A Bluestocking Knits

Ack! it’s the 17th of May already, and I’ve not even cracked open the Almanac for this month’s project!

I’ve thought about it, any number of times, but last month’s blanket is not even a quarter of the way to being finished — Hedera, and the Swing Jacket, of course, and secret birthday projects coming up — and life in general.  You know how it is.  So, here’s the plan — the Mystery Blanket will plug along happily behind the scenes (I can crank out a square while watching a longish movie, but there are twenty-four of the bally things to do, you don’t need to see each one), as will the secret birthday projects, and I’ll do the Mittens for Next Winter now.  Luckily, this is a fairly modest project!

But — deep breath, relax — "it is better," Elizabeth says, "not to make mittens in a hurry."  When you want them, "when snow flies and small frozen hands beg for warmth (sob)," the knitting gets rushed and perfunctory — so "let’s make them in May; let’s take our time over them; let’s venture into new approaches and designs; let’s enjoy them"!

I had been tempted before, when considering this Almanac project, by the lovely Norwegian mittens, with the big eight-pointed star on the back of the hand — but I think I will be realistic, and plump for the single-colored ones "gingered up" with mitered shaping.  On this scale, perhaps, color work would not take much extra time, but there is a deadline, after all, if only a modest and self-imposed one!  I have in fact never knit mittens before, so either would do quite nicely.

I’m thinking about the Cleckheaton 8-Ply Crepe which I bought last summer at Mui Tong Wools ….