I am frustrated. And really not feeling the love. And disappointed because of it. Look at this!
The beginning of my Bird in Hand mitten. Well, not really the beginning - or "my" mitten. This mitten is for my swap partner. And this is my first time to knit a stranded color design. And I'm not doing too shabby, if I say so myself. Here's a picture of the inside of the mitten -
And especially for a first piece, that's pretty good. I truly drool over color work. I want to knit my own Dale of Norway Olympic sweater. Depending on what the design for the next Olympics look like, I'll make up my mind then. And the Bohus sweaters I've seen are fantastic. The designs I see just make me swoon. And yet. Not feeling the love. Is it my frustration with a technique new to me? Is it this particular design? And do I finish this pair of mittens???
The beginning of my Bird in Hand mitten. Well, not really the beginning - or "my" mitten. This mitten is for my swap partner. And this is my first time to knit a stranded color design. And I'm not doing too shabby, if I say so myself. Here's a picture of the inside of the mitten -And especially for a first piece, that's pretty good. I truly drool over color work. I want to knit my own Dale of Norway Olympic sweater. Depending on what the design for the next Olympics look like, I'll make up my mind then. And the Bohus sweaters I've seen are fantastic. The designs I see just make me swoon. And yet. Not feeling the love. Is it my frustration with a technique new to me? Is it this particular design? And do I finish this pair of mittens???If I decide not to finish this pair of mittens for my partner, there is no reason not to completely frog this. My partner's hands are larger than mine, so the mitten would never get any use. It seems a shame (and a waste) to just cut the yarn and throw away the partial mitten.
And I'm selfish! I am really hoping for something similar from my partner. Of the people in the mitten swap that have posted pictures, all of the designs are truly lovely works of art. And stranded color designs. So how on earth could I send anything less than what I want to my own partner?
I'm using Cascade 220 for these mittens. And while it comes in a staggering array of colors, a shop can only carry so many of them. And while my partner didn't come out and say that she would love mittens from colors that could be named "sage" and "tobacco," I still think she would like these colors.
But I do have another skein of Cascade 220. In a very nice navy blue. And an alternate mitten pattern that is starting to become more attractive. I'd love some feedback, so I'm going to ask (beg?) on the mitten swap blog for someone else's opinions.
edited to add: I said above that I'm hoping to get something similar (color work) from my pal, but thought I'd better explain that. My pal has been great about staying in touch with me. And she's also thinking about frogging and starting over - yikes! But I only said I was hoping for something similar because it's something I don't have. I also don't have cabled or striped mittens (or stranded, etc, etc.) and those would be equally appreciated. I feel like I stuck my foot in my mouth pretty far - hope I've been able to at least partially extract said foot from mouth!
6 comments:
Surfing over from the Mitten Swap blog. The colors you picked are gorgeous. I'm pretty sure everyone loves BiH, at least to receive! But if the knitting is becoming tedious for you, maybe it's time to switch patterns.
I think your mitten looks really great! I love the colors and patern! Great job!
Hopped over from the mitten swap blog. The colors are beautiful. The similarity in values might be what is causing you to be bored. A bigger contrast of colors would cause it to be more interesting and make that statement of wow those are really outstanding.
In saying that, don't frog unless you feel completely certain that this is not ok in its current place.
Trying to knit something for someone you don't know is, for me at least, the hardest part of a swap. And, while I agree with Chrispy about the degree of contrast, I do like the subtle combination of colors.
FWIW, the BiH pattern is a little different to knit than a geometric nordic or latvian pattern. You really have to pay close attention to the chart on every row and can't just knit along and "see" the pattern and where things will line up. So I suppose that makes it either more tedious or more exciting. One more thought, since it's Cascade 220, if you decide to finish and keep them, you could always slightly full/felt them to your size. Warmer that way too!
Came on over from the Mitten Swap blog page... I think your mittens are lovely, (you're doing a fantastic job with the colorwork!) and I, personally, like your color choices.
That said, I agree with some of the comments above that two colors with more contrast (definitely dark and definitely light) might highlight this pattern more fully, and make it easier to see and to knit. As they are now, the mittens are looking rather subtle (*which is not a bad thing!*)
From here, it is your choice as to how you want them to turn out. I'm sure whatever you do, they will be well loved and keep your pal's hands warm!
Sweetie their sooooo pretty dont frog.. put them down for a day do something fast and gratifying come back. You can do eeeeet !!
xox Char
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