Thank you so much for all the nice comments on the Tomten Jacket. It’s a good feeling when you finish up a project and others love it as much as you do! Since finishing I’ve started on my Icarus Shawl and it hasn’t been an easy transition. I was very comfortable with the yarn, the techniques, and knitting the Tomten, now I feel like I’m in a whole new world and I’m finding myself very unsure of my knitting skills. Lace weight yarn is SO thin. I’ve knit with fingering weight before, and at the time I thought that was thin, but this is stuff is insane. With the new yarn and new needles I feel very clumsy. I bought some of the Knit Picks Metal Options fixed circulars in a size 3, and they sure are slick! I’m not so used to knitting with metal needles, and I mostly use my Denise set or bamboo DPNs. At this point I’m feeling pretty insecure and it hasn’t made the knitting super enjoyable so far.
Last night I decided to start on an easier project to mix it up a bit, and also get a jump on holiday knitting. I chose some yarn from my stash, Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, and started on a pair of Dashing mitts for my husband, Kenny. Isn’t he lucky? He’s also getting that great scarf Grace is making, and if all goes as planned a couple of other things from me :) I’d been wanting to make this pattern for awhile, and thought it would be a fun chance to try out my Clover Mini-Circulars
that I’ve had for over a year now. I bought a couple pairs of these little plastic 8” circulars before I was used to using DPNs, but I never got an opportunity to use them. The one I’m using is stamped as a size 8, but my needle gauge says it’s a 7 so I decided to go with it. The first row was a bit awkward and difficult, but after that I was able to move at a pretty quick pace.
I have about 10 rounds before placing the thumb stitches on waste yarn and the glove is already seems quite long. My row gauge is right on so I guess these are just intended to be really long! I’m thinking about taking out some rows at this point and maybe some after the thumb too to fit my taste a little more. Have any of you out there made Dashing? Did the length turn out okay? I’m just a little apprehensive I guess since I won’t be able to try them on Kenny to check the fit since they’re going to be a gift!
