I have just finished another pair of gloves from my new pattern collection and let me tell you, these are completely addictive ( and I must cast on for another immediately! ) This pattern collection is great for using up stash of many weights (gauge substitution for gloves from light worsted to very fine fingering weight) , this short cuffed pair was knit from dk weight, and used less than 40g of yarn. It was once a sock that never had its sock-mate knit, what they call “second sock syndrome” . . . so I put the lonely sock out of its misery.
‘Una Cosettina’ has had a bit of an overhaul in recent winter weeks. I have knit up several more variations on the original design from nearly a year ago. Now pattern has options to work lace up the back of the hand, (I so wanted to do this , and now it is done and I’m satisfied!) . You can create a full lace gauntlet , or a sporty shorty little wisp of a mitt, or anything in between. Options to omit i-cord cast-on & bind-off and/or eyelet round, and skip straight to the lacework. To me a bounty of choices makes a good pattern and as much fun to wear as it is to knit as it is to write!
But frankly folks, this pattern is all about using that one-of-a-kind skein or ball you have. Perfect for those lovely singles of your own spindle-spun yarn or that lovely skein of luxury yarn you couldn’t resist buying from that great yarn shop you just visited. Maybe you discovered a ball of vintage yarn in your grandmother’s attic which narrowly escaped a pair of argyle socks in the 50’s, or that novelty yarn you bought from the 13th-Century wool mill while visiting the town of Biella in Italy.
Una Cosettina meets One-Skein-Project-itis and makes a stunningly beautiful friendship.
This pattern can be found on Yarnings HERE, and detailed on Ravelry HERE.
That is, part of a castle, more the entrance of the castle. A gothic brick & stone building at the gate of the Castello di Amorosa.
Which was actually quite perfect, for nobody was about and we could just be creative with the knitwear. . .
We did actually drive up to the castle, but there were hundreds of people swarming about, and that was less than ideal for photographing. But we did get a shot of Miss Fifteen standing through the sky window of my car, with the castle in the background …
It was a GREAT discovering this new favorite photo place, all three of us were very taken by the gothic feel of iron & brick & stone & arched windows, and all agreed it should be the new design image for us. Modelled in photos are holiday & birthday presents from me; a pair of Una Cosettina mitts and accompanying infinity scarves “Una Cosettina Sciarpa Infinita” which is all upcoming… we just had to give ‘er a test run here at the castle today !
Una Cosettina, or ‘ A Little Something’ is the name of these half-mitts, designed especially for Oropa 1ply yarn, which is made with wool from sheep which have roamed the foothills of Alps of Northern Italy for perhaps a thousand years. Who knows for sure? But, there is an age-old mill in Biella which uses much the same processing methods as of long ago, and which make the wool from these Old-World sheep into yarn. Oropa 1ply is a rustic heritage yarn as rugged as the mountain terrain it comes from. Truly Oropa yarn is nothing less than a timeless treasure. I talk a lot about the yarn, and Biella’s place in Italy’s wool industry in Posted From Italy, Yarn Whisperer, and some about elements of design process in my previous post.
I wrote a pattern which incorporates the following; my own edging that I will simply call ‘eyelet edging’, a cast-on and bind-off’, elements of i-cord, rib, and lace all in one. Shown in Pearl Grey & Natural Oropa 1ply, sturdy & feminine, these half-mitts will keep your hands warm, while letting the spring breezes through from it’s open lace-work. Inspired by womens riding gloves of olden days perhaps, slightly bell-shaped , stylish, and ready to make a spectacular conversation piece when people ask about them.
Modeling both sizes ~ smaller size to left, larger size at top.
The photos show both sizes, and two slightly different cast-on eyelet edgings at the beginning of cuff, the end result in pattern, is slightly again different, combining both ( just a matter of changing one round of rib, into knit stitch). In the weeks ahead this very same pattern is undergoing translation into Italian, and it will then become available to purchase in kit form with the very same Oropa 1ply yarn as you see in photo. As soon as I have any information to the kit being ready, I will post in celebration of a job done collaboratively , having a sense of place from both Northern California, and Northern Italy.
Thank you Bonnie, for asking me if I would like to design una cosettina (a little something) for The Wool Box, because I most certainly and thoroughly enjoyed it ! May only ever the warm & soft breezes of spring blow through your lace ~~ Ciao.
Meanwhile I will have this pattern available along with my other designs, which you will find on Ravelry HERE
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Now, for a little more information about The Wool Box !
You may read a little bit about Some info on The Wool Box and then check out the English translated websites that Volunteer English-speaking Ambassador to The Wool Box , Bonnie, as created on Ravelry HERE and on Facebook HERE.
You can read more about “The New History of Italian Wool” from Bonnie’s blog called “Wool In Italy” . . . on her post HERE .
If you would like to contact The Wool Box directly (in Italy), below are links Bonnie has provided me:
At last ! After a mountain of reworking and writing and editing, I finally have the pattern ready for PLT gloves. I have been working like an ox (like a pair of oxen!) on these for longer than I care to remember (clear back into October perhaps???) and I collapse in front of you all, with one last utterance before I lose consciousness and that is . . .
” Please stop on over on the pattern page and see all the prettiness there is to be seen” ! Also you can visit the sisters of PLT gloves ~~~ Pretty Little Things Socks and make a sock & glove matching set !
This photo was taken from the same spot as the photo in previous post ‘blue dawn’. In one day, the sky went from an awe-inspiring blue dawn to a rather surreal orange-red & blue sunset, making it quite a lucky day with the camera ! Usually I’m not so lucky. These clouds were like fresh blended fluffy bats of wool just off of the carder, hanging there for a long time into twilight. So, what about a blue dawn and an orange-red dusk? I am finding that the very thing I’m knitting is expressed so well by an Autumn sky photographed a few days ago…
Though the red is definitely subdued in the photo, it is at least suggestive of a ‘red sky at night ‘, knitted in Malabrigo sock yarn which I bought at my local yarn shop Yarns On First while browsing their beautiful yarns recently, in colors ” Botticelli Red ” and ” Impressionist Sky ” . Wouldn’t you say the sky in above photo is perfect model for an impressionist painting?
What pattern you see here actually, is Pretty Little Things gloves in the works, yes, sisters of Pretty Little Things (PLT) socks . These little charmers are taking their sweet time, and I’m giving them all the time they need, though I did want to show you what I’m working on at least. Happy, fun, and challenging are gloves !
Thirty-Six hours ago I went into my little pattern-writing cave, bid good-bye to the world, barely noticed the light snowfall we had yesterday, let the house turn to squalor (happens fast with a German Shedder for a housemate, who by the way, was giving me the sad-eye the whole time as we didn’t walk one bit), the clouds rolled on by, the wind blew, earth circled the sun, and I drank colossal amount of tea, and lavishing my appetite with mostly shortbread (which I bake regularly!) So, well friends, I just crawled out of my cave. Two. Days. Later.
Wrestling with technically precise words is not my sport of choice nor talent forte, but I’ll tell you , if it weren’t for Morrie at the other end of the chitty-chatty box in gmail and even the phone numerous amounts of times ~~~ I never would have lasted in that dark & scary cave. So first of all, thank you Morrie, for your abundant editing genius, and your effervescent good humor.
Second of all, I want to thank Lizzi, for her convincing me I could be a real knitter, write a real pattern, and even be a real designer. Liz, you’re right, I can be as self-doubting as I am use to being, but then I’ll just go ahead and do it anyway, and be proud about it too. So Lizzi ~~ ” well done you ! ”
Now I’ll mention lastly, that the first ever paid-for pattern for 2 bux is for sale on Ravelry. Hmm… I feel a little old-fashioned asking two dollars for a pattern which took me (and lets not forget Morrie) two days to write. But hey ! I am good with that !
So here she is, shyly sitting in the shadows like a wallflower among great designers and pattern-writers ~ over yonder in Ravelry ~ the pattern for sale.
(Oh, and yes, that is my Really Red Fair Isle cardigan & tam the mitts are cozied up to !)
I knit these little things pretty darned tight on the very skinny #0 needles… so there’s some ‘laddering’ going down the middle of the mitts. I love the affect of the variegated yarn too.
sister of the original ” Jenjoyce Pin-Striped Fingerless Mitt ” . . .
A smply understated color stranding concept~ yet serious enough of a Fair-Isle effect, but on a completely basic scale. Therefore, I think this mitt & pattern is perfect for one who wants to learn how to do stranded color work.
Another two pairs of pin-striped fingerless mits !
Aren’t they lovely ?
These are for Molly & Maya, belated xmas presents.
For some reason, I can’t capture the colors very well with the camera .
These are a medium greyish slate blue with marine blue stripes . . .
And these are a deep plum with royal purple stripes . . .
I think that five pairs of pin-striped fingerless mits are enough for me for a time, but since I knit them all almost entirely while walking the mountain, I’m not sure if I might not cast on for another pair . I mean, I fear I might trip without something to knit !
🙂
But for now I’m going down off the mountain into town to ship these mits in the mail, and then feel my feathers fluff up with a sense of satisfaction of a job done ! I find it difficult to believe that all the Christmas knitting is behind me now. I went for my walk this morning , and, nothing to knit while walking along ! It was surreal.
There’s somebody out there who knows these are made just for her, and who knows if she walks up through the woods soon, along with a steaming hot cup of bittersweet & spicey chocolate (with whip), these fingerless mits ~ in two shades of grey ~ will be waiting for her. 🙂
One pair of fingerless mits for Christmas for youngest niece.
I’ve been working on these, sans pattern, for about four days, while walking , standing at the stove, just ‘ about the house ‘ sort of knitting …. nothing too committed. I think I could easily knit one in a morning if I worked at it non-stop. Anyway, I’m smitten with pin-stripes !!! So easy to be ‘jogless’ too, just give the yarn a little tug when you come to switching colors, and then the single-row stripe ends stay all in line … it’s amazing… and so satisfying to have two color affects with no woven ends . I can see I’ll be knitting pin-stripes until I”m dizzy . Now for my older niece, who is on twitter a lot, calling them Twittermitts . . .
The misty color combo is lavender and grey, a soft wintery colorway for one who has been very good and hoping for her first and very own iphone from Santa in a week, and from whom I’ll anticipate a lot of action on the Twittery front.
Can you even see where the pin-stripes join? A little tug at the switching of colors is all it took, and there it is… jogless ! I am dizzy from pin-stripes !!! Will there be no stopping me? Will I be pin-striping at Christmas eve into the wee hours of the night? Will I bridge Christmas with the New Year doing nothing but more, more, more pin-striped fingerless mits , rationalizing still another recipient who might need a pair? There’s no way to really know, but to watch this space as they say.
I pulled out my bags of raw alpaca, and began spinning a few days prior.
The perfect choice of animal fiber for Alejandro’s gloves, he who frequently ski’s the snow of the Andes Mountains, in Patagonia.
Plying natural black with natural grey .
I used the basic charts from Ann Budd ~ Handy Book of Patterns as a guideline (especially since I was knitting with handspun and needed a custom gauge). However, I prefered a ‘left’ and a ‘right’ glove, so I had to somewhat re-invented the off-set thumb for myself ~a definite improvement . I would enjoy publishing my own version of a glove pattern ~ soon ~ because I love making gloves now !
