Mittens in progress

I joined Sandy's Warm Hands mitten knit-along. I am in the proces of making a pair of mittens for my F-I-L for Christmas.

Last year I made him got a hat, and he's talked about how great the hat is for several months now. He dropped some hints that he'd like a pair of mittens this year. "You know, I could really use a pair of mittens too. Not just regular ones, but shooting mittens. You know, the ones where you've got a thumb, a finger, and then the rest of the mitten" Picture this with the appropriate finger motions that one would use to describe such a pair of mittens.

So, I'm adapting a basic mitten/glove construction to make "shooting mittens". So far, I'm up to the thumb gussets...


I am making these (mostly) using the 2-at-once method of Magic Looping. Just one problem -- I only have a 32" Addi in the size I needed. I'm fine when just working the hand, but 2 mittens with 2 complete gussets was too much for my short needle to handle. So, I did one thumb gusset first, and now I'm working on the second. Once finished, I'll put both on the needle again and finish the mitten tops together.

I love doing things 2-at-once whenever possible. See, I'm slightly compulsive about everything being perfectly symmetrical. I WILL know if one glove has one more row than the other, or if my gauge changed slightly from one mitten to the next, and it WILL drive me crazy. So, by doing both at once, I avoid those problems and I'm a much happier knitter :)

Here's a close up of the rib pattern. It's a mock cable alternating with something called a cross-stitch rib. I got it from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker.


The rib has stitches worked on the wrong side rows. I wanted to knit the cuffs in the round, but I can't figure out if it is possible to work those stitches on the right side rows. To made the rib, you work those stitches on the wrong-side rows as follows: purl into the second stitch on the needle, then into the first, then drop them off together. I couldn't see how to alter the stitch so that I could knit in the round. So, I knit the cuffs flat and will seam them when finished.

I feel like I barely started these, yet have made good progress, even considering that I am knitting them with Casccade 200 at a very tight 6 sts/in. Hopefully, they will be done soon, and one more Christmas gift will be checked off the list!