Hello, 911?

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You better send somebody over here because I am ON FIRE.

Finishedfinnishm3

Finished mittens. Finished Finnish mittens. (That is, for anybody counting – FOUR finished items in TWO days. I do not care to discuss how long it took to get to this place…it harshes on my mellow. Mercury must have come out of retrograde or something. )

Reluctamanfinish

A shot of them with a reluctant Amanda, just one of the family members I forced to wear these this morning before breakfast. (They don’t fit Joe.) I just can’t stop admiring these. I love them. I adore them. They are so beautiful that I want to go out into the street and make strangers admire them.

Finishedfinnishcuff30

I even think the little pile of ends from the weaving in is art.

Theendsfinnishfinn

Many, many thanks to Susanna for the kit (She’s a goddess. Everything anywhere near her is beautiful. I have no idea where she found it, the clever knitter.) This round of finishing stuff up has left me with (comparatively) empty needles, a buzz of springtime energy and rather than investing that into something useful like, I dunno…spring cleaning? I’m going to go toss the Stash. Suggestions?

(PS. If you ever decide to do some research on alternative fleece washing methods…never, ever do an internet search on “dirty sheep”. It is not humanity’s finest hour.)

203 thoughts on “Hello, 911?”

  1. Those mittens are great! Don’t show ’em to too many neighbours or someone might snatch ’em on ya.
    As for stash tossing….I dunno, a nice sweater for yourself? Seems you’ve been giving a lot of stuff away lately. Treat yourself.

  2. You are amazing, as usual! And so inspiring! Now I must force myself to finish something!!! Thanks for the positive energy – and for the warning! I think I’ll heed it and avoid that search! 🙂

  6. Okay, can I just say that I am so happy to have found your new book at my San Diego Borders Bookstore????? I LOVE IT. I am heading down to Mexico in 2 hours for fun in the sun, and will read it non-stop while I am soaking up the rays on the beach. Thank you Stephanie!!!

  8. Dirty sheep. I don’t even wanna know. Did you hear the one about the grade 2 teacher who was trying to teach her class about the internet? She had to cut the lesson short when she googled “Pussy willow” for the class.

  9. Dirty sheep! Hehehehehe. The imagination boggles.
    As for the mittens, I bow before your knitting superiority. They are almost too pretty to wear out in the general population. I’d be afraid of losing them. Very, very, very cool. (Shall I add a couple more verys?)

  10. BTW- Those mittens would cheer the heart of the chronically depressed in the middle of a January blizzard. Watch out, doctors are going to start prescribing them.

  11. Those mittens are simply gorgeous!! Are they hard to make? I haven’t tried knitting in multiple colours like that yet (I still consider myself a newish knitter since I’ve been sticking to the ‘easy’ single colour items, or using varigated yarns…or switching from one to another as in doing stripes or large chunks of a single knitted colour, (I have a pic on my blog of my latest WIP that fits this category)that sort of thing).
    But to do all that colour work…it looks daunting…
    As for suggestions on what to do next…why not make a matching hat and/or scarf to go with the mittens?

  13. Wow! I’m *almost* speachless! Beautiful mittens – I’m SO jealous of all the finished items!!! Can wait to see what you start next — always such an inspiration! No pressure, right?

  15. I agree with Renee! It’s time to do something for you! Something spring-y colored and perfect wear for a warm(ish) day…

  16. Y’see, now I’m just gonna HAFTA do a search on dirty sheep. Just because. But perhaps I’ll wait till I’m not in my office to try it…

  17. Stephanie, you’re my favorite new writer.
    And yes, I think the pile of yarns beautiful, but I also want to take photos of the kitchen sink when it’s littered with strawberry hulls and string-bean trimmings.
    Thank you for singlehandedly banishing my guilt about the size of my stash. Luckily, I live in a large house, so it’s got lots of room to grow.

  18. Great. Now I’m going to have to google dirty sheep. You know, just to see what the fuss is about…
    The mittens are delicious! Just yummy…
    Going to eat lunch now.

  20. yup, i always tell people “i made this” hehehe
    and couple of years ago i wanted info on that cute girlie singer “pink” so i googled pink, bad bad mistake.

  21. ACK!! Don’t, repeat, don’t google “dirty sheep”!
    I didn’t even open the first site – the description was bad enough. (Plus, I am at work. I may not be thrilled with my job, but I do want to keep it for a while…)

  22. Dirty sheep, eh? Reminds me of the time my rather well-endowed friend needed to research lactation equipment and stumbled in to another dimension when she googled “large breast pump”

  23. The mittens are absolutely adorable, beautiful, cheeful, wonderful, and they look oh, so warm, to boot. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah–they’re finished (Finnished) and the ends are woven in. All’s right with the world, and my goodness, you are finishing way too many things all of a sudden!

  24. Ooooohhhh… purty! I am delving into the realm of color knitting.. and finding it to my liking..
    you definitely need to knit something fun just for you! Especially after the Tink sweaters..
    As for the stash I just tossled mine.. now I can see what I have..
    I need more yarn for fairisle on my looms!.. so could you toss some my way?? Or some nice green sock yarn.. just bits will do.. I have all the other colors I need!

  25. Yes, the mittens are absolutely gorgeous. They’re the kind of mittens that almost make us Texans wish for the kind of winters in which mittens would have some sort of actual use. Almost. But when you think about it, something that splendiferous is its own excuse for being, right?

  27. Since it feels like Spring, why not knit something “springlike” that you can wear soon? Maybe a saucy little shell or shrug…

  28. Dynamite mittens!! And I don’t even like mittens.
    I don’t have to search for dirty sheep. They’re standing right outside in the field…. or you might check Franklin’s blog. Her name is Dolores.

  29. Gorgeous mittens Harlot. Don’t throw your yarn ends away, cut them up into, say, inch size pieces, put them in a basket, and hang them in a tree. The birds love these little bits when they’re making a nest. It makes it nice and warm for the babies. Not to mention a very stylishly decorated one.

  31. Oh my, I can only imagine what google brought you!
    The mittens, however, are spectacular.
    My suggestion is the i-cord cabled hoodie, if the stash can support it.

  32. Seriously good mittens. SERIOUSLY. I covet them strongly. Totally worth all the translation difficulties. Congratulations, you rock.
    My heart did stop for a moment when you said ‘toss the stash’, because my first understanding was not the ‘prison inspection’ meaning but rather the ‘throw out’ meaning. !!! I thought perhaps a) you had lost your mind and b) I would have to try and figure out where you live so I could rifle through your garbage cans for free yarn. Fortunately for all concerned, I had misunderstood. Carry on.

  33. Those mittens are stunning. (Prepare yourself for all the readers who MUST HAVE THEM and need your expertise with the Finnish!)

  35. Ouch! I had to step back from the monitor, for fear I might get burned!
    Gorgeous mittens-I see why you are in love. As for stash busting? What about a new lace shawl/wrap- haven’t seen one of those from you in awhile…

  38. I say knit socks. Why? Because I want to knit socks. I have sock knitting on the brain. I have a relatively small stash, it pretty much fits into one semi-largish box, and the vast majority of it is sock yarn. And do you know what? I just ordered more! All because you posed a link to Red Bird Knits. Yeah. Thanks Steph, need I remind you I’m saving for tuition?? Nooooo, you must post links to beautiful sock yarn. I’ve only ever finished THREE socks, not three pairs, but three SOCKS. I own yarn now for at least 16 other socks. I have a problem.
    And I love it.
    So yeah, knit more socks. Good Birk’s socks.

  41. The mittens are beautiful! If I knitted something that lovely, I would tie a string to them and wear them around my neck for days!

  42. O! Those mittens! *swoon*
    Wait, you’re only showing those pointed lovelies at me (while discussing dirty sheep) to distract me from the list that has yet to show you are appearing in Iowa!
    Sly boots, you are… but those mittens!

  43. “We’re Not Worthy! We’re Not Worthy!”
    Bowing low to the knitter of those beautiful beautiful things.
    Of course the first thing I do is google “dirty sheep.” Admittedly a lot of that stuff is illegal in most places, however! It also brought this….
    Q: What did the dirty sheep do?
    A: He took a baaaaaaaath.
    Heh
    Hehee
    Heheheheheheheheheheheheeeee

  44. Beautiful mittens!
    And not only did Mercury go direct last week but Saturn is going direct next week. Perfect time for finishing up.

  45. Lovely FO’s!!! How many more UFO’s can you get done now that you are on a roll??? As for casting on something new…have you tried any mobious shapes from Cat Bordhi’s book “A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting”? The baskets, bowls, and bags are very whimsical, easy and quick to knit and can be very spring/summer like with the right yarn choice. Toss your stash, take inventory, and then go buy something new in bright spring colors….

  46. Cudos for 4 finished items! Those mittens are drop-dead gorgeous. I might have to try and copy them for next winter (maybe using a multi-colored yarn for the flowers… being the lazy soul that I am).
    My start-up suggestion: a spring weight shug… I just frogged the rest of a rayon-poly sweater that didn’t work out to make an IK pattern (from their website). Perfect for the breezy days when a sleeveless tank is not quite enough.

  48. Consequently, you should also avoid googling “roving – beast” if you’re a spinner looking for cheap fiber to play with.

  49. LOVE the mittens. They are simply gorgeous!And do you know how many peeps are now going to google dirty sheep out of sheer curiosity! 😀 I don’t have to bother – my other hobby is horses and googling for a good stallion gets you some really *ahem* odd sites.

  50. Merc did indeed go direct on the 25th. And those are *beautiful*! I think the red color and those fabulous flowers would be a sure antidote to winter blahs. As for the stash tossing? Can’t really help you there. My mind immediately wandered into alpacaville, but that’s probably because there was a beautiful silvery grey fleece at the LYS last night that almost came home with me.
    And I need to flush my brain cache now that you mentioned ‘dirty sheep’. Ew.

  51. Hey are those mittens going into the Christmas gift stash? I hope you are planning ahead for someone’s birthday or future gift as to not get yourself into a tizzy again this December……….though, come to think of it, it does make for some funny stories.
    ————————————————————————————————————–
    and the best part of my day was my husband giving me your Knitting Rules book A WHOLE MONTH AHEAD for my birthday. Read the chapter on socks and had to go cast on a pair.

  53. Yay, Amanda! I love her haircut.
    Those are the mittens for which you tried to read Finnish, yes? Lovely – I can see why you wanted them so badly.
    Seems like you’ll be more than justified giving in to your spring Startitis this year.
    Hey, you haven’t knitted any wee bootees lately. Didn’t you say there are twins on the way? They need bee shoes and tiger shoes and those cute little raspberry checkered shoes… Yes, shoes.
    Hmm. I think maybe *I* need to knit shoes.

  54. That is so funny about the subject search about dirty sheep. I have never washed a fleece before and did a word search about “felting that went wrong”. Got lots of interestings sites and I do mean interesting! lol!
    The mittens are really cute. I love all the colors. Even though green is my all time favorite color, that red really is great!

  55. See, now this is the problem with doing my blog-reading at work. I’m…well, some will say stupid, some will say insatiably curious…but I know better than to try googling “dirty sheep” at work. But…so curious!
    Congratulations of the mittens. Beyond lovely. And congratulations on figuring out how to translate Finnish knitting patterns!

  56. How can i be drooling over mittens on a gloriously sunny, 70 degree day? They are that stunning.

  57. Mittens are absolutely gorgeous!!! Makes me want to try knitting even plain, ordinary mittens, in the hopes that someday….. Maybe you should design another summer tank? Something springlike and lovely and beautiful(like James Blunt’s voice!).

  58. Gorgeous mittens. Maybe the recent solar eclipse spurred your rush of creativity (OK we couldn’t see it here in North America but there was one).

  59. I feel that I should promptly jump in the car, drive to Toronto, figure out where you live and lie in wait for when you rush out to show the neighbors those mittens so that I have an ever-so-slight chance of seeing them in person!
    Of course, since you had to mention “don’t do that”, I will do just that when I get home.

  60. Lovely mittens! Are they intended for Amanda? Perhaps this freeing up of the needles is a signal there’s more time to spin for Joe’s sweater. Or could be it’s time for something Eastery.

  61. Wow . . . on a yarn high are you! Four completed items. Impressive & daunting. I myself frogged the back of jacket this week. I am still glaring at it across the room. I need a nap.

  63. Wow-you are indeed on a roll! Better get to spinning that gansey yarn before it wears off :~)

  65. This stranger in Boston is admiring those mittens. They are gorgeous. I love the color transitions on the cuff. I love the red. I need that kit.

  69. I’m sueing for the injuries my chin sustained dropping onto the keyboard when confronted, without adequate warning or preparation, by that opening photograph. Damn. Show some responsibility.
    My ex-brother-in-law’s fraternity used to render harmless songs foul by changing “you” to “a ewe,” e.g. “If a ewe were the only girl in the world…”

  70. Overwhelming awe…mittens…so many completed projects…how do you do it?!?
    Q: How many sheep does it take to knit a sweater?
    A: Don’t be silly – sheep can’t knit!
    (insert gong sound here)
    Thank you, Aunite M, for inspiring me to google “sheep jokes” at work rather than “dirty sheep.”
    Oh, and don’t you need new tanks? (says the girl who’s been reading your archives)

  71. Be careful don’t finish too much. You won’t have anything left to work on.
    BTW, you need a “who is the harlot” link that newbys to the world of the harlot can learn just a bit of who you are, who are these people are and where this all comes from so that the newbys can get up to speed without reading the whole archives (though they move on to that soon).

  72. You had me picturing several giant salad tongs flipping balls of yarn in the air in total, colorful abandon. And then, remembering how we jumped into the piles of leaves when my brothers and sisters and I were kids, after having spent all day raking them together just so, I pictured you tossing all this yarn in the air, having it land in a nice soft pile, and taking a flying leap into it.
    Which of course I want to go do now.

  73. OK. Time to ‘fess up. How many of us went right over to google dirty sheep? (Raises hand timidly)Stephanie, the mittens are absolutely fabulous, beautiful and any other over-the-top adjective you want to throw at them. They are a work of art.

  75. Yes, those mittens are yummylicious. But I swear it looks like Reluctant Amanda is ….. um…… how does one put this delicately…..
    flipping the bird?
    Like reluctantly modelling but secretly saying “I’ll get YOU, mom!”
    No, of course. She’s too nice. MY 16 year-old, however………

  79. How about spinning the ends and bits into a skein of novelty yarns….I often save ends and then as I am spinning either card them in with the wool, or spin them directly into a plied yarn…bet you have lots of bits…lol

  80. Wow, GORGEOUS is one word for those mitts! Mighty gorgeous mitts! Really beautiful mitts – I could go on and on!
    I picked up bookbookbookIII today and can’t wait to dig into it after a birthday dinner!
    YOU RULE! 😉

  84. 4 projects…wow i need to get my butt in gear. I have today and tomorrow off, you have motivated me to beging operation:cast off. Finding projects near sompletion and actually completeing them. Wish me luck!
    BTW THE MITTEN ARE GOR-GE-OUS!

  85. If you think dirty sheep leads to bad things you should have been there the time I was making Valentine’s cards for my son and wanted to put a ‘muscle man’ on the front…..
    You don’t even want to know where that one goes….

  86. Absolute best way to get people to do something: Tell them not to do it.
    Though a lot of those sites aren’t nearly as bad as they appear to be from the Google listing.
    Er… not that I investigated too closely, or anything. Right.

  87. Oh, wow. Wow wow wow. Those mittens are gorgeous, yummylicious items of beauty. I would just wear them around everywhere, all the time, and admire them. Still no NYC venue for the tour?

  88. Oh My god, your last comment had me on the floor!! I can only imagine!! LOL!!!
    Just gorgeous mittens!! Wow girl, you’re on a roll!!

  89. Ohmyohmyohmyohmy! Those mittens just take my breath away! I can see from the look of them where you might assume that you would be able to figure out the pattern fairly easily. What an incredible use of color! Congratulations!!!

  90. Those mittens are beautiful. Do you think you could turn one inside out for a picture tomorrow? ‘Cause you know diehard knitters, like sewers and other crafty people, just have to see the inside! Good for you for getting all this stuff done. Are you slipping something special into your coffee? Maybe the rest of us should be doing that too.

  91. First of all thank you for your comment on my previous message (I didn’t expect you to get back to me personally!). Secondly, I just saw the book is on Amazon UK so I can go and order it! Can’t wait!
    Greets from Belgium!

  92. when are you going to come to portland oregon usa with your book?
    it is not in the shops here yet…

  94. “(PS. If you ever decide to do some research on alternative fleece washing methods…never, ever do an internet search on “dirty sheep”. It is not humanity’s finest hour.)”
    Sage advice, indeed. Definitely toss the stash–it’s a liberating experience. You could just have a “Yarn Stand” outside your house like a lemonade stand!

  96. “Harshing my mellow” Ok, that’s an even newer one on me, another knitting friend uses, “Harshing my buzz”.
    Those mittens are to die for!! They are so fabulous, i don’t know if i would ever take them off, i mean…i would even wear them camping in 90 degree weather!!!
    WOW!!!! Way to go on all the FO’s, Stephanie!
    ~Suz~

  97. I checked my copy of Knit.1, and it says that the Finnish phrase for “Yes, I made this myself” is “Jep, tein taman ihan itse”. Unfortunately they don’t have a translation for “magnificent”!

  98. Oh, and I forgot…the South..tour in the Atlanta this time please!! (We’ll have a knitting party!!)

  99. Your slew of finished products is the benefit of having multiple things on the needles at the same time…occasionally, they all decide to be complete at the same time. So far, I am a two projects-at-most kind of knitting person, but this is really an advertisment for having much more going on. What fun!

  100. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: those mitterns…the colors, the pattern…are to die for! What do you mean, “toss your stash”? You aren’t going to throw yarn away? Surely Not!!!
    As for washing fleece, any recommendations for washing one that reeks of moth balls and has been stored in a trunk for I don’t want to tell you how many years!?

  101. I think that some people might be unaware that not only are you a talented writer, but you are also a talented knitwear designer. I think you should cast on a pair of your beautiful Tiptoeing through the Tulips socks in a nice spring colour or with a new clever twist in design. I also think you need to have more than one project on the go, what happened to the silk corset? That would be lovely to finish to wear for nice warm spring weather.

  102. FIRST and foremost —-I just picked up bookbookbook at Chapters at 4pm today!!! I feel like I won a lottery .
    SECOND–Those mitts have GOT to be the most beautiful ones I have EVER seen in my life time (and in case you didn’t know –I is old !!)
    THIRD –What the heck is going on that you’re getting all these WIP DONE !!?? It’s made me dig out all my WIP and this is NOT a funny sight –7 different WIP in my baskets OH MY!!!
    FOURTH — Let the stash talk to you and it will tell you what to start . The yarn that cries the loudest wins.
    FIFTH–Have a great weekend and celebrate all those beautiful finished treasures. I’ll be reading or knitting trying to get at least ONE of these WIP Done IF the bookbookbook allows me to.

  103. Last comment on this post, I swear. Does anyone else find it hugely amusing that “rams” posted about “a ewe”? ;D Also, B3 (bookbookbook the third) was picked up last night at Weaving Works in Seattle. I hope to spend the weekend with it and a pair of socks on the needles.

  106. Terrific mittens! I want, NO NEED to make something like them! I have some beautiful green and lavender alpaca/merino that is now telling me that they (along with their charcoal brother) want to be gorgeous mittens. I shall comply, resistance is futile!!! By the way, it is 82 degrees (farenheit) here in St. Louis today (and I still want to knit mittens!). Pack your summer wardrobe for your visit next month!

  107. You probably already know this, but today your new book is ranked 95 out of ALL books at Amazon.com. Way to go. My copy is arriving next week. It’s hard to wait.

  109. I’ve figured out that working alternately on a million different projects does not aid in actually finishing something, although it does allay boredom. Occasionally.

  110. On the topic of internet searches…the words “campfire chicken” seemed innocent enough to me, but the internet search yielded not what I expected. Trust me.

  111. Yes, Mercury came out of retrograde earlier in the week! And on top of that, the solar eclipse just lit a fire in a lot of folks…guess you were one of them! Love the Finnish mittens! My mother had a hat and mittens like that when I was very little (she’s a Finn).

  112. Judging from the comments I’d say the internet has provided you with a way of having complete strangers admire your work… those mittens are fabulous! And as for what to do next? I have two skeins of lovely moss colored lace weight in my stash and Wrap Style on my shelf…if you feel like knitting something for my vicarious enjoyment, how bout a lace shawl? (Plus, I’ve just finished reading your book, and the section on 10 reasons to knit a shawl sort of stuck with me… thanks for writing the book, Steph–totally rocks…loved it, laughed at it, it’s one of maybe four things besides sock patterns I can make my brain concentrate on right now…) and now, thanks to those nice people who wrote comments, I need to go google “dirty sheep”, “pussy willow” and “campfire chicken” so I can feel better about writing trashy books in my spare time…

  114. Are the snowdrops blooming yet? I can’t wait to start seeing some fabulous outdoor pictures! I’m through with winter.

  115. Wow you ARE on fire. Not only are you getting so much knitting done, but also, this week has seen more entries in your blog than any other week this month (if I’m interpreting the little squares on the calendar correctly). Hmm… a connection? Do I see evidence of a knitting-to-writing motivation factor?

  116. Beautimous! (is that a word?) I bought your book today. Can’t wait to read it! And if you read Crazy Aunt Purl, go read today’s post. It’s a riot!! Congratulations on all your FO’s!

  117. Awesome mittens!
    As far as the dirty sheep go… reminds me of the time someone I knew was looking for some info about roosters. I’m sure you can guess where that went!

  118. Wow, the mittens are great – you are on quite a roll. I can only imagine what came up with googling “dirty sheep”. Next time try dirty fleece.

  119. Dirty fleece! Ah ha ha ha ha. That kills me.
    The mittens are beautiful — sort of biseasonal referential — flowers point forward to spring while their functionality points back to winter.

  120. I could not have read that correctly. You are so not going to toss your stash! WTF?
    The mittens are beautiful!
    Ok, off to google “dirty sheep.” (What?! Come on, you knew I was going to!)

  121. Those are amazing, I’ve never really been to keen on mittens but I love those. And thanks for the “dirty sheep” warning… but now I’m curious… *sneaks off to google*

  122. pleasepleaseplease can’t you come to NYC?? my friend Kathy and I are planning to go to Rutherford NJ if you don’t, but we simply can’t credit it that NO YARN SHOP or bookstore will have you on the tour…Brooklyn, maybe?? there are so many yarn shops here now, it seems ridiculous that one hasn’t snapped you up! what’s the deal? the mittens are lovely and I have to know if you counted each as a FO, as in 2 sweaters, 2 mittens. I would.

  123. Fabulous mittens! You are smokin’!!
    I can’t stop laughing over some of the sites that must have come up in your search and the searches of all these posters!

  124. They are so beautiful! I see why you just had to make them. You set the bar pretty high. Isn’t it lovely how many knitters responded to you in your moment of Finnish language distress? Truly warmed my heart!

  125. I love the mittens. Did you have fun weaving in all those ends? I enjoy reading your blog, keep up the good work.

  126. i was scrolling down to see the back/ insides of your mittens, come on…just one little picture of the reverese of those ABSOLUTLY FABULOS mittens. wow! they are spectacular!!!!!!!!!!!! (you did it with the tink sweaters….)

  127. There was that group that did an AC/DC parody called “Dirty Deeds Done With Sheep”. Did that come up on Google? Faboo mitts, by the way.

  130. I work for 911! There will be some cute firefighters arriving shortly, to take your vitals, as the FO-itis may be catching… I finished a sock! Oh the humanity!

  131. Those mittens are beautiful! 🙂 Seems like you tackled the Finnish instructions just fine.
    P.S. For more patterns in Finnish, go check our very own Finnish online knitting magazine Ulla, http://www.ullaneule.net … The next issue should be out any day now. 🙂 Though I’m sure I’ve recommended it for you before…

  132. I am in love with those mittens. I would wear them RIGHT NOW, even in the 60 degree weather. *SIGHS*

  133. What cute mittens!
    You are tossing the stash? Obviously tossing means turning it over looking for inspiration, not (ack!) throwing it out!

  134. Your book arrived yesterday from Amazon . . . all work will now cease while I read . . . well, as soon as I feed the goats, the cats and the husband it will. (I’d have stopped everything and read yesterday, but I was in my goat-midwife role.)

  135. I love the way the color changes in the figure *and* in the ground.
    Ever since I first encountered Deb Menz (http://www.debmenz.com/) I have wanted to make two yarns, one darker, one lighter, that changed color from one end to the other, and then do two-color (well, it would really be two-YARN, LOTS of colors, wouldn’t it….) knitting.
    They wouldn’t even have to be one all dark and one all light — they could switch values, if they did it at the same time……. Hmmmmmmm.

  136. A knitting friend gave me At Knit’s End for Christmas, and I just found your site through this book 🙂 I am a life time Norwegian knitter, and have loved browsing your pages. Welcome over to my blog; Britt-Arnhild’s House in the Woods, where I write about knitting among alot of othere things.

  140. Love the mittens. Those tink sweaters are seriously cute too! Hats off to you for making it through them both. I agree with your hind sight decision. Make different stuff next time. They’re so cute but for the knitter, maybe not so thrilling, eh?

  144. Those mittens rock! I’m going to Finland for the holidays this year so I’ll be sure to pick up some patterns while I’m there. I just know you can translate them for me now!!Hee Hee!!!

  146. They’re stunning.
    Another recommendation: don’t google the german word for knitting needle, singular. Brings “WIP it out” to a whole new level.

  147. I’m with Andrea, since I’ve got sock knitting on the brain, too. And it’s your fault. I would have to get inspired by your earlier post on your new “office” with the computer sock. Now I’ve got my own computer socks, and they’re loud and demanding enough that I’ve been forced–forced, I tell you–to take them with me everywhere, much to the detriment and grumbling of my other knitting projects.
    I tossed stash (in the prison sense) this morning, looking for my bag of miscellaneous balls of shetland wool, and not only found that bag, but found another pound of unwashed shetland wool (which is quite as close to “dirty sheep” as I need to come! ), a pound of corriedale roving I’d been looking for for ages, my neglected bag on natural-colored cotton roving, and several skeins of completely yummy/ripe Alpaca sport-weight, who are glowering at me from the top of the entertainment center because I don’t know what to do with them besides fondle them. ;o)
    The way I figure it, stash tossing is the fiber equivalent of turning over one’s compost pile….

  149. Tossing as in tossed salad, clearly. The rainbow colorwork is beautiful.
    I know about Mercury retrogrades and how they affect me (maybe nobody else, but me, yes), and I was waiting for it to end. I too have finished a wool sock (mint green, not that you asked), just in time for the unseasonably hot weather, but when I make the second one, I’ll be prepared for the unseasonably cold weather later.

  151. HI again –There is a web page on the “”Shetland Museum “”in Scotland that I found, very interesting . On this page there is a small picure of “”knitting wisps”” but I either missed it or could not find an explanation of these items. Does anyone know what they are ? Woouldn’t that be a wonderful place for all the knitters to visit !!! Do you know what they are Stephenie or anyone ??

  152. I am going to make my own kit for those mittens. There is no wonder why you can’t stop admiring them or making other people wear/admire them. Beautiful!

  153. Gorgeous!
    But (eep!)… does one mitten have two white stripes above the cuff, and the other only one? It was a camera trick, right? Right?!

  154. Jean – to quote from rls.org.uk – These brightly coloured objects were once used by knitters to help them to knit faster. The narrow end of the knitting sheath was tucked into the right side of the knitter’s skirt or apron, and the knitting needle was inserted into the open end among the quills. This freed up the knitter’s right hand, and enabled them to knit much faster. These were once made from a bundle of straw simply bound with twine and were called ‘wisps’, wisp being the word for loose straw. –
    so apparently they are like the wooden knitting sheaths that you sometimes find in other areas.

  155. Found your latest book today in Naperville, Illinois (suburb of Chicago) at Anderson’s Bookshop, our local lovely store, who is negotiating to have you visit on your tourtourtour.
    Got a copy. Preparing to use psychological concepts on family and friends.
    Diane

  156. I love them, I love them! The mittens are so gorgeous! Got your latest book yesterday, can’t to meet you in Grafton MA.

  157. ANN TYVM for the expanation of wisps. HOLY maybe I should try one of those perhaps i’d knit faster lol ty again

  160. Miss Stephanie,
    As I was wandering around Web’s yarn shop in Northampton, MA, totally in yarn overdose bliss, I saw a sign that you are coming to visit on the 22nd! Yeah!
    The mittens are beauties and you may want to bring them on your trip ’cause it’s not uncommon for it to snow down here in April.

  162. Not to be contrary, but that’s actually FIVE finished items in two days, since you also apparently finished a sock at a concert the same day you finished the Tinks. Amazing.
    Love the mittens. I cannot even fathom how complicated those cuffs were.

  164. They are gorgeous, wish I was that creative.
    I am having withdrawal from the Knitting Olympics, I wish we had one to look forward to again before 2010!

  165. Well done on finishing your Finnish mittens. Even though I’m living in the land of Finnish objects (= Finland), my objects (= knitting, etc.) don’t get finished very quickly. I did just finish something though. I read all of your blog entries from the beginning.

  166. oh.my.god. stephanie, you are the funniest person! seriously, i can’t get over it! thank you so much for making me laugh 🙂 and ya, mercury is no longer retrograde – good call. march has been one funky month! yay to spring and gorgeous mittens no matter the season … i want a kit!! maybe that is the trick (to having something work out – i’m always winging it)

  169. “dirty sheep”. I think I hurt myself laughing. My husband wandered thru while I was curled into a little ball laughing, and wondered what’s so funny. I tried to read it to him. All I could get out was “dirty sheep” before falling down again. He says “I’m too young to know that kind of thing.”
    Thanks for the belly laugh, Steph. Oh, and the Finnish mittens? Gorgeous.

  170. I absolutely love the flowers on the mittens. How beautiful is that?!?!??! I am enjoying Knitting Rules right now. Since my husband has been out of town for a month, you’ve been my consistent bedside companion (!?!?!) first with The Yarn Harlot (i think one of my all time fave books of any kind!) and now Knitting Rules.

  172. First off – the mittens are truly wonderful! Your Dirty Sheep google reminds me of the time that I, in a desperate attempt to get a reluctant toddler to relieve himself, googled “pooping videos”. The results were not for the faint of heart.

  173. i may be the only one who wants this, but could you post a pic of what the office corner looks like now? cause i always get a kick out of comparing the before picture (with everything still tidy and the little “this will go here” thoughts) with the after, when there are old candy wrappers and files and its all been worked out what ACTUALLY works and where things will actually go.
    also the mittens are hot. so hot they burn away the horrible frosty aprilness.
    Tommy

  174. Congratulations on finishing (Finnish-ing? :-0 ) another beautiful project. The colors on the mittens are so vibrant and cheerful, it almost makes one wish that winter lasted longer. (well…almost). I really look forward to reading your messages; and I’m fascinated by all the fabulous creations that you display. Thanks for being here and always brightening my day! — – Daryl Lynn

  175. The mittens are absolutely gorgeous. I am a confimred non-mitten fan (I prefer gloves) but I am totally lusting after those.
    And, heh, I’m oddly tempted to search for “dirty sheep” now. Even though I know that I’ll end up running from my computer screaming “BRAIN BLEACH” at the top of my lungs.
    Probably good that I don’t have roommates anymore, then.

  176. I logged on here and I swear I could hear a fireworks display and many voices “oooh-ing & aaah-ing”………and then I saw THE MITTENS……..*OOOOOOOHHHH!!!!!…..AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!*……..*The Finnish mittens ARE finnished!!!!!OOOOOOOOHHHH!!!!!! & AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!*……and “WOOOOOOOW!!!” tooo!!!______________and the wrist-half of that pattern would make up the coolest looking pair of Wristlets!!…..*OH WHAT EYE-CANDY THOSE MITTIES ARE!!!*……inspires me to want to learn how to read Finnish–they do tend to have some amazing designs!!…..*OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! & AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

  177. Another set of words not to use on Google is “Free Blacks” I was supervising a 7th grade social studies class doing computer research on the American Civil War. One girl (of course she HAD to be a preacher’s daughter) had chosen the topic of post war black emancipation. She got a real eye full!

  178. Very cool mittens! Maybe instead of actually approaching random neighborhood strangers, you could just tape the mittens to the inside of your front window. People would notice them, and admire them, but there wouldn’t be any awkward silences.

  179. first: ew. dirty sheep. that is baaad.
    second: those are so cool…I love the rainbow hue of the cuffs. sigh.
    third: I spent all of saturday nite reading the top 10 lists from bookbookbook3 to a non-knitting male. He now knows that there are others like me…he is afraid…very afraid.
    love it! see you at MD sheeps?

  180. A few month ago I sent my entire stash to a place out west that gives it to a Indian reservation. They wanted 100% wool. I will get you the adress tomorrow.
    And yes, I have already started on another stash.

  182. I found bookbookbook3 at Borders in Waldorf, MD last night! It was very nicely displayed on the end of the bookshelf, along the aisle, for all to see! Thank you!
    Hope you’ll be at Maryland Sheep and Wool in May!

  183. Just thought I’d tell you that all 3 books are available (online – I haven’t seen them in any stores) in South Africa
    GORGEOUS mittens, BTW. Send some of that finishing mojo this way, please.

  184. Wow *drools* OMG I love the mittens! I want’em!
    Dirty Sheep!?! Just the fact that I understand to what you’re refering tells me I’ve spent way too much time on the ‘Net. Although the temptation to google . . . nah, like work.
    BTW was in Barnes over the weekend. Watched two women argue who was going to buy the last copy of your book in the store, and the manager had to give them directions to the next nearest Barnes to go get a second copy! You rule, girl!

  185. I was delighted to find your new book in Carbondale, Illinois. I bought two–for me and a friend’s birthday. As I handed them to my husband, I informed him that this book would help me explain to everyone that I’m not nuts for knitting so much. He hefted the book and commented, “You’re going to need a bigger book.”

  189. HAHAHA….I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME THAT WANTED TO GO OUT IN THE STREET AND MAKE STRANGERS ADMIRE MY DOINGS….YOU ARE SOOOOO FUNNY!!

  190. Yarn Harlot,
    I love LOVE those finnish mittens. I really want to get the pattern/kit but know that there is no way that I could read a Finnish pattern. What would you suggest?
    Thanks

  191. P.S. English translation of the Finnish Mittens pattern is now available if you order the kit.

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