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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A Woman of Many WIPs

Hello, I'm Beth, and it's been 39 days since I purchased new yarn ...

Haha! I'm not precisely sure when I last bought yarn, but I can assure you all that my pledge to buy no yarn in 2013 is still unbroken. (Yeah, I know, it's barely out of the first week of the new year ...)


In honor of NaKniMitMo, I am of course knittin' mittens ...





I use a build-your-own-mitten template from a magazine ... Knit-n-Style, I think it is. You start them just the way you start a toe-up sock! I am not fond of their thumb gusset, so I will try to find a different one to use. The pattern is supposed to be a flowering vine, copied from "Ethnic Knitting, Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland." Yeah, I know ... those three places are geographically nowhere near one another! Anyway, after they're blocked, you'll be able to see the vine.

They're for a co-worker who is retiring this Spring. I'm going to put a ribbed wrist section in, and then a flared cuff.

I am knitting the color-work with both hands. I taught myself to knit right-handed over the Christmas vacation, while I worked on the Citron, and now I can knit ambidextrously! Which makes color-work that much more fun. Just have to watch that the gauge stays the same between hands. (I'm not left handed, I just knit that way because it was easier to learn that way.)

I recently frogged a scarf I knit with Berocco Boboli, and am re-knitting it as an Elizabeth's Diagonal scarf, pattern from "Luxury One-Skein Wonders."


This is a very easy pattern to knit -- and it is interesting to see it on a diagonal.













Finally, to destash my acrylic, I crochet cat mats.




I can't babble on about these enough. Here are three, made in a couple of hours. Four skeins of yarn, and a Q-hook. Cats love these.


Here is an example of a ball that makes one cat mat ... 25 x 30 stitches, roughly. I just set all four skeins up somewhere and wind into a big ball. When I can no longer manage winding it, I stop. It's generally big enough then.










And the people who run cat shelters love to get these. They're washable, durable, and defy kitty-claws.



Georgie Girl and Molly Cat (look at her dainty crossed paws!) remind you to stop by and visit Tamis Amis on Wednesday, for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

9 comments:

  1. Very nice! I too have many WIP's. I am working on a hat a cowl and a sweater for myself. I wish my dog and kitty would lay together. The closest they get is opposite ends of the couch. LOL Very pretty fur babies!

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  2. (ALL TOGETHER) HI, BETH! 39 days! WOWZER! That's over a month. If I had a chip, I would toss it your way.

    Your mittens are looking simply wonderful. As for the number of WIPs you're working on.... it seems you may have replaced one addiction with another. :-D

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  3. Great looking mittens and well done on not buying any yarn so far this year.

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  4. Everything looks great! I am so impressed you haven't bought any yarn:)

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  5. What a variety in styles and techniques :) I do like the cat mats, and I'm wondering if I could do something like that to stash-bust. Maybe a floor rug? Thanks for the inspiration!

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  6. Those mittens are looking really cool so far!

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  7. Goodness, you are busy! I made cat mats ages ago. Now I don't think I have any suitable yarn to use. Hmm, must look at stash and see what's leftover. Can't wait to see the mittens.

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  8. That diagonal shawl patter is looking very interesting. Might have to explore that one.

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  9. I say two weeks without buying yarn is an accomplishment. Maybe you need to reward yourself with some...other thing than yarn :-) You have been very productive! Can't wait to see the mitts done!.

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