CIC Mitts

Here's what I've been using to avoid completing the Olympic Tank--fingerless mitts for CIC. I'm using a slightly modified pattern from Weekend Knitting. I checked it out from the library, and I'm taking notes on how I like to do the mitts, so I can continue to make them after I return the book. I don't really see myself making anything else from this book, but I really like these mitts. They're so easy, knit in garter stitch from side to side, rather than from the bottom up, with short rows to made the hand wider than the wrist. I decided I didn't like the thumb hole as the pattern is written; it's only an inch long, and I found it a tight fit. So, I just knit w/o the thumb hole, and I bind off normally rather than do the 3-needle bind off specified in the pattern. Then, I seam 'em up, leaving a 2-inch gap for the thumb, and voila! Super cool warm mitts.

The largest size in the book is a snug but comfortable fit for my medium-sized hand, so I'm working out the details for a slightly larger pair now. The first pair I did in Bartlett Yarns Fisherman Two-Ply in Green Heather. The mitt in progress is made with Briggs & Little 2-ply given to me by another CIC-knit member. The body is knit in a dark charcoal, with short rows done in green. A rather cool effect, if I do say so myself, and it sure makes it easy to keep track of the short rows!

I'm working on getting myself to finish the Olympic Tank. Giving myself little pep talks, like this: "C'mon, Carol, it's only a couple more rows, maybe a little edging, then you'll be done! You can take pictures! Then you can gather up your notes written on little scraps of paper and on the backs of envelopes, and write up the pattern." I think it's really that last bit that's stopping me. That and the fact that the weather is cold again, and I don't feel like I'll ever need warm weather clothing again. You should have heard what I said at the television the other night when someone was whining about global warming. Can't happen fast enough for me.