Those Mittens

Hi, Pat --  

You know how I get charmed by a pattern and make it over and over. Just like David Byrne says, “I don’t know why I love it like I do. . .”

I made the first pair of Aline mittens in August 2019. (Pronounce that like the woman’s name, not like an A-line skirt.) I think I’ve made nine pairs now, although I kept forgetting to take pictures, so I am not sure; it could be eight or ten. They look weird and misshapen in the photo, but the combination of ribbing and cable on the top makes them pull in to fit all kinds of hands, and you eliminate that floppy mitten feeling that can happen if you guess wrong re size. They feel wonderful when you put them on.

The pattern is free from Garnstudio, available at https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=7186&cid=17 . 

The layout they use for their patterns  is notoriously difficult to use, because everything is condensed and run together to save space. The first thing I do when I plan to use one of their patterns is copy it to a Word document on my computer. Then I:

• type the URL at the bottom of that file
• delete extraneous photos and advertising (which usually eliminates several pages)
• Change the font to a 12-point typeface that I like

Now I can get to work making the pattern work for me. This makes the knitting so much easier – and as a side benefit, lets me do a careful preview of the pattern.

I reformat so it looks like the patterns we are used to using, which means I usually put almost every sentence on a line of its own. I change the way they write the numbers of stitches and measurements for several sizes at once to a format that works for me. Then I’ve eliminated all distractions and can just get knitting.

I think it’s time to cast on another pair. . .one or two more and I probably won’t even need the pattern anymore!

First Sock Syndrome

 

Everyone’s heard of second sock syndrome – suffered by many who are emotionally finished after knitting just one sock of a pair. But there is an unusual variant – first sock syndrome. So many times I s-l-o-g through the initial ribbing, inch along on the leg, make it around the heel turn, and then take a long time to get to the toe. 

But something exciting happens as soon as I cast on sock #2. At that moment, the project is more than 50% completed. Even the pesky ribbing at the beginning of this sock flies by, the leg is a joy, the heel turn provides an element of mounting excitement, and the foot is the exciting sprint to the finish line (aka the toe).

Case in point: the first sock in this pair was completed about a year after it was cast on. The sock on the needles went from the point you see to finished in just two days.