I need to get a grip. Last week another parent chastized me for sending Doodle to school without mittens. Well, maybe not chastized exactly. She just made a point of telling me that she had used some of the schools emergency mittens so his little hands didn't freeze. To my fried Mommy brain it sounds like, " Bad, bad, Mommy! Poor little boy has frostbite because YOU FORGOT THE MITTENS>>>>>Bwaaaahaaaaahaaaaaaaaaa". Insert terifying evil laugh here. Well crap. You know I couldn't just run out and pick up a pair of mittens, nooooo, that would be the easy way out. I'm crafty, I knit ( sort of!) so a knitting I will go. I raided my wool stash, found enough yarn and set off.
Mittens number one. I used a flat pattern so I wouldn't have to fiddle with DPN's. They were quick! Done in two days. I set them to felt in the wash and whammo. One of the wools I used was apparently not wool at all. It didn't felt. Crap. My nice warm fulled mittens had lovely lacy holes. Not very nice, not very warm and certainly not ACCEPTABLE! So. Well, ok, I tried to shortcut them, and it didn't work.
Mittens number two. I bought a pattern book, the correct sized DPN's and some gorgeous wool and set about knitting again. This time I did everything right. Knit them in the round like proper mittens, followed the pattern, used well marked good wool. Lovely! I put them in to felt and whammo! too small! with ridiculously long thumbs. A ha! a pattern mistake. Not my fault, but still no mittens.
Mittens number three. Third times the charm! I have the wool, the needles and the pattern figured out! I am woman I CAN DO THIS. Repeat as above. Then the washing. First wash, looking good, nicely fulled but not quite. I can do better. So back in the wash. ( wait for it....wait for it) I took them out last night and you guessed it, THEY ARE TOO FRICKING SMALL. They might, fit a small two year old. But not my solid boy.
On the way to school this morning a found an old pair of purple fleece mittens that came from who knows where. He wore those. He may wear them until high school.
Anyone want a very tiny pair of well fulled wool mittens?
**I realize this is not scintillating reading. But I had to put it somewhere. The dog is tired of listening to be bitch about it.**
***Lets all just pretend I can spell, ok?***
9 comments:
If I may be so bold as to suggest mittens that don't need to be felted? Just a thought. Sorry that three times wasn't a charm. But the lacy ones you made first were kind of interesting! Of course, I myself have never even attempted making mittens. As always, you are a braver woman than I!
Would Gods that my dear mother were still grinding the soil of this world under her electric scooter wheels. I once saw her knit a pair of gloves in two hours while watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. No lie. I don't think she looked at the needles more than twice.
We'll never see her like again.
Hey, at least you know what CPN is...I have no f-ing clue what that means!
yes, Heidi, you are correct but I would be remiss sending him in ordinary knit mittens, felted ones are so much warmer, and waterproof and...
Seumas, your mother could smoke me inlife in so many ways. I have no doubt she can knit from beyond the curtain as well.
Czamama, sorry for the knitspeak DPN's are just double pointed needles, like two ended chopsticks. It's a little like wrestling with and octopus.
So what patterns did you use? I did a google search for child's felted mittens and came up with several choices - I'd send them but you may have already seen them.
Sorry, Carmen! My earlier comment was meant to say "my Mom would have been able to answer your questions" not anything else.
As my grandfather used to say "the letter may not be read as written."
no worries Seumas, If your Mom has any knitting advice It's welcome. Just ask her not to wake the boys please. ;)
She could outrun me in that scooter anyway.
Sounds like you pissed off the knitting goddesses! Sorry about all the mitten troubles. I've had knitting curses before....chocolate seems to help.
Whoever coined the phrase "third time's the charm" was NOT a knitter.
And yay for DPNs! I hope they did not drive you insane.
If you knit 'em at a really tight gauge (like worsted on 2.5 or 3 mm), they're pretty near waterproof. I'm just trying to save you from more felting crazy-making.
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