Weekend WIP and FO

I finished one...one to go.



These are another pair of Evangeline mitts (incidentally, annoying that a free pattern now costs and I don't have it in my Ravelry library anymore....I had to go hunting through a hard drive), which I have knitted twice before. This time I am knitting them for Sib's girlfriend and I will actually give them to her, instead of sending them away as a prize to somebody from The Forum who never even acknowledged their arrival (definitely not knit-worthy).

They will be shorter than the last red pair because I only had 44g of Malabrigo left and I needed 56g for the 6 repeats. So they're 4 repeats only, but I have stranded it with some Rowan Kidsilk Night (I think) - red with a little silver sparkle in it. It's very subtle and adds a lovely halo and a smooshy softness to the finished article. The first one knit up yesterday afternoon and the second one needs to be done by Saturday, but I don't think that will be a problem.

I also finished these -



Stars. They are knitted in King Cole Glitz and are for a swap I am doing on Ravelry. A bit of a faff, knitting each point and then sewing up, but I think it's quite clever how the ends form the stuffing. If I had to weave in all those ends I'd probably not have made them at all. As it is, I am intending to make enough for a garland for next Christmas. I'll probably remember that about this time next year.

Final FOs of 2010

The week before Christmas I finished this -



Pattern: I made it up. It is based on the Santa hat Penny wears in an episode of Big Bang Theory. There were a few patterns out there but I wasn't satisfied with any of them, mainly because they were knit with worsted and I was convinced hers was bulky.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for the cream, and Rice Essentials Soft Merino Aran, held double, for the red - a few yards short of 2 balls. I spent a long time dithering over which the perfect red would be and in the end this one was the winner.
Needle: 6mm

I have had lots of compliments on it, and was pleased I managed to finish it before the end of term so I got a full week of festive wear out of it. I did cheat and cut the bobbles off a scarf to stitch on so that I could save time, but oh well.
I see myself having another crack at this - I have plenty of yarn. I'd go down a needle size for the ribbing and kitchener the top properly next time, my attempt on this one looks rubbish, I think.
It may be difficult to recreate because I didn't write anything down except the number of stitches I cast on...but oh well.

This has been my holiday project -



Pattern: Evangeline (Rav link)
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted, 56g
Needle: 4.5mm
Mods: I knitted 6 pattern repeats, which isn't really a mod. I also did the thumbs using the EZ afterthought method, instead of binding off and picking up.

These are for Sib's girlfriend, who I think likes red, and who smokes, so she will like fingerless gloves, I think.

I am hoping to finish at least one sleeve of the Cherie Amour sweater before term starts again on Tuesday, but it really depends on whether I can force myself off the computer and onto some marking today...

Happy New Year, everyone!