(no subject)

[which_chick]

It's been beastly hot here of late and, while I like to cook, I don't like to cook when the temperature in my house is over ninety. Since the local weather has been uncooperative and since I don't have a/c, I'm currently having No-Cooking dinners.

My absolute favorite No-Cooking dinner is the tomato-and-mayo sandwich. Two slices of whole-wheat bread, toasted (making toast is not cooking), sliced room-temperature tomato, mayo, a sprinkle of salt on the tomato slices. I like tomato-and-mayo sandwiches a whole lot -- they are my food of choice when it's hot and I can get proper tomatoes that do not taste like cardboard.

Despite the heat, progress continues on the two-handed knitting front. I've done a swatch. I have gauge. Using Cascade 220 on #2 needles, I get seven stitches to the inch (horizontal). It doesn't matter how many I get to the vertical inch because I will stop when they are big enough. That's how we do things here in now, bring me that horizon land. If we're lucky, I will take notes. If we're not lucky, I will have mittens that are fraternal rather than identical. Anyway, I need 9" to go around my broad, field-hand mitts with room for movement and gripping things like, say, snow shovels. Since 63 does not lend itself to being divided for purposes of patterning the damn mittens (and they will OF COURSE be patterned because that's why I learned to do two-color, two-handed knitting), I've upgraded this to 64, a substantially more divisible number.

I don't want to discuss the reasonableness of the gauge I'm using. I am aware that you're SUPPOSED to knit Cascade 220 on something like size 7 needles. (For the non-knitters and/or furriners in the audience, #2 needles are about 2.5 mm in diameter and #7 are about 4.5 mm. Knitting this yarn on little toothpicky size 2 needles is something quite a few knitters will perceive as evil, wrong, and bad. Screw 'em.) However, Cascade 220 looks damn good on #2 needles and it makes a gorgeous, tight fabric for mittens so that snow and cold won't get inside them. Besides that, I already have #2 needles. Projects where I don't have to buy more stuff are BETTER than projects where I have to buy more stuff.

Comments

[cassandramorgan.livejournal.com]

Gah. Now I want a tomato sammich >_

[sara-merry99.livejournal.com]

So are you getting new yarn for it, or are you going to use the leftovers from the bag project?

I wish I liked fresh tomatoes, because I'd really like to be one of those
people who got into the summer joy of fresh tomatoes. Sigh.

[which-chick.livejournal.com]

There's not enough leftover from the bag project to make me mittens, though I did unravel the stuff I used to swatch with so that I could reuse it in some other project later. Also, I want more of a light-dark contrast than I can get from the colors in the bag project.

However, I still won't be shopping for new yarn because yarn stores are evil dens of temptation. As it happens, I have pre-existing appropriate yarn in *sigh* pink and purple that will work nicely. I also have a smaller amount of mauve that goes with the pink and purple. I am not in love with this yarn, but I have it and the colors do not look hideous together and it'll do. The main body of the mitten will be in patterned (jury still out on patterning selection) pink and purple. I don't know what I'm doing about the thumb part, but I'm thinking mauve should play a role. The cuffs will be 1x1 ribbing in the purple (less likely to show dirt) and they'll be fairly long cuffs.

The rough pattern I'll be using for guidance and/or disregarding is located here: http://www.hjsstudio.com/mittens.html (http://www.hjsstudio.com/mittens.html)

I'm not sure exactly how much of the directions I will follow and how much of the directions I will blow off. Stay tuned for updates, though.

[sara-merry99.livejournal.com]

Pink and purple and mauve?? Why do you even have pink, purple and mauve yarn? Those are so not you colors.

I'm almost tempted to go into a yarn store and get you something more suitable just to spare the world from seeing you in pink and purple mittens. :)

[which-chick.livejournal.com]

I would really like black and red mittens. However, since I have never made mittens before and since I have only just learned to do two-color knitting, first there will be mittens in pink and purple and mauve. It might help to think of them as a rough draft.