Just like the photo in the book, right? The Target Wave Mittens are done, just in time for August!

Pattern: Target Wave Mittens, Knitting Nature
Yarn: Louet Gems Topaz, size 6 needles.
Modifications: The pattern was written for child’s sizes, so I upsized it for my hands and for my different gauge. I knit these in the round using the jogless jog, which worked out pretty well.

I wish that I had made the thumb targets bigger – they look much more proportional in the pattern photo, but I think that mine look pretty cute regardless.

Some nice overexposed, kinda blurry, photos for you all. Blackie has placed a request that I never do this to her again.

I took a spinning class this weekend with Amy. I felt totally sick during the class, but I left with enough knowledge to generate yarn from floof. Yarn! I’m totally going with the thick-and-thin, Manos-like yarn that I’m creating, and the spinning thing is pretty fun. What to do with the slubby yarn… everyone gets hats this winter! Ha!

I’m not sure that I would take another class at a knitting shop again. I’ve faired pretty well so far teaching myself how to [knit, sew, etc], and I’m not convinced that the spinning class tought me very much. Sure, I felt like poo for 80% of it, but I really did understand most of where we were going in the class from stumbling across spinning info online. One thing that we learned that I didn’t know was to go clockwise for a Z-twist. Useful. Then our instructor talked for a couple of minutes about which way is clockwise and which way is counter-clockwise. She even had a CD with arrows pointing in the correct direction. Yeah, clocks and direction and all, got it. She also had a skein of cat fur that she had spun up, which Amy and I agreed was odd (Amy’s term was more like: disgusting).

My Target Wave mitten with modifications. I’m basically just upsizing the length to fit my changed gauge and adding some width. I actually finished this mitten today, but I’m going to redo the thumb part because it’s a bit too large. I needed a small project, and these little guys are perfect, yay!

After last week’s mess, I realized that yes, I am capable of knitting. Go me! First, some stash enhancement. I was on a mission to pick up some yarn for the Target Wave mittens, so I stopped by the lys that’s on my way home from work. I was feeling very blah about what was there, but they carry the most lovely selection of Koigu. I so don’t need any sock yarn, but the depth of color in those little skeins was so amazing. Yummy. However, I’m not sure what I’ll make with the yarn – I’m not really a sock person. I like to knit socks, but I am Always Warm, so I very rarely wear them. So we’ll see what happens with this stuff.

On Saturday, I dragged the always-working-must-finish-thesis-revisions Rob out to do some errands with me. Part of the errands involved stopping by Twisted Yarns for a sale they were having – the higher the temps outside, the larger the discount. It was a seriously beautiful (ie, not stiflingly hot) day on Saturday, so I figured it wouldn’t be super hot out. I picked up two skeins of Louet Topaz for the mittens, and ended up with a 25% discount. They said it was 100 degrees outside, which was so not true. I think their thermometer must have been sitting in the sun, but whatever, I’ll take it.

In the whole I Am Capable of Knitting Properly vein, I finished one hexagon of the Basalt Tank and proceeded to sloppily block it. A shiny cutting/blocking board is on my way from a big craft store this week, because the blocking space around these parts is not so good. This hexagon is basically a big gauge swatch – my row gauge was pretty off from the pattern, and I figured it would be best to just knit the hex to see how much it would affect the size. I think things may work out after all. I’m using Jo Sharp Soho Summer in the Currant color, which lived a previous life as a mostly knitted Corset Tank Pullover (which was a cute sweater, but so not me).