I’ve been working on making mittens for Gabe and his folks lately (1 of 3 so far!) and as I wrote about earlier, I made a huge leap in my mitten making. I won’t go into it again in this post, but you can read about it here. Instead of trying to explain what I did, let me refer to you the indispensable Knitting Help article with videos on Knitting Increases. I used the third method down on the chart, M1R and M1L. Why I didn’t think of using this method for increasing on thumb gussets before? Anyhow, I’m using them now and that’s all that matters.
I was unable to get some good pictures to share for a few days as the lighting in the apartment hasn’t been the best, and it’s been too cold to go outside and get pictures in my favorite local park. I have some now, though! Here they are:

Mitten one and mitten two on the needles.

See what I mean about holes? When I stopped correcting the twist, I stopped making holes.
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In response to my attempt at making her recipe, Chocolate-Covered Katie wrote in the comments:
Oh you are TOO sweet!!

Seeing this post just made my day. Your blog is adorable!
Well, thank you, Katie! I love your blog, too! I hope I can do your recipe justice soon!
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On the original mitten post, Mittens: A Knitter’s Journey, TK wrote in the comments:
I love making mittens. My favorite part is the thumb gusset–I always use the M1 or lifted increase, unless I’m following a pattern with a different style of thumb. For some reason my ease is always off and my mittens are very snug. Except the thumb, which is nearly always perfect.
I see what you mean, TK! This is such an efficient and beautiful way of making increases.
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In an email to me, Jennifer R. wrote:
Thanks for updating me! I hadn’t read your blog before and just read your latest post on mittens. I don’t normally read text posts all the way through, but this was a very heartwarming story. 🙂 You’ve just given me such a great idea of knitting hats for charity – I just learned how to make hats and it seems like the perfect useful gift for someone!
Thank you, Jennifer R., for your kind words! It means a lot that you had such a great experience reading the post. It reminded me, as well, that I haven’t done as much charity knitting as I used to and would like to. You’ve inspired me to make that a greater part of my day!
After finishing Robert’s Scott Pilgrim hat, I had a skein of blue and brown wool left. I woke up Saturday morning and had a burst of inspiration for charity knitting! I’ll be posting a colorwork chart for baby and kid hats soon! Stay tuned!
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Did you know that February is for Finishing? As stated in the rules, I must have a complete list of UFOs (unfinished objects) by February 1. I know what I’ll be doing this afternoon. (March is for making mates for all those mittens and socks!)
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Tea-for-one pot, bone china cup, and citrus to fight off a cold with beauty and VitC
I’m nursing the cold I wrote about yesterday with ginger, thyme, lemon, and honey tea. Little things, like pretty tea-for-one pots and pretty bone china cups, make cold season more tolerable.

Pretty tea pot!

Gabe gave me a set of four for my birthday. He's a keeper, for sure!
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Stay warm! Enjoy your Tuesday!
