Paw Me Mittens

My dog likes to paw at us. She does it for food or attention, and it should be annoying but it is mostly just adorable (unless she mistakenly paws your eye, or inside your mouth).
So, after knitting up a pair of basic tweedy mittens, I decided they needed a little something extra. I cut out a paw print, cradled it in my hand, and honestly, my heart melted just a little. If that makes me a crazy dog lady, so be it.

The end result looks somewhere between a cozy mitten and a pair of old-fashioned driving gloves - only with some extra pup appeal :) And amazingly, every time I hold out my hands to Annie wearing these mittens, she slaps a paw right on the spot - she's a genius I tell you.


Pattern Notes:

I custom fitted these to my hands - which are rather petite- so you will want to adjust to fit your hand size. I wanted the mittens to be tight and form fitted to my hands. I would say an extra 4 - 8 stitches would make a women's medium - large, with extra stitches beyond that if you want your mittens looser.

I used a super chunky tweed yarn, but knit it tight on size 8 needles for warmth. Gauge was around 3.5 stitches per inch in stockinette.

These are knit in the round. I used two circular needles, though knitting in the round on double pointed needles would work too. The right and left are knit up the same.

Cuff:
CO 28 stitches.
Join to work in the round.
Work in Seed Stitch for 2 rounds.
Dec Round: Decrease 2 stitches evenly on each needle, 4 stitches total
Knit 1 round.
Dec Round
Knit 1 round.
Switch to K1xP1 Rib for 6 rounds.

Mitten Body:
Knit 4 rounds in stockinette
Increase 2 stitches evenly on each needle, 4 stitches total (24 stitches)
Knit 4 rounds
Increase Round (28 stitches)
Knit 4 rounds
Increase Round (32 stitches)
Knit 2 rounds

Knit 12 stitches, slip 8 stitches to waste yarn for thumb, and then knit into next stitch with live yarn (skipping over the stitches you just slipped to waste yarn) and knit to end of round.

Continue knitting around until you've reached 3 inches from where the thumb is.
Decrease Round: SSK, knit to two stitches before end of needle 1, K2tog
Repeat with the second needle.
Knit 3 Rounds
Decrease Round
Knit 3 Rounds
Decrease Round
Decrease Round again... You should now have 4 stitches left on each needle.
Knit one more round and then pull yarn through remaining stitches.

Thumb:
Remove 8 stitches from waste yarn.
Pick up 2 stitches from inside of the thumb to make 10 stitches total.
Knit in round for 2 inches.
K2tog five times to end
Pull yarn through remaining 5 stitches.

Weave in all ends. Then cut out your paw from felt or fabric and sew on to the palm of your mittens. Now prepare to be melted with cuteness every time you look down at your hands...

Seconds Handwarmers

So, I finally made some handwarmers for the old husb-cap. Considering I have made countless numbers of handwarmers, including for people I've never even met, it's rather surprising he's stayed immune from them for so long. I guess I was just waiting for the proper pattern - I used the Beer Mitts pattern from Son of Stitch and Bitch, and they turned out hefty and cushy and comfortable and look quite perfect on him.

Now for the embarrassing part. I started these while it was still hot enough to crave Popsicles. I know this because I took a picture of myself wearing one - a fully completed first handwarmer - while eating a Popsicle.

Ahhh me. I was faced with my laziness yet again when I friend was over asking about handwarmers, and I was able to pull out from various closets no fewer than four or five lonely, pairless little handwarmers that were abandoned before their mate could be finished.

Then, this week I was reading an article about socks and discovered a name for my exact problem - "Second Sock Syndrome," or in my case just plain "Seconds Syndrome," - that strong inability to have to do something all over again that you just did. It feels nice to know I am not alone with this. However, I'm starting to think I'm ready for a cure. There are some things - I don't know - a pesky office job comes to mind- that you have to do over and over again, one second, one monday after another. So, I guess those things you do have the power to finish - all ends-tied-in Done- really can't be so bad, no matter how tedious the process.

As some not-asked-for advice to anyone out there who may have a similar problem - no matter how nice avoiding feels - It feels WAY nicer to grit your teeth, finish the second one, and see them on your husband's lovely hands petting your dog's tummy.

Fringe Cowl

FRINGE COWL

Okay, so I am officially obsessed with triangle shaped cowls. Once I finished the Kerchief Cowl, all I could think about is how to transform my favorite scarves into cowls. This boho-style cowl is based off a mohair triangle shawl with ratty fringe that I knit up a few years ago and have gotten a surprising amount of wear out of. Who’d have thunk orange would go with everything?

This isn’t so much a pattern, as a bunch of guidelines. No need to be particular – the fringe covers up everything...

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted
Needle: 10 1/2 circular (I knit at a loose gauge for more drape)
Gauge was about 14 stitches for 4 inches in seed stitch.
You’re shooting for about 17 inches total circumfrence at the top edge.

CO 59 Stitches

I knit in seed stitch in the round for about 1.5 inches. (K1, P1, repeat to end, then knit the purl stiches, and purl the knit stiches)

I then knit 1x1 rib for two inches (the ribbing was to bring it in closer to the neck for extra cozy. Because of the odd stitches, it didn’t come out exact. You could decrease 1 stitch to make it even and then increase a stitch when you switch back to seed stitch)

Switch to seed stitch again for another 1.5 or so inches, maybe a little more.

At the end of the next round, bind off 4 stitches, then another 4 stitches at the start of the round (8 stitches total).

Then I knit back and forth on the remaining stitches in seed stitch, decreasing by binding off 2 stitches at the start of each row for the next 6 rows or so.
Then I knit decreases at the beginning and end of each row till there were about 25 stitches remaining, or the width was about as wide as the ribbed section of the cowl.

From here I alternated one row seed stitch, with one decrease row (decreasing at both ends) until there were 3 stitches remaining. BO.

Then came the fringe, which is always my favorite part….
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