise Jacket

After seeing some of the BSJs posted on this blog, I just had to try one out for myself. It was such fun to knit and then see how it all worked out! This one is knit in Plymouth Encore (color 2426) with stripes in some pale pink heather Lion Brand Wool-Ease I had around. It was knit on size 5 needles. The ladybug buttons (though it is hard to see that is what they are) are from Joanne's.

EZ mentions that "your friends will be amazed," and that certainly was true. It was fun to see if they could turn the odd-shaped piece of knitting into something meaningful.

I was a bit skeptical about having buttonholes on both sides, since I knew it was for a girl, but the extra set was indeed great for knowing exactly where to place the buttons.

The neck is fairly small on mine, and looking at others here, that seems to be the norm. Since I've not seen a BSJ on an actual baby, how does the neck fit? I figure the parents can always leave the first button unbuttoned. This one will be heading into the mailstream tomorrow for a baby shower--my stepson's first baby!

Baby Surprise Jacket

Slowly, slowly, I become more enamored with Elizabeth. I sometimes wonder - could I knit only garter stitch from now on and be happy? With a shelf full of EZ books and a basket of wool it might be possible.

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket from The Opinionated Knitter by EZ.
Needles: US 5, bamboo, long circular
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in colors CW-880 Lime Light (the green), CW-585 Wolverine Blue (the dark blue), CW-555 Robin Egg Blue (the light blue)
Guage: 5 sts/inch
Finished size:

• Body width: 10″ after increases
• Height: 11.75″
• Cuff to cuff: 18.75″
• Width of cuff: 4.5″ after cuff increasing
  

There have been some wonderous and inspiring (I use that word a lot around here) BSJs knit lately, and I'm happy to add my first to the pile.

I put some more pictures on my blog.