A Bluestocking Knits

We’ve been talking about going up to the mountains to play in the snow — the girls have never seen snow — and so we’ve been getting ready clothing-wise.  I had to search high and low for a suitable jacket for Laura, since here in southern California, the summer wear comes out after the Christmas sales, and there was not a jacket to be found in her size, not even for ready money.  I had to buy one that is bigger than even I usually buy for a fast-growing first-grader, but my consolation is that it was on sale, and she’ll grow into it.  But no-one who calls herself a knitter would let her children go out into the snow for the first time in their lives in store-bought mittens! and so I dug around in my stash of Araucania Nature Wool and borrowed Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Knitting Patterns from the library again, and now they each have a pair of custom-fitted, made-with-love mittens of their very own.

My gauge on the US2 needles is a smidge under 6 sts per 1 inch — firm but still pliable and comfy.  It’s a very simple pattern — I extended the rib at the wrists about a half-inch each, and wasn’t very happy with the little "point" at the ends of the fingers on Julia’s (where all of the decreases come together at once), and so on the second pair, I chose the "8 sts rem" option instead of 4, and might even do 12 next time — but this is a minor quibble compared to the ease of knitting (two days! felt like I was flying), and the girls’ delight in wearing them, even on fairly warm days.

This gives you an idea of how much wool it took for the child’s medium-sized mittens — the ball on the left is a full skein, and the one on the right is after making the pair for Julia.  (I was going to make Laura’s pair in the purple, which has been her favorite color for some time now, but after seeing the red, she chose that!  Admittedly, it is not a very purple purple, and the red is beautifully intense.)