I learned to knit when I was 6.....

.... and I'm now 45, so you'd think that I'd have learned to read a chart, check the symbols, etc, etc.

Or perhaps not.  I was halfway up the first of a pair of Grove Mittens (from Jared Flood's "Made in Brooklyn" booklet) when it dawned on me that I'd done the cuff wrong.  Admittedly, I'm used to a . to denote a purl stitch on a chart and, on this particular one, purls were represented by a blank square, but I'd made a mental note of that.  Obviously it went straight out of my head.  Anyway, on every other row, I was supposed to do k1tbl, p1.  I did k1tbl, k1.  I had a look at the cuff and tried on the mitten (I was Magic Looping so that wasn't difficult to do once I'd pushed the stitches onto the cable) and thought it looked ok, so carried on and did the same on the second mitten.

Anyway, they were a quick knit (only 50 rounds per mitten, plus cuff and thumb) and are finished.

The yarn is King Cole Merino Blend Superwash DK in Emerald Green.  It's a yarn I can see myself using again.  Nice and springy; soft and smooth to knit with.  I used my 4mm KnitPro Harmony tips for these, but it may be the last outing for them as they've got a bit scratched with use and aren't as smooth as they were.  Not sure whether or not to get another set, or to use the Spectra (acrylic) or Nova (metal) 4mm tips I've got.


I've also got another Jared Flood FO to show off!  This is the Guernsey Wrap.  Mr F designed this pattern to be made with his Shelter yarn (worsted weight and I'd love some, but can't justify the cost, plus postage costs, plus customs and PO charges).  I made mine using some yarn that's spun in Cornwall from the fleeces of a local flock of sheep (local as in the next village along from us - about 3 miles away).  The yarn's DK, so I knew the wrap wouldn't be as wide as the original, or as long, so I modified the pattern, doing three full repeats of the first and third charts, which also meant that the scarf's mirrored which the original isn't.

The yarn's a bit hairy, but I blocked it after giving it a soak in some water to which I'd added hair conditioner and I think it'll be fine.  Nice and warm for this current cold spell of weather.  I'm hoping that no cold winds are going to get past this one!

I'm now back to knitting on my Volna scarf and trying to not cast on the James C Brett chunky for my 'sloppy Joe' sweater.  Well.... maybe I should just knit a swatch so I can work out tension and then do the calculations for it.

Until next time..