I HATE being sick!

Ugh. I spent the past few days battling the virus that's been going around, and I wondered for a while if I were going to lose. Nasty thing. It leveled me flat and kept me in bed, and that goes totally against my nature! I'm happy to say, though, that I'm finally feeling somewhat up to speed again. So, it's back to the blog and knitting.

My dear and wonderful friend Carolyn brought over 6 (count 'em, six!) big bags full of yarn a little while back, and now that the holiday craziness is over, I am delighting in going through them. She's a caretaker for an elderly woman who, unfortunately, suffers from Alzheimer's. Evidently, the woman loved to knit, and she was a hoarder, too. She was originally from Germany, so I'm the lucky recipient of fine European wools. Now, we knitters are known for our stashes--who among us can resist buying whatever wool calls out to us when we're on a browsing trip, for we know we'll find the perfect use for it eventually--but even I'm trumped by this motherlode. Goodness! It's almost breathtaking! I felted a pair of "shooties"--gooshy slippers that are a cross between booties and shoes (my little sister Betsy made up the name)--with a rich royal blue German worsted, and they are beautiful! Right now, I'm using the rest of the royal to knit up a lovely cardigan from DROPS design. (If you're an avid online pattern hunter and especially like the free kind, do check out the DROPS web site. The designs are stylish, enough to make you drool and think you've gone to Knitting Design Heaven.)

While knitting this morning, I thought of the elderly woman, and wished there were some way I could let her know how much her stash now means to someone else. I'd like to think there's some way she can find out, for I am so grateful for the gift, and grateful to have the chance to transform the yarn from skeins sitting in bags on my porch to new creations that get noticed in the world.

Tomorrow, I'll do up some more oven mitts and pot holders. They're still calling, but today I need to focus on the cardigan. When I wear it, I will always think of it as a tribute to a generous woman whom I will always feel a connection to, even though I will never know her. And that's what I want to think about today....

More on the Lowly Oven Mitt (and Potholders, Too!)

Yesterday, it snowed, and what a perfect time to felt. After my first post on oven mitts, I decided to knit up a couple of potholders and a hot pad too. I had the extra yarn, and they go really fast, so why not? Plus, I like to put as many projects as possible into the washing machine. I hate the thought of wasting water and electricity, and the more projects you have washing together, the more agitation you get. Which means they felt better and faster. Totally win/win.

Here's what I came up with. I needle-felted the dots and spirals on the yellow mitt, purple hot pad, and green potholder after they were dry. My one complaint is that Cascade tends to show a trace of stitches when it's felted, no matter how much you shrink it. I like my felted items to show no knit or purl stitching at all. Maybe a smaller needle size next time around would help.

Brett (my husband, best friend, and all-around morale booster and chief supporter) really likes them! Hmmmm...if they appeal to a guy who usually couldn't care less about household kitchen things, maybe I need to pursue this more. I'll play around with a few more designs and post some on my online store, which will be coming soon!

A New Take on Oven Mitts

Have you ever noticed--and been frustrated by--how ugly the majority of oven mitts and pot holders sold in stores are? Ugh. And they're cheaply made, too. If you're like me, it goes something like this: (1) Trudge out with high hopes of finally finding a cool mitt or holder that goes just right in your kitchen; (2) Realize after a few hours of going from store to store and browsing in vain that once again, it's not going to happen; (3) Give in and buy something in a dull blue or mousy brown or horrid olive or whatever limp, lifeless, personality-less color has been decided by the invisible Household Design Police to be the least offensive for the season, because there's absolutely nothing else out there; (4) Take your own self aback at the words that come out of your mouth a week later, because the mitt gets burned or stained, and little bits of acrylic-yuck stuffing start popping out of the now crusty brown shell of the burned fabric.

Yet you keep using the darn things because you can't bear yet another unsuccessful shopping trip in pursuit of the Perfect Pot Holder with Perky Personality.

Well, I'm rebelling. It's my not-humble-at-all opinion that the things we surround ourselves with in our homes should all be as beautiful as we can afford, and they should give us joy. And yes, that includes the lowly oven mitt. I want to smile when I take out that casserole or pie I've so lovingly made. I want my hands to be protected by something that guests oooh and aaah over, not something I'm ashamed to put my hands into, never mind have my guests see.

So, I've decided to venture forth and make mitts and holders that say, "Look at me! Aren't you glad you did?" Here's my first effort at the mitts. Basically, they're really big mittens, made from leftovers of yarn I used for the hats, bags, and slippers I sold at a holiday arts fair. I went with Cascade 128 because of the way it felts and the range of very cool colors it's available in. I decided to let whimsy strike, and so I just picked up different colors for the striped version as I went along. The design dictated itself. The yellow version was originally supposed to be all yellow, but I ran out of yarn so just plopped some orange onto the top and thumb. I ended up liking it better that way. Since I know I'm going to felt them, I didn't have to worry about the stitches being perfect (I LOVE that about felting!). Can't wait to see what they'll look like after they come out of the washer. Maybe I'll needle felt some different colored dots onto the yellow mitt to go with/contrast with the striped version....