MORE BELLA'S MITTENS

I just love making these mittens.  Partly because of the cables but also because this yarn, Vintage Chunky by Berroco is so soft and warm.  If you want to make these mittens here is the pattern.  You only need two skeins of yarn and a couple of nights in front of the tv.  Hope it snows soon!  

THANKSGIVING IS ALMOST HERE

and the Pilgrims are all in place..............

THANKSGIVING IS ALMOST HERE....

Ingredients purchased for the Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake - check!

THANKSGIVING IS ALMOST HERE.....

table is set..........check

BELLA'S MITTENS FOR KELLY

I just finished another pair of Bella's Mittens for my daughter.  I LOVE this pattern.  You can whip up a pair in just a couple of days.  I love making cables and this horseshoe cable is instant gratification.  Every time I knit a cable, I thought, "Wow, I love how this cable looks, I'll just knit another one."  And in no time, the mittens are finished.  I had never knit mittens before this pattern and was intimidated about making the thumb, but the directions on this pattern are excellent!  Come on cold weather!!!

CAPSTONE PROJECT

Seniors in high school now have to participate in a Capstone Project in Cherokee County.  The students  choose a subject that they are interested in pursuing as a college major or they may choose something that they have always wanted to try.  I am mentoring a high school senior from Sequoyah High School who wants to major in art in college.  I am teaching her the basics of several mediums.  Below we are working on watercolor.

Learning wet on wet method and how to add texture and shadows.......

and this was her first try at watercolors.......I think she did pretty well!

MY LATEST OBSESSION - MITTENS

These mittens are called Bella's Mittens and the pattern can be found for free on Ravelry here.  I've wanted to make them for a long time and now that it's getting colder and the leaves are changing I thought it was the perfect time.  I have always loved cables.  I took a knitting class about 30 years ago.  We had to pick out our own pattern and yarn.  Of course I didn't know what I was doing then.  I probably picked out the hardest pattern and most expensive yarn.  I never finished the sweater and didn't pick up knitting again until about a year ago.  I learned a lot making these mittens.  The instructions were very easy to follow and I think they are so cute.  The designer, Marielle Henault of subliminalrabbit.com, copied the mittens that Bella wore in the movie TWILIGHT.

The mittens are nice and long and will easily go over a sweater or sleeve.  I love the look of the big chunky horseshoe cables.  I think you get a lot of bang for your buck.

The pattern calls for you to use the Magic Loop method with a circular needle.  I decided to knit mine on size 8 double pointed needles.  Mainly, because I don't know how to do the Magic Loop method!  By using the DPNs, I think I knitted my gloves a little looser.  Many people have said the pattern knits up too small, but mine turned out perfect!

Below you can see how I have started the thumb gusset by moving stitches onto a holding bar.

Here I have finished the top of the mitten and now going back to knit the thumb.

And, here is the finished mitten.  Now bring on the snow!!!

CARMEN'S COWL

After changing the buttons 3 times, I am finally satisfied with the cowl I made for my friend Carmen who owns Izumi Thai restaurant in Woodstock.  She asked me to make her a black one after seeing me wear my camel cowl.  She had asked for black and sparkly - like diamonds, but not diamonds.  I found this perfect and SOFT yarn at The Whole Nine Yarns in downtown Woodstock.  It has just a little silver sparkly glitter running through the yarn.  Since Carmen is from Thailand, I thought the buttons reflect designs you might see on Thai embroidery.  I think it will look perfect on her and I hope she loves it!  See below for a close up of the buttons.

I found these wonderful buttons at Joann's.  They were made in Italy, but are so lightweight that they don't pull on the yarn.  The cowl is very lightweight and the previous buttons I had purchased kept pulling and distorting the shape.  These are 1 1/8" in diameter and will stay buttoned and look perfect on petite Carmen.

NEW KNITTING

My wonderfully talented sister in law was visiting last weekend from Tampa.  She knits, she crochets, she sews, she smocks, she embroiders, she can do anything!  All I had to do was just mention that my daughter wanted a certain hat that she had seen on ETSY.  The ETSY owner wasn't offering to sell the pattern.  So, my sister in law just came up with her own pattern - here is the chunky slouchy hat that my daughter wanted.  My sister in law knitted it while they were driving up from Tampa.  Beautiful, huh? Note to self - send my sister in law a photo of what I want for Christmas!

Here is what I have on my needles.  It's another Shawl Colored Cowl.  I wore mine to our favorite restaurant, Izumi, the other night and the owner asked me to knit one for her.  She wanted black with little sparkles in it.  I found the perfect yarn at The Whole Nine Yarns in downtown Woodstock, GA.

You can see it has just the right amount of sparkle.  Not too gaudy.  I found some little crystal buttons and will post a photo once it is blocked.