Knitting Without a Safety Net

Sometimes I want to knit, but I just don't want to follow a pattern.Do you ever feel that way? After a mentally tiresome day at work, I want to relax with some knitting, and I just don't want to bother with k1 sl1 psso k2ttbl p4 c6f k2t etc. There are a few things I can make that don't require a pattern. Socks, mittens, and wrist warmers, hats, scarves, etc.

I felt that way this week, after knitting on the red socks for so long. So I put them aside and made "Dasha Mittens," for a friend who said her fingers get painfully cold in the winter. Ta-da! Some BFL should keep them warm!  This is the "Rust" BFL I spun up last month.

I used the Knit-n-Style Mitten Tutorial, which is top-down, and patternless except for the top and thumb gusset. I've used this tutorial many times to make simple mittens. The thumbs look a bit wonky, but they fit very nicely. Posed on Molly Cat to make it more interesting.

Here is an experiment I'm trying. I'm not going to say what this is yet, because if it doesn't work I will pull it back and you'll be none the wiser. It's a cable pattern, and the yarn is some I spun up but I don't remember anything about it. It's soft! And red. That's about it. I'm hoping the cable will look less vulgar once blocked.

And, on to spinning ... this is the Merino I ordered from LunaBudKnits. I pulled it apart, and I am spinning it a few feet of one color, then switching to another. No idea how it will turn out, but it's a good way to stretch three 2-oz bundles! After doing so much on the wheel, I was ready for a bit of spindling.








Oh -- speaking of the wheel. I sat down to spin some more BFL on it last week, and THIS happened:

 

D'oh! My hemp brake belt broke! I replaced it with some red cotton for now.

My other passion is gardening. This is my skanky rowhouse backyard, complete with a 20-year old falling-to-bits privacy fence (soon to be replaced). And the patch in the middle will be my vegetables. When I get the new fence up, in four to six weeks, I shall hang flower baskets from the posts -- which will have gothic post toppers -- and I hope to have a lovely, peaceful, restful garden. The backyard is 15 x 41. There's a tree in the back left corner which provides a little shade, and I might hang some lanterns from it.

 

My latest purchase, to help me in my gardening: 

The Deluxe Greenhouse. Looks Deluxe, doesn't it? It's all zipped up now to protect my seedlings.

My front garden isn't even planned yet, but the cats have sprouted back up. I can't seem to get rid of them. 

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!