Sunday Knitting

I wasn't sure if there would be any knitting at all on Sunday.  Or Saturday.  But there was.  I did babysit Friday for the dayhome and played Saturday with Carter, but his dad ended up not having to work on Sunday so I could do what I had planned.

I'm pretty pumped with my Sunday knitting.  

The hat I have been working on is finished, so I got up Sunday with nothing to hand but my hands and those hands were cold.  Which of course, reminded me of my need for some good car mittens.  I ended up buying a pair of gloves out of necessity, but trust me.  Commercial mittens or gloves are no where near the same thing as a hand knit woollen mitten for warmth and comfort.  Not even in the same country.

So just as my coffee was brewing I picked up the needles and grabbed the book and cast on.

I am using the basic pattern from the Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns.  My mittens even actually look like these!  I did make a few changes, mostly that I knit a few rows after I finished the cuff before I started the increases for the thumb gusset and a different top decrease.   

I have normally knit mittens top down, winging the fit.  But I have never been pleased with the way the cuff was pulled.   I also usually knit the cuffs a little shorter than what worked well because I am lazy and wanted the mittens done.  

This time, I made the cuff as long as I could without needing to start with more cast on stitches, which was just shy of 3 inches long.  Then I knit three rounds of plain stockinette and then started the thumb gusset.  Much better fitting.  I also needed a few more stitches on the thumb gusset so I did an extra increase. I am pretty pleased with the fit.

I do still have the thumbs to knit, but with a very little bit of luck, I will find the few minutes I need for that today.  I am so looking forward to warm hands when I am driving.

I wrote detailed notes on my project page for a change, and I might add a few more.   For instance, The pattern adds only a single stitch above the thumb gusset as you set up for the hand.  I think next time, I would add two.  My hands are wide and stubby and this mitten fits close and well.  It would be perfect as a mitten liner inside other fancier mittens for extra warmth.  It would look stunning under a lacy top like the AGlow Mittens by Kristina Vilimaite.     But for plain old mittens, that extra stitch would turn really good into perfection.

Isn't that just the prettiest pair of mittens ever?  The Aglow Mittens?  One day I will knit a pair of mittens for going out, but right now I needed ordinary serviceable mittens that are just warm.  And after today, I will have them.