Copping out.

Your local Yarn Harlot is a busy bee today, so I’ll be copping out of the blogging a little bit, just enough to give me most of the day to work. Here’s the Mitten status…

Lm2Nd

Q&A

Janet says:

My heart is beating wildly just looking at those beautiful mittens! Are they 10d, graph 107? Pleeeeease disclose the yarn you’re using, or recommend. I’m just about to order from “The Wooly West”. I have all the books but have been frozen with fear that I’ll never be able to knit such beautiful mittens, so haven’t yet attempted any!

As a result of my apparent inability to knit anything exactly the way that I’m told, the mittens are actually a mix of a couple of graphs from “Latvian Mittens”. I cast on and used the scallops from the beginning of the mittens in chapter five from the village of Kurzeme. Then I used graph 107/ 10d (good eye there Janet), then I did a yarnover braid in black from “Folk Knitting in Estonia” then launched into the top part of graph 71. See that? Mixed my Baltic states and charts and was not pelted with hailstones or struck by lighting. Be not afraid.

I’m using 2mm needles, part Patons Kroy yarn and part Sisu yarn.

Beth says:

Do not stop with the mittens! I am finally getting inspired to try something like that, and your photos keep encouraging me….so what do you suggest for a simple-ish first-timer type colorwork project?



I like mittens (no kidding Steph…) for first timers. They are small, work up relatively quickly and are beautiful and useful. How about one of the larger gauge two colour mittens in Folk Mittens? The Selbu Mittens (oh…go look here…Caroline knit them) look like they wouldn’t cost you your sanity on the way. Can’t promise you that you won’t curse, drink heavily or invoke my name with foul epithets attached….but they look safe. Just promise me you’ll use wool. It makes colourwork much easier.

Finally, I leave you with this.

Csock2

The first computer sock is almost finished. This is proof that I still knit other things (though it would appear that I’ve decided to limit my repertoire to things for extremities. Somebody come over here and give me a serious whupping if I even look like I’m thinking about a Latvian willie warmer, will ya?) and that I’m spending an alarming amount of time in front of the computer.

I tried to post my 100 things about me list, but got freaked out. Do we love or hate those lists?

54 thoughts on “Copping out.

  1. Steph, if it’s about you, anything about you, all of us out here love’em. What can we say? You’ve got a serious fan club out here.

  2. We do *love* those lists. We want to know what your (so-called) “real” job is, and how you and Joe met, and how many babies you’ve helped deliver, and and and and and and…..

  3. Oh post it! I spent the past few weeks trying to decide whether the 100 about you was something to do or not to do. Being a fledgling blogger/knitter, I was not so sure!
    Okay, I will be honest, despite wanting justification for me to post one, I really just want to read yours! I am nosey. Nosey and glammored by your knitting!

  4. Alison is right–if it’s about you, no matter how flattering or tawdry, we’d love to know! BTW, the mittens are fantastic. I’m in over my head with Christmas knitting but will be thinking more about ME (and mittens, sweaters, scarves) in 2005!

  5. Post it! Post it! Post it! Heck, post 200 things about you! Knitters cannot get enough of the Harlot and her fabulous mittens!

  6. Harlot-
    Your fans (they love you) are right. Post it – anything to see the story behind the story of our favorite harlot…

  7. That was a pretty long post for someone copping out today. I seriously love the scalloped edge of that mitten. I also love 100 lists. Carry on.

  8. We love to read them but hate to make them. Mine’s pretty lame but that’s all I’m willing to reveal.
    No one can knit mittens as well as you do…maybe not even Nancy.

  9. I’m experiencing Latvian mitt lust now. Thanks.
    I’ve almost convinced myself that although I have two wraps, one thank you gift scarf, 1.5 sets of mitts to complete and send off, as well as a new lining to cut, stitch and place into my winter coat yet and never mind finals to study for next week, that I should be stitching red and black Latvian mitts and a hat to match.
    Except I can’t read a graph to save my life, which may save my sanity.
    Damn your Harlotly-Baltic-Mitt-Madness!

  10. The only thing wrong with you knitting a Latvian willy warmer is finding a Latvian willy to do fittings for it…. I won’t tell Joe if you won’t!
    After 4pm today will be my first audio posting ever, so if you want to find out how truly twisted my family is, check back at my blog.

  11. LOL… my daughter (she’s 4) was here with me while I was reading your post.
    “Go back up mommy…”
    “Those are pretty… can you make them?”
    Oh, boy… I hope so! Like you mentioned a couple posts back… how can you say no to these little balls of adorable? Unfortunately, I’ve never done any colorwork, and I’ve already got a whole bucket-load of stuff that I need to make for Christmas. Maybe I can brave starting something like this after the holidays… no wait! I was hoping to do thrummed mittens for my dad for his birthday in January… and maybe Na Craga for DH for his birthday in March… and that doesn’t even count anything I want to make for me.
    You’re getting me in trouble here.

  12. A latvian willie warmer! You made my tea go down the wrong way again I was laughing so hard. That would provide an opportunity for some creative color work I suppose – I can imagine some specific placement of stars and snowflakes, and some other uses for the estonian braids.

  13. I hate those lists! Apparently I’m the only one, though. They’re too long, and they’re too boring. However, I’m sure the Harlot Hundred would be amusing, and I would read it with relish (and maybe a little mustard). har!

  14. you kept your haouse without heating for too long, now you CRAVE everything to keep the frozen toes and fingers warm. But I think you still need a nosewarmer.

  15. Thanks for the eye candy again today. The mitten is gorgeous! One more question if you can: Do you NOT recommend any yarns, such as merino (Koigu) or superwash? Also, any thoughts on needles: metal, wood? I’m thinking I’ll just place an order for everything I need to totally copy you! Oh, and yes please post the 100 things. They’re fun!

  16. I just post my list on my blog this morning and, surprisingly, I feel pretty good about it.
    If you do decide to post your list, I’ll be disappointed if you exclude this item:
    xx. I’m funny and clever and I make many people laugh every day.

  17. we LOVE 100 things lists…at least i do.
    i don’t know if it’s because i’m a nosy girl or just because…but i love to read them.
    so puh-lease, will you write/post one?
    and my heat, it’s finally on.
    good luck with the back of your house!

  18. I was *this* close to knitting a willie warmer this week. No, seriously.
    We’re attending a Christmas Party this weekend of all of our friends. This year’s gift theme is “Adult gifts.”
    My husband wanted me to knit a willie warmer just for kicks. Because, they’d probably all expect me to anyway. But I’m not sure I have time…but maybe I’ll try anyway….

  19. Love the lists.
    Love the mittens – don’t stop!
    What length dpns to you use? What would you recommend for a first time mitten or sock knitter? Do you use a set of 4 or 5?

  20. *giggle* Latvian willie warmer.
    I love the About Me lists…it’s such an interesting way to learn about people… especially by what facts they choose to divulge!

  21. I like them. It’s nice to see different sides of people whose blogs you read. Of course I have not done one yet so take that for what you will.

  22. I like the lists. And you can always choose to S-T-R-E-E-E-T-C-H it out by only posting one or two items at a time. That way, no overload, and the Yarn Harlot maintains her reputation as a tease.

  23. Oh! So THAT’S what you really did with your blogging time. You made your list, and you were almost sure you were going to use it as your post, then……..chickened out! Post the thing, would you? And just think, for tomorrow you will be all set and have earned all the extra time to do something else. I can’t wait to see how hilarious yours must be. BTW-how many births have you doula-ed? And just how long did you nurse those kiddos? (I’ll bet I have you beat on at least one of them). Share! Share!

  24. Stephanie,
    Please post your 100 list. I’m sure it would be interesting and amusing! I’m once again impressed by your output. I need to start a pair of computer socks.
    kern

  25. fawn grovel plead awe beg self-deprecation admire wheedle
    love/hate passive/aggressive
    Phooey, I got rid of the thesaurus.
    from Ellen the Crypto-Queen

  26. Perhaps a Latvian Willie Warmer would be going a bit far (though you better quick patent that one–it’d be a hot novelty item for the holidays I’m sure), but I’m with the people clamoring for a nose warmer!

  27. I think it would be more fun if we, your readers, listed 100 things we know about you…your relationship with Prince, places the Dublin Bay sock has gone, how many bras you own, the name of the guy working on the back of your house, etc.

  28. Everyone should enjoy your beautiful mittens. I am already thinking ahead to when you get on a matching hat kick, and we are looking at hats for months to go with the gorgeous mittens *g*

  29. I think most of the lists are interesting and cause one to think about how much there is to a single person. There is much you can no about a person just by blogdom but there is so much more depth to a person that I think bits shine out in the lists.
    They also make it very nice to read if you just happen on a blog and want a quick run down of mini info. Then you look and there is a list.
    (scratches head) Hi.

  30. Please, please, please – could you post a picture to show what the inside of that beautiful mitten looks like? I want to see how colour work ought to look, instead of my sorry excuse for it!

  31. Latvian willie warmer? I’m giggling because I’m remembering that hat you knit using “Big Joe’s” head as the measurement…and well…it’s all downhill from there.

  32. reason i love the 100 lists – there are usually quite a few line items that seem “really real” and it does feel like i “get to know” the poster a little. (that, and sometimes they contain a good clue that will allow me to send said poster a cool pressie.)
    reason i hate the 100 lists – i would really rather find that stuff out over coffee or afghan knit ups or while walking through the national gallery. seems like kind of a “shortcut.”
    ****
    please don’t get me wrong… i ADORE the mittens. i am having possibly impure thoughts about how i could “acquire” the mitten book with out breaking my YNBA. the mittens inspire me. But… i really dig the socks, too. i wouldn’t have even _tried_ socks until i saw those fantastic grey ones you made Joe. And now I have 4 pairs under my belt. Please, keep knitting both mittens AND socks.

  33. We love the lists, we do (it’s our preciousssss – oops sorry, wrong obsession). With all my mono-induced spare time I finally made one too. The first 40 are hard to come up with, the last 20 are not.

  34. Luv, luv, LUV the colors on those mittens! Very nice.
    I really like the 100 things lists. If I could figure out how to make a page with my blogging software, I’d do one. Reading yours would certainly be memorable.
    I don’t wear mittens, but I LOVE gloves. I’ve knit the lace pair from Meg Swansen’s Gathering of Lace, and I wear them constantly. Your mittens are beyond gorgeous. I want to turn many of them into gloves. If you find a book, let me know. I stumbled across one recently, and I’m dying to try some of the patterns. It’s Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves by Carol Rasmussen Noble. Seriously yummy.
    OH, and BTW, did you notice that on the spine of our Folk Mitten book, Mitten is mispelled? That’s right. Miten. I just had a good laugh discovering that one while trying to find the glove book. HA!

  35. We love to hate those lists. I shun them on principle, but then totally devour them every time I see one on someone else’s site. I just never work up the nerve to be a full-fledged dork (as I know I am) and post one. Go ahead – embrace your dorkdom – you know we’ll all read it!

  36. The mitten fetish is okay, after all it’s December in Canada. Now, if it were August it would be a different story.
    Add me to the list of those who will be buying Latvian Mittens.

  37. Thanks for the plug… the Selbu mittens were easy but there were some errors in the pattern that will make you INSANE if you aren’t warned in advance. I knit my first mitten up to the thumb and then I just HAD to email Interweave, and in fact there are errors. Maybe I’ll make an errata page for Pink Tea.

  38. I love the mittens they are GORGEOUS. I think you shoud expand your horizons into gloves, hats, baltic socks, and the willie warmer.
    Ironically your rut is inspiring me to get out of my rut and try some color work of my own…AFTER Christmas :oP

  39. Love the lists! Love the mittens! Love your blog! Apparently love exclamation points!
    Laura in beautiful West Michigan

  40. We fear the list. It is intriguing, yet intimidating. An indulgent time-waster for both reader and writer. If done well, it can be enlightening or funny. If not, it�s a trip to the dentist, sans novocaine. (Can you tell I’ve been toying with doing a List?)

  41. two cents worth for the list: the harlot once made 999 origami cranes for her friend ken and she likes to take pictures of her children in a crowd, then circle thier heads and show them to us. this cracks me up…….love this blog.

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