Ooh... aaah... what a gorgeous mitten!

I can completely sympathize with the frogging. Especially with something like the mitten, which will be there on your hand, right in front of your face, mocking you, unless it was fixed.

Of course, now you have to do the same thing, in reverse. *evil cackle of a woman who thought inventing mittens with a separate finger would be a good idea and thus knows what kinds of trouble are possible*

At least the braids will go easier! *grin*

But, if you changed where the pointy end of the mitten was, wouldn't that have, instead of ruining the mitten, made it a pattern alteration that you did? I mean, wouldn't it have, instead of being an off-the-rack mitten, been a HARLOTY mitten, and wouldn't that have made things oh so much better?

Don't you want to make the pattern your own, so you can have personalized latvian mittens?

I'm full of crap, of course. That mitten is perfect. The thumb? That's perfection. It's amazing. I would LOVE to be able to knit like that.

I'm off to finish my scarf, and turn green with envy.

You are the Mitten Goddess. I bow to your superiority! All hail Stephanie, Goddess of the mmittens! (See, even your new ring says you're #1)

The mittens rock!

Great job on the mitten.
love your blog,it is the first place that i go everyday now,
i need a life lol.

That mitten is so pointy that someone might get hurt.

But enough of this praise (though having to knit the second mitten neutralizes a good deal of it, so praise on, possoms.) How was the thumb resolved? Thumb trick (where you knit in a thread and take it out later to release the thumb stitches?) Something we are not worthy to know? Spill!

(And wait till you try that looped fringe -- which can be done with the braids. The scalloped cuff isn't quite as nice, but it's awfully nice, too..)

*gasp* OH! Pointy perfection!!! *blissful sigh*

Wow. That mitten is awesome. YOU are awesome for tackling it ... and doing it right.

Beautiful!!! I totally understand the need to rip so the pattern falls where you want it to. Your tension looks perfect - do you carry both colors in one hand or one color in each hand?

The mitten is beautiful. You've given me the courage to try a similar pair--braid and all. I just finished my Yarn Harlot Poncho. I made it out of a Lamb's Pride Bulky in a discontinued, but delicious chocolate brown color. I've dubbed it my Hershey Harlot. It only took 3 skeins, because I am so short (4'11")! Thanks for the great pattern!

I can only hope to one day be at the level of your knitting skills. Those mittens are absolutely beautiful!

Presto! Prime Picture of Pointy Perfection! Prodigious performance! Positively peachy!

There are no words for the beauty that is the mitten (and the thumb).

Hope the obsession lasts until Christmas. ;)

I'm so glad I got over my nanosecond of quasi-Latvian mitten lust. Especially after viewing what perfection can be had with such skills as yours.

I'm going back to knitting the evil DW scarf now. {I realize my DW project is retribution karma I'm paying. Possibly due in part to my fleeting Latvian mitten wearing fantasies.}

Hey Steph? I don't know if you did it just to see if we're all paying attention or not (OBVIOUSLY some of us are NOT since I will be the first to mention it!) but you did it AGAIN! You know, that thing "latvian socks" instead of the intentioned "latvian mittens". Right there in the FIRST paragraph no less. Is this a test? Just asking... You need less midnight ripping and more midnight sleeping. HINT HINT The mitten, nevertheless, is beautiful in its perfection. Cheers.

And I thought I was the only gal whose knitting keeps her up at night? Love the mittens.... and maybe a helpful sleeping hint? I try to read a little bit of a (non-knitting) book before I turn off the lights - helps me clear out the knitting thoughts.

Cece

Is it possible to do them tip to cuff? It is gorgeous! Very perfect and worth losing sleep over.

*GASP*!!! .......... *clunk* <-----that was me hitting the floor. I may never be able to get up.

We are having guests this week which is the reason I cleaned up my stash (the fact that it has been threatening to fall over and bury anyone nearby was not a good enough reason). I pointed out my marvelous cleanup to DH who looked at stash earnestly and said, uncertainly, Oh, yeah, uh yeah, I can tell, uh, it's, uh, neater?
However, not the point, the point is while on this major mission I found a sock pattern I did while back which had a braid trim at the top. I remembered thinking it was cool looking, but not incredibly frustrating. This seems very wrong, the Harlot is driven over the edge and I just stagger along like normal? But, you see, that's it, I normally do things like drop stitches (and don't notice for several rows)while doing stockinette, you, on the other hand, ascend to a higher plane (except for row gauge). For me, it was SNAFU, for you it was an anchor. They look great, pointy in all the right places.

Simple perfection.

Beautiful ! Drop dead gorgeous ! What's next - socks to match ? Inquiring minds need to know ! Love the Blog !
Kim O

Darn. That looks so perfect. Darn. Now I have to go rip out 32 rows x 400+ stitches on the bottom of my shawl that I was making up as I was going along, because the imperfections in how the pattern flowed from one section to the next have been keeping me up the last couple of nights, too, trying to figure out how I should have fudged it. Fudge nothing, it needs to go. Rrrrrriip. Darn. But looking at how perfect your mitten is now, I know I will be glad I did when it's all done, and that we will never be friends till I do.

It truely is perfect! You are a knitting genius!

Wow. I've said it before and I'll say it again. WOOT! You've done a beautiful job. Beeee-utiful! Too bad I can't seem to lay my hands on the Lizbeth Upitis book you're using. I'll have to search harder!

I am so intrigued with the patterns and shape of the Latvian mitts. Does the pattern on the back of the mitt stay on the back of your hand when you wear it? Seems to me that the thumb positioning on the palm would make the beautiful pattern sit all skew wiff. Then again, they've been doing it that way for years, so it *must* work! And even if it doesn't (yeah, right) I think I would be happy just to place the pair on my coffee table and admire them, and encourage others to admire them along with me...:)

Damn. I don't even know what to say. That is one amazing mitten. *drool*

I'm Smitten with your mitten! It's perfect & I now understand why you needed to make your own, rather than just having all those extra wedding mitten shipped over here from over there. You realize, though, that you've got another one to make too, right?

Um, Okay.....can I just say this? You are a brave, brave woman....that there mitten, in all its Latvian glory, puts you up in Knitting Goddess territory in my book. I could never have ripped. I just couldn't have. I would have mumbled something about that Indian legend regarding leaving mistakes in your work so as not to offend the gods, finished the mitten, promptly hid it and would have forgotten the entire thing. I am humble before you...I am sooooooo not worthy.

I have also lost sleep over knitted items. (Rather, when my eyes open at some ungodly hour, I can't fall asleep again b/c I'm thinking about knitting projects.) My mother tells me I am damn lucky not to have anything more serious to worry about. Lucky we!

Her needles they are a clickin'
She's working on her knittin'
Such a beautiful Latvian mittin
I wish it belonged to this kitten!

From one Stephanie to another, WOW. But if you continue to have these unpleasant conversations with your work, we'll have to start 'Zac'ing your knitting.

Let me add my own accolades to the heaps of praise already showered upon you. Hurrah for the mittens! Bravo, bravissimo! Their beauty is a siren's song, drawing me in, closer, closer to the rocky shore... Alas, I remember the projects tapping their impatient feet at me--a very harlot poncho for a very pregnant friend, copy a baby sweater (pattern made up by me with who-knows-what yarn that I can never find again)for my 5-yr-old who MUST have it asap (and will not wear it because he never wears anything I knit but I try to respect his feelings anyway), bag of close-out yarn that I have to use up because I won't allow myself to buy any more clothes until I do... I stuff my ears with leftover end bits of yarn (yes, I save them)and ignore the siren's song. Mittens will have to wait.

Whoa. That's some spiffy mitten work, there. And I think there was a typo when you were talking about row gauge: it should be black art.

Stonkingly fabulous mitten !

Ay, yi! One serious mitten there! I don't know how you do it and manage the rest of your life too (especially with that hefty dose of OCD)! It must be the special magic of the Harlot!

Oh Mi GOD! You make me want to knit Latvian Mittens like yours. DO you know how hard it is to make me want to do Nordic Fair Isle work like that? This should be my knitting project if I am moving to Stockholm for the winter (which is a 60% possibility)!

I am going to have to get that book at some point. Some point like the one where I figure out how to do the math to make the pointy bits line up and look perfect like your mitten.

Gorgeous mitts, I wanna try that. And I LOVE that ring, I think all Steph's should have one.

So ... killing yourself instead of ripping back was never considered as a serious option ?

It is indeed perfection - are you going to grow your middle fingernail to fit to that very perfect, pointed point ?? It would only seem fair to have hands that honour the mittens ...

Wow, what a great story! Nice mitten, too.

Fricking beautiful.

I don't have a row gauge problem, but I have a gauge that grows by about four inches from swatch to finished garment. So I feel your pain. Yes. Yes, I do.

your mitten is perfection! i agree row gauge sucks, mine always has too many rows per inch.

Perfection! I admire your determination.

That is one beautiful mitten. I have to get to the point where I can frog my work without wanting to just chuck the whole thing into the trash bin!

Beautiful mitt, Stephanie! Perfection. It's nice to see insanity rewarded.

Me, I never rip. My knitting can mock me all it wants. Like a guest on Jerry Springer, I just say, "Shut up! I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

Oh, it would have kept me up, too. I agree that you did the right thing, and it turned out so perfectly! Wonderful work!

I am jealous of your mitten-knitting prowess.

Oh, you remarkable Harlot! That is the most fab mitten in the world. Definitely worth losing sleep over. Brava!

Last night, I cast on what is to become my second attempt at a pair of socks (the first pair ended in unmitigated disaster).

This morning, I swing past your blog and see a pair of mittens that are more a work of art than a vital piece of your winter wardrobe. Can I say that they are gorgeous and amazing, and I'm completely unworthy?

Your finished mitten is so perfect, as radiant as a brown and beige knitted object can be. It just gives me goosebumps. On the second mitten, you should really hide one tiny little variation underneath the thumb--on purpose. Just a little secret between you and Gitchi Manitou! The only knitting advice I could ever give you. You make me proud to be a Canadian! (Blinks back tears.)

When I started knitting, I quickly started to struggle with the whether to knit something to wear versus knitting something that advanced my skill and to practice the art of knitting. The mittens you are knitting really speak to the art and skill. Your work is beautiful. Thanks for sharing them with us.

That is the Platonic ideal of mittens. And no, it would never have forgiven you for not making the pointy bit in the right place.

Love your mittens! and don't be sooo hard on your self --- obsessive compulvise is a bit harsh, I just call it determined. :-)

Oh, you have no idea how this post spoke to me. You were right to rip, but...oh...what a pain.