Swatchless

The kingyo mittens that I mailed to my good buddy in Japan arrived safe and sound.  This is a picture of her with the mittens and a hamaya–a “demon breaking arrow” bought at shrines for New Year to ward off bad luck and bring good fortune.  I think she loves the mittens.  She told me that she cried when she opened the package!  I wish all knitters have such a thankful friend to knit for.

(Photo credit: Papa-Pea)

My friend and I have had many adventures together in Canada and in Japan.  I helped her learn English, introduced her to my family, and took her swimming in the lake!  She hosted me for several days in Japan, showed me around her hometown, welcomed me into her family, and together we suffered through an exhilarating all-night-climb of Mt. Fuji in the summer of 2007.  In the summer, it is difficult to see the mountain clearly due to the rapidly forming clouds.  It is such a shy mountain!

Mount Fuji Dec.2009 (photo credit: Papa-Pea)

Her dad woke up very early in the morning this winter, and took these lovely photos to show me that the mountain that took so long to climb really does exist.  It’s hard to imagine that I was once standing on that very crater…

Me and my friend at the top of Mt. Fuji Aug.2007 (photo credit. Papa-Pea)

Here’s another thing that’s hard to imagine…a Coke machine at the top of Mt. Fuji!

Coke Machine on Mt. Fuji Aug.2007

Where’s the craziest place you’ve mailed your knitting?

Pattern:  Kissing Koi Mittens {Ravelink}

Yarn: Sisu (100% wool, fingering weight)

Size: Small

I am getting ready to mail these mittens to my friend in Japan, but wanted to do a photo shoot before I let them go.  There are few people that I know who have hands that are dainty enough to wear these mittens without them looking comical.  One of these people (CK) agreed to be a mitten model.

Today was cold and rainy and dark….which led to interesting outdoor lighting, avoidance of puddles, and finally a retreat to the warmth indoors.

CK and I had fun, and were quite silly….inventing poses that show off the intricate design and special details of the pattern.

The cuffs are double thickness, and the palm has a simple repeated pattern that is quite striking in such contrasting colours.

Stranded knitting like this leads to a very dense and thick fabric, so these mittens will be not only be a stylish conversation starter, but a very functional garment for winter.

When we moved inside, we met M who decided that she wanted to be a mitten model too!  Watch out….mitten models can be vicious!

no models were harmed in the taking of this picture

Canada’s next top model???  I think she has done this modeling thing before…

Thanks to CK and M for their assistance, and their fun this afternoon.

I will encourage my friend in Japan to take photos as well when the mail arrives.  This may not be the last you see of these mittens!

I’m debating making a pair for myself.  They are such a fun pattern to knit, and such a stunning piece of wearable art.

I have finished my Kissing Koi mittens!  I am very happy with the pattern and how the Sisu yarn knit up.  I’d definitely use it again.  I am not, however, thrilled by the Addi Natura 2.0mm bamboo needles.  Out of the set of 5 I broke 1, and 3 of the remaining 4 are bent.  I will not use bamboo DPNs again.  I think they are too flexible, and I could hear small cracking noises when I started knitting with them.  I have also sworn off plastic DPNs.  I attempted knitting with them when I was travelling by air after 9-11, but managed to break 3 out of the 4 needles on the first mitten I was making.  Maybe I’m just too forceful, or I knit with high tension, but for me it’s gotta be metal needles.  Plus, there’s something comforting about knowing where the needle is when it slips out of your hand and falls to the floor.  Plastic and bamboo needles make no sound compared to metal needles.

kingyo mittens

I really like how the symmetry of the pattern works.  It’s such a pretty design!

kingyo mittens with kingyo

The palms are so simple, but allow for the colourwork to flow nicely without big loops on the inside.

inside of mittens

Speaking of the insides…here they are!  I’m not sure how I feel about the “afterthought thumb”.  I prefer a thumb with a gusset.  If the mittens were the right size for me perhaps I would be ok with this type of thumb.  It makes knitting the pattern much easier, as the stitch count stays constant each row.  I also really like the professional look of the cuff.  I think I’d do a provisional cast on next time and use that to k2tog instead of picking up from the cast on edge.  I’m also thinking about knitting initials or the year into the inside of the cuff next time around.

Like most knitters I’ve usually got several projects on the go.  I’m not sure what it is that causes some projects to get finished faster.  I’m sure it is a combination of several factors: needle size, number of stitches, impending deadline, or my energy, enthusiasm, and level of concentration.  Sometimes though, it is the more complicated finer gauge projects that grab my attention and seem to almost knit themselves.  One such project is the Kissing Koi {ravelink} mittens by Ravelry’s badlydrawndee.  I have cast on a pair in black and orange, just like her picture.

I’m knitting with Sisu yarn for the first time.  I’ve been told that it is a hard wearing yarn that knits up similar to Kroy.  I am also trying out a new set of DPNs for this pattern, they are 2.0mm bamboo, and I’m not so keen on how flexible they are.  I know that many people love that aspect of the bamboo needles, but I guess I’m a vigorous knitter–one needle broke halfway through the first mitten.  Thank goodness they come in packages of 5!  I’ve been more careful on mitten number 2.  I think I’ll go back to my metal DPNs after this pair.  (I have tried knitting socks and mittens on circular needles and it drives me absolutely up the wall!)

I cast on for these mittens late at night, after finishing the second pair of poetry mittens.  I knit the cuff, all the while getting more and more excited about the fish pattern.  I tried on the cuff, and it fit well around my wrist.  I knit the second layer of the cuff, joined it all together and tried it on again…still good!  Then the complex pattern started.  I knit away, eagerly waiting for bubbles and fish scales to appear.  When it came time to put in the thumb, I tried it on again.  The width of the mitten was great, but I began to wonder about the length of the mitten from thumb to cuff.  I do enjoy long cuffs!  With this style of mitten, the thumb is knit after the mitten is finished, but there is no hole left for your thumb while you’re working, so my style of knit-to-fit doesn’t work so well.  This mitten is very small for me!  I looked back at the pattern, and realized that I’d made a rookie mistake…the pattern calls for size 2 needles…which are considerably larger than the 2.0mm needles that I was using.  Next time I’ll get it right!

When I first saw this pattern I was planning on making them for AM a good Japanese friend.  I’m glad she has really small hands!!  We’ve exchanged goldfish (kingyo) gifts and trinkets for the past 9 years.  I hope it gets cold enough for mittens in Atami.