Defeated Entirely

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I have a secret.  I have been trying to resist something for a long time, and it turns out that I can’t.  I give up.  Uncle.

I am obsessed with SpillyJane and her mittens. I can’t stop thinking about them and it’s been going on for months.

There.  I’ve just said it. I am so obsessed that I actually think of her name in all caps, because it’s that exciting to me. I don’t know what hold this woman has over me, but I’ve been fighting for some sort of emotional upper hand for months.  I thought it might go away when I met her back when I went to Detroit, but it turned out she seemed nice and that only made it worse. If she’d have been a raving, bitchy lunatic I might have gotten though this. 

For a good long time now, she’s been putting up mitten patterns that charm the snot out of me, and I can’t stop thinking about them.  It’s like thinking about SpillyJane mittens has become a bizarre hiccough.  I go up to the stash and think "What should I make?" and some tiny Pro-Jane voice in the back of my mind squeals SPILLYJANEMITTENS! and then I sigh and think "Shut up.  You always say that.  Branch out, and stop putting an exclamation mark on her name."  Then the next time I’m up there pondering, my mind says "How about Ribbon Mittens. No? Maybe Cupcake Mittens. Or Strawberry Mittens. Or Gnome Mittens.

Every time this happens, I politely remind my inner SPILLYJANE! fan club that I was going to make socks, or a sweater, or a hat or something other than a pair of SPILLYJANEMITTENS! and then I tear myself away from the idea (because SPILLYJANE! is not the boss of me) and I knit what I was planning before I saw her damnable mittens.  It’s become a habit. First I resist SPILLYJANE!  and then I knit what I was considering before. I was starting to take some sort of odd pride in my ability to resist. (I have no idea what sort of moral high ground I though I was achieving. It’s not like it matters what I knit.)

This has been going on for some time, and I have had the self control it has required to knit other things, although I have been buying a lot of mitten yarn to take the edge off.  Then, SPILLYJANE!  did something so completely underhanded that I knew it was over.  Just over.  I admitted I was helpless. I understood that she was a power greater than myself, and I gave up.

The woman designed beer mittens. 

Mittens With Pints On.   

Well played, SpillyJane.  Well played.

229 thoughts on “Defeated Entirely”

  3. Oh that is just too too weird. Not that you have a spillyjane obsession (I DO TOO!) … but that I finally broke down and purchsed 4 of her mitten patterns YESTERDAY AFTERNOON!!! Love your pints!

  8. Wine—r (hiccup) have you heard the one about the 3 lil pigs????….beautiful green + beautiful beer!

  9. I feel your pain. I have been drooling over SPILLYJANE designs since I first saw the strawberries and then the cupcakes, carrots and gnomes, bunnies…but I finally caved for Isadora. Something about the colors, and the flowers in the midst of this cold winter that just sent me over the edge into SPILLYWORLD…I’m sure it will not be my last pair of SPILLYMITTS. All I can say is I’m glad I came over to the Spillyside…I like it here!!!YAY!

  11. I share your SpillyJane addiction. Seems like every time I see a new mitten pattern I love, it’s a SpillyJane design.
    Not to feed your addiction, but did you notice that she said there were Socks With Pints On coming soon? You could have a matching set! 🙂

  14. and with matching/coordinating hat and/or scarf, who could resist the Strawberry mittens? Have a relaxing weekend!

  15. You should do your own self-imposed SpillyJane of the Month club, and have mittens for next year Christmas instead of (or in addition to) the socks.

  16. I believe this is the knitter zeitgeist or perhaps the knitter collective unconscious rearing up into the Universe of Knitters. I was just thinking, again, about spillyjane’s swedish fish mittens. A coincidence? I think not.
    Gestalt, it’s what it’s all about.

  18. This is so strange, because I just caught the Spillyjane bug YESTERDAY. I was trying to shake it off because I would have to buy yarn to do some and I am trying to knit down my stash. Now I think I might cave…

  19. well holy cow. beer mittens. maybe if i made those for my husband, he’d actually wear something i knit that isn’t just miles of gray st st!

  21. I was wondering what took you so long. You mentioned those beer mittens months ago.
    I like the schnecken. As a gardener, of course, I hate snails, but I love the little pastries of the same name.

  23. Simply perfect, especially if knitted at a pub or by a toasty warm fireplace with a pint nearby. Or wine. Or chocolate. Remember, the ability to “compromise” is a good characteristic. Yeah, that’s it.

  24. Well — thanks for spreading the disease! I love her ribbon mittens. And a new technique! Too cool.

  25. Okay, I have never made mittens before, and the idea of all those colors has always scared me (isn’t that what’s called intarsia?)…but these totally make me want to make a pair. The strawberry and cupcake ones are my favorites, and I wonder what other designs she has out there that I would totally love. I just might have to put these in my queue of things to try! Thanks for posting about them!

  26. I know! I love her! I made the beer mitts for my brother for Christmas, and 1) it was so fun, and 2) he was thrilled! SpillyJane is delightful, and I love saying and typing her name.

  27. DARN IT, STEPHANIE!!!!
    I’ve been so happy and content in my little knitting world. I make socks – I play with lace – I even started some Entrelac. My “que’ basket is full! And now – Oh – NOWWWW – I have to get involved with the mittens. It’s not like there is a choice here. It’s not like one can just turn ones head and click to another site. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOW I MUST DO MITTENS!
    ~~~~~sigh~~~~~~~
    😉

  28. Early on in my renewed knitting life I was defeated by her Sea Mineral mittens (bad yarn choice on my part) but I think of them often.
    Of course I assume you’ll be knitting the matching “pint on” socks?

  29. I gave in to the Owl Mittens and I love them. Love love love love love. Her patterns are so perfect and clear…you were right to knit one of her patterns 😉

  30. I am proud to say that I knew her before she was famous and she really is that fun and quirky in real life.

  32. Darn you people for commenting that spillyjane does socks, too! Mittens I can resist, but socks? Sigh…

  33. Dear Ms. Harlot,
    I have been following your [most entertaining] blog for some time now, and have even enticed some of my favourite knitters to The Way of The Harlot by plying them with audiobooks (and the day will come when they think to reciprocate, hint, hint…)
    BUT there is one thing you do that bugs me no end (if I may come over all transatlantic for a fleeting moment) and that is confronting us with wonderful patterns and designs and WIPs making us DESPERATE to knit them too. Take today’s mittens, for example. We are not a mitten-wearing family by any stretch of the imagination. During the cold North German winter we wear gloves. Grandparents, cousins and other potential recipients of knitted gifts live in milder climes and spurn everything bar the occasional cotton sunhat. But those mittens… My life will not be complete until I have knitted at least 5 different pairs of those mittens… So please don’t interrupt me with another fantastic project before then (and I must warn you, I am a s-l-o-w knitter). See you sometime mid-summer, then!
    P.S. Thank you for cheering me up so often. I wish you and yours a 2011 of good health and contentment (and maybe a little excitement to round it all off?!)

  34. And they’re in 70s appliance colours! Well, sort of. Maybe the green’s a little dark. But still, clearly an underhand move indeed.

  36. I was just starting my own sock of the month club and I am being so stinking good. I was going to go to the yarn store today and pulled back and thought- nope, don’t need any yarn, I have more than enough yarn for my sock club. And now THIS! These awesome mittens on this awesome website and they come in all sorts of awesome prints! Really!?
    Thanks for sharing and I’m sure Spilly Jane will thank you for all the internet traffic you’ve just sent her way!

  40. It’s warm enough here that I can resist the call of her mittens. The socks, not so much. The robots and fish have really been begging me to knit them, I’m just a little scared of colorwork. I bet my husband would like socks with that beer pattern on them.

  41. I know the feeling. every time she puts up a new one, into my damned ravelry queue it goes.
    I’m actually working on the flamingoes right now.
    it was painful trying to decide which pattern I should do first. I want to cast them all on. RIGHT NOW!

  42. Here’s a thought, instead of a sock of the month club, how about a mitten of the month club? And, if they turn out to be SPILLYJANE mittens, well, that’s just a coincidence…

  45. Holy goodness she has cheeseburger mittens. How did I not know about this designer?

  47. I have been resisting SPILLYJANE! for years. I belong to her fan club and fav most of her designs. I had to get some of them (like cupcakes), anyway, when I saw the pints…I thought of you!

  48. I just purchased the Cupcake Mittens. We rarely have use for mittens here in Texas, but those cupcakes were too darned cute to resist!
    Well played, Stephanie. Well played.
    Mary G. in Texas

  50. I’ve always wanted to try mittens….even though that pattern would make some sweater.

  51. Worse than that, she also designed beer socks. Just to undermine your “but I was going to knit socks” excuse, obviously.
    JoVE 🙂

  52. Now to go digging in the pattern stash for the SpillyJane patterns I bought in Detroit. Also to spend the rest of the weekend knitting said patterns or reading her blog.

  59. I know! I bought “William it was really nothing” (blue faience hippo mittens) on its first day out, and yesterday I was in the yarn shop buying yarn for piggy mittens (free download, thank you spillyjane!). She has her mind on the OH,SHINY! buttons of knitters worldwide, no?

  61. I just started stalking her blog recently. I’m almost able to resist the mittens, but it was her Owl Socks that did me in.

  62. Oh great! Now I have even more things to add to my “must knit” list. *sigh* Better get knitting.

  64. I blithely whiled away my knitting hours without a care in the world until this post. I clicked on the links as I understand I am meant to do and found the mittens utterly resistable–well, maybe I got a bit itchy on viewing the gnome mittens, but still felt no compunction to cast on.
    Then came beer mittens–SOLD!

  65. I see a bunch of people have made fingerless versions of the mittens. I’m doomed. 🙂

  66. Curse you, Stephanie! Now I’ve seen her mitten and sock patterns I know I’ll be obsessed too. How wonderfully quirky her patterns are. After being in Sweden with my sister this fall, I’ll have to knit at least the gnome mittens.

  67. Darnit! I had conveniently forgotten all about SpillyJane, and now you’ve reminded me.
    Personally, I’m a big fan of the beets and carrots (maybe it’s the gardener in me) and the owls (my favorite bird).

  69. Resistance is futile. She has such great designs, just join the crowd of SpillyJane fans. Juanita and Sea Mineral queued for NaKniMitMo knit-along and Clerkenwell as the first socks for 2011. I don’t know why, but I am obsessed with these socks and can’t wait to start them.

  71. Oh I LOVE the Sea Minerals pattern and have made a pair and have many others queued. Yes, it’s a sickness. SpillyJane is a mitten genius, just accept it.

  72. I’ve never been interested in colourwork but I gotta say those ribbon mitts are A D O R A B L E!

  74. The only thing that has stopped me so far is that I have no need whatsoever for mittens. But god, the socks….

  75. Ha ha ha! I’ll bet SPILLYJANE! is rubbing her SPILLYJANEMITTENED! hands together while she chuckles in glee today. Must go look at her stuff…hope we don’t all crash her site by looking at it at the same time…

  79. I have loved Spilly Jane ever since I discovered her a coupple years back. I’ve knit both of scarf patterns. I love, love, love her mittens, but I’m afraid to try color work since I’m a painfully tight knitter. Maybe if I tried colour work, the extra u would give me the room I need?

  81. Ah! The attraction of the Latvian-style mittens strikes you again! Those are totally awesome! 😀

  83. well, her life as she knows it is now over! Poor girl is going to get over a thousand blog hits….
    I’m one of them! I love the beer mittens!

  86. I can see why you are obsessed with her patterns. They are delightful. So … how many pairs will you be making?

  90. Those are cute but I was depressed when I went to her bio on Ravelry and found this “She learned how to knit during the summer of 2005 and it’s been downhill ever since”. I’ve been knitting 4 years longer and have not written any patterns and have not done anything so cute. Now I feel inferior. Perhaps if I make those cute pig mittens I will feel better about myself.

  91. Well crap. I had never heard of this siren of the mitten before today, and now? I am smitten. Srsly smitten. William It Was Really Nothing? Totally mine. Sigh.
    Thank you! I think…

  93. O.O
    Beer. Mittens? I’m sold. These would be fantastic for drinking a cold beer, walking to the store to pick up beer, going out to go to work so you can have income to buy beer…

  94. I have a strang compulsion to cast on everytime I see something like this. My job said I can’t knit at work any more. I swear it is yarn envy.If only they knew how many more cars I would sell because I wasnt on the internet.

  95. Oooh, I haven’t come across her fab patterns! I foresee an evening avoiding the inlaws/cruising her blog ahead of me. I am determined to conquer colourwork in all forms this year, so this is the perfect site to ogle for me at the moment.

  96. As someone who just discovered that she can, really, do colorwork, and OMG it’s fun and I love it; and also as someone who can’t knit very fast; and understanding that I say this with all the love in the world, really:
    I think you might be Satan.

  98. I’ve got the gorgeous Sea Mineral mittens and the Flamingo mittens will be next(I’m in Florida) and then the gnomes and then…

  101. You are killin’ me. It used to be that when you raved about a designer or pattern it usually either wasn’t my taste or beyond my skills (or out of print). I looked, it was pretty, but not something I’d likely make anytime soon. Not so recently – between this and the recent cardigan (and we won’t discuss the amount I paid for that Dale Of Norway sweater pattern) your blog is a new level of enablement for me…. count me in as a SPILLYJANE fan and pattern acquisition begin ( I hope she’s ready for the Harlot effect)

  104. I had recently purchased some of SpillyJane’s patterns tho I haven’t started them yet. The lady will make a permanent mark on the knitting world!!!

  105. Maybe this year you need the self-imposed MITTEN club! Think of all the Christmas knitting you’ll have FINISHED! (And no sad looks from a daughter who really doesn’t like socks!)

  106. I have yet to knit one of her patterns but I have had several in my Rav queue for longer than is appropriate. Her stuff is awesome.

  107. Oh my. How have I never heard of this brilliant woman and her mittens?! I’m gonna need a pair of Mittens with Pints On, and also the Cheezburger Mittens, and my daughter is undoubtedly going to want the Strawberry Mittens, I should just give up and buy some pink and red wool right now. Must go look at her blog and see what other colors of wool I should buy! (And thank you for finally telling us about her!)

  109. I have a bartender friend with a bizarre sense of humor, and I just may have to make something like this for him.
    He likes black, and I’ve made him a black Santa hat, a black hat with cables on the cuff, and, to commemorate the fact that he dressed up as Jesus (I SAID he had a bizarre sense of humor), a pair of stigmata mittens and am almost through a crown of thorns hat, plus I’m making him a black Christmas stocking (I’m REALLY behind in my Christmas knitting). I really think beer mittens, and maybe a hat and scarf would be a good addition to all this.

  110. You are so fun! How about self-imposed mittens for 2011 instead of socks? or, figure out a way to put her mitten patterns in your socks? or?

  112. Let the church say Amen! Learned about her in one of your tweets and have been following since…even joined her Rav group. Love her designs, but absolutely head over heels for the Flamingo pattern. Next in my queue. Also want to do William the Hippo, and did someone say pig mittens? I can’t knit fast enough. So glad you wrote more about her….hope she gets lots more followers so she can continue to create such outstanding work.

  114. I prefer the i can has cheeseburger sox…I’ve pasted links of qte kitteh’s in knittes from that site, but they always disappear…obvy spillyjane is a cheeseburger fan.

  115. Well, if a girl has dress mittens, then she needs casually elegant mittens as well, doesn’t she?

  117. If I had more money,I would have bought every single one of her mitten patterns a long time ago.The woman is a pure Evil Genius(and I mean that in an entirely nice way).

  118. Yes!!! I have been feeling guilty as my knitting has become such a pominent part of our family like, as, you see, my husband doesn’t think he wants me to knit him anything… ever. He doesn’t wear sweaters, scarves, already has his favorite hats and gloves, and thinks socks are not for him… But, I think beer socks would TOTALLY do it for him. If not, I’ll wear them 🙂

  119. I always say, you have more than a couple of pairs of socks, why not as many mittens? Mittens are always visible as opposed to socks, and when you show them off, there’s no smell of Fritos in the air!

  120. Although,it is winter after all.You do live in Canada.So mittens are a necessity.Knit on!

  122. You know she has SOCKS with PINTS ON, right?
    I’ve seen her off and on, but fell in love when StevenA interviewed her and I looked at her designs.
    I fall in love with a lot of designers…. is that creepy? not for knitters. I’m pretty sure.
    My favrorites are swedish fish, polska, and Zarzuela. though I won’t knit those on principle since I find the things so annoying. You know, the same principle that kept you from knitting her SPILLYJANE! mittens. Until now.

  123. I still am in resisting mode. 🙂 I love her patterns and the cleverness of them. I am in awe of SPILLYJANE!

  125. oh poo. way to go…i just thought i had my queue under control..and then i find pint socks/mitts, and cheeseburger socks/mitts and all the rest of them…
    way to go..way to go!

  127. That is just pure evil and wrong! She got me with the gnomes. I love and adore them. Wicked evil woman!! Love her! ROTFL!!!

  128. I think SPILLYJANE! should always be said with caps and exclamation point simply because it’s an awesome pseudonym (but her patterns are so clever and gorgeous too!)

  129. My “add to faves” list on ravelry just grew by… um, however many patterns she has. The snails! The gnomes! I wonder if there is a discount if you just say “I want one of everything”

  130. Well thanks so much for leading me to the darkside. I just succumbed (with ZERO prior exposure – I know I must be living under a rock here in NYC) & bought me some SpillyJane patterns. But now I MUST find the yarn in the stash for them. I’m sure it’s there and it’s only 7 days into the new year – too early for yarn buying. Gotta wait at least ten days.

  131. Must. Make. Pint. Mittens. What a great gift for hubs who loves to hang at the local pub and watch soccer games over a pint or 2!

  133. I love all her socks, too. I find myself looking at the mittens even though I live in the tropics. I can completely relate to their pull.

  134. I know, I know. Those mittens are next on my needles. Love them, and need them in time for St. Patrick’s Day!

  135. Hahaha. I don’t understand, really. What’s the problem with knitting SPILLYJANEMITTENS!? Would it be anymore random (in the non-knitting world, that is) than say knitting socks? I think not. In fact, I think you should do a SPILLYJANEMITTENS of the month club project. Just like you did with the socks last year. She certainly has enough awesome patterns to accomplish this.
    And for the record, I do the same thing. At least 50% of the time when she puts out a new mitten pattern, I squeel inside, but then say to myself…maybe one day. But then again, I live in California. There is a lot less mitten country in these parts. 😉

  137. The first time I saw these posted on her site, I thought of YOU! Suppose I should have said something then, and you would already be wearing the mittens with beer on them. Have fun.

  138. I’ve been a SPILLYJANE! addict ever since I bought Decadence and the Gnome mitten patterns at the Detroit Public Library when you visited us.

  139. How about a Self-Imposed SPILLYJANEMITTENS! Pair of the Month Club?! You probably have enough socks to last you for a little while… xo

  140. Beer mittens really suit Canadians eh ?. My friend collects hippos and I saw that Spilly Jane has some that she would love. Oh that I could actually knit them . Maybe I’ll find someone to do it for me if I am lucky. Thanks for the laugh today and those mitts are going to be wanted by eveyone you know so better knit a few pairs.

  141. I love me some spillyjane too. especially her fishes. I just need to break down and do it.

  143. I think you need to add the “socks with pints on” to this year’s sock of the month knitting!

  145. I love your blog and your tweets! I hope you’ll check out my new blog. I’ve only a few posts but I do hope’ll enjoy it! Thanks for the tweets.
    Cheers!

  146. hahahahahaha!(breathe)hahahahahaha!(breathe)hahahahahahaha(SPILLYJANE!) ahhahahahahha!! LOVE!!(sucker!!) hahahahahahha!!

  147. I had to race home from knit night to see your post. I was told I HAD TO. I haven’t even read more than the first few lines…I think it’s totally fine to be a secret closet SpillyJane stalker. I know I am.

  150. We don’t have much need for mittens here in the
    Air Conditioning Capital of the World (Houston), but I do have 2 of SpillyJane’s sock patterns tucked away in kits for my Self-Imposed Sock Club this year.

  151. I love her “Mystery & Manners” mittens. She gave me permission to use it for the mittens I’m making for one of our local women’s shelters. The pattern is simple, yet GORGEOUS!!

  152. Ahhhhhhh! She has cheezeburger mittens!!!!! You are so mean and awsome at the same time!!

  153. Her piggy mittens are practically guaranteed to turn around the most ardent anti-mitten 2-year-old. At least, it worked on mine!

  154. Oh, NO! I was chuckling in a bemused fashion over all the mitten fans until I hit the comment of Alex at 10:40 – who mentioned PIGGY MITTENS!
    At which point I had to dash straight over to Ravelry and download the pattern. For my little great nephew, and – um – my best friend who is mad for pigs.
    I’m hooked. Hooked, I tell you.
    Once again, you enabler, you!

  155. thanks a bunch. there goes my new year’s no new yarn resolution. the cupcake mittens have HOW MANY contrast colors? will someone hide my wallet, please?

  157. I was rolling my eyes. And then I looked at the Cupcake Mittens.
    EEEEEEEE went my own innter SPILLYJANE! fan club. Same at the Piggy Mittens. Yeah, I’m convinced.

  160. I fell hard for Spillyjane’s mittens last Christmas and received, from my DearDearSister, the pattern for Polska and the yarn knit it. And now, oh, the gnomes!

  161. The beer mittens are very sweet, but I was fine (FINE I tell you) until I went to look and found William mittens. WILLIAMMITTENS! SpillyJane is pretty amazing.

  162. Why oh why did I peek at the Spillyjane site….sigh
    I am now a card carrying member of the Spillyjane club and I think I will need a couple of clones to finish everything I would like to make!

  163. Funny, I have the same obsession, and have not yet knit a pair. I’m intimidated by the colorwork even though I’ve done it before.

  164. I just cast-on her Anna’s Mittens, the Official Mitten of NaKniMitMo from last year! Her stuff is awesome…and, she a fellow Canuck, too!
    You’re gonna kill her server, though, in a totally good way!

  165. I was being virtous because I plan to purchase the new mitten kit from Knit Picks and I plan to knit those alternately with my sock club socks and then I’ll have 6 pairs of mittens and 6 pairs of socks next winter… I was being good… “very cute, but not now”… then I saw the flamingos. Yesterday when my granddaughter was here, we watched Fantasia 2000 and had to watch the flamingo part 6 times because she was laughing so hard.
    She’s little. I can add a pair of flamingo mittens to my list… it’s not like I wasn’t going to make her mittens and a hat anyway. I bet I can adapt the flamingos to a hat too. Also maybe a scarf. I’d better buy more pink yarn.

  166. Never should have read the comments. I was fine with the idea of fancy mitten patterns, because I rarely knit them, but…SOCKS? The woman designs SOCKS? Now I’m doomed.

  167. Resolved to learn colorwork this year – – – the pattern for these says they are an ideal first colorwork project – – – I think we have a match!

  170. Ha ha! What a timely post! I had already determined to make SpillyJane’s Isidora mittens, and the yarn arrived from KnitPicks on Thursday so all I had to do was purchase the pattern…and THEN I saw your post! How fun! I am now the proud owner of both the Isidora and the Pint mitten patterns and the yarn(s) for both pair are now neatly lined up on the kitchen table (because we never use it for actual eating)!

  171. Stephanie, you live in Canada! Why wouldn’t you make a whole suite of Spillyjane mittens – you wear mittens much of the year, right? I’m the one who can’t justify making them, living in a mild-winter climate as I do, and yet they’re calling to me daily.
    PS: As soon as she released the beer mitten pattern, I said “those are for the Harlot”.

  172. Her mittens are out-of-control awesome, aren’t they?!? They make me wish that (a) I was good at colorwork, and (b) I lived some place where I could wear mittens regularly. I may just have to make some as a Work Of Art and hang ’em on the wall!

  173. Thank you for turning me on to her lovely mittens! I don’t know how I could have missed them before. A quick search on Ravelry showed me a pair of incredible flamingo mittens.
    PS – I couldn’t agree with you more about entering the new year and leaving 2010 behind.

  174. Oh dear.
    So, I proved to be about as resistant to temptation as Mae West. I popped over to Ravelry and ordered 3 mitten patterns. In my defense, well… Actually, I have no defense. I just loved them and wanted them and bought them.
    But I did say no to cookies today! Willpower is not entirely unknown to me, I swear.

  175. You linked to SpillyJane! Are you trying to get the rest of us hooked!! As if I wasn’t already completly stuck on mittens, you further enable me.

  176. I made the cupcake mittens, and they were tons of fun! Except for the millions of ends I had to weave in…but it was worth it!

  178. this might be weird, but can you show us what the inside of the mitten looks like?

  181. I love SpillyJane too from the moments I saw the Gnome mittens! But there are many more that I like. Hope I can knit some soon! Yours look awesome so far! Indulge!

  182. The snow keeps falling, falling, falling here in Alberta, and now the temp is supposed to do the same… SpillyJane’s mittens look like just the thing (oh-the strawberries and cupcakes have me weak in the knees!!)
    Even though I *really* didn’t need another knitting obsession right now, I can feel one coming on hard!! 🙂 Thanks Yarn Harlot!! 🙂

  183. I hear you! I have been mooning over SpillyJane’s NaKniMitMo group on Ravelry for a few months now. I promised myself that in January I’d just knit fun mitten after fun mitten. And talk about beer mittens, when I was on the plane last week, I got talking to a woman who knit beer socks in the 1960’s. She was sad because she had used angora for the foam and it went flat after a few washings. Ha Ha.

  185. I did Spillyjane’s Owl Mittens for a friend of mine for Christmas. They were a HUGE hit!! Now, all I have to do is a ‘string’ so she won’t lose them!

  186. I saw your twitter posts. Schizophrenia is a mental illness. No politician can cause it. And evidence shows any political leanings the shooter had were decidedly Left. So who is to blame now?

  191. Curse you, Stephanie! Now I hear yet even more siren calls from projects crying to be added to an already lengthy list! Spillyjanes! Spillyjanes! Spillyjanes!

  194. OMG! one pair is more adorable than the next! Thanks for sharing Stephanie 🙂 I had to laugh when I read SpillyJane’s new post! Having you do a blogpost on someone’s patterns/knitting is like having Oprah recommend a book for her book club! Instant success!!! I love it 🙂

  195. I think a self-imposed mitten club may be in order to satisfy the obsession. Since you haven’t really started the SISC well, the socks aren’t the
    boss of you either.

  197. We love Spillyjane too! She’s designed the official mitten for National Knit Mittens Month (NaKniMitMo kal in Ravelry) for the past 2 years. These are just the coolest mittens though!

  198. I’ve loved her mittens since I saw the veggie mittens on Ravelry. Hard to decide which ones to make. Love that I live in a cold climate where I actually get to wear mittens. One of these days I’ll get around to the veggies, or the Swedish fish, or the cupcakes, maybe the pints with some cheeseburgers…

  199. I haven’t even gone to the site yet. SPILLYJANE! It sounds like something evil that I won’t be able to escape from – just like the new Mystery Sock KAL I’m about to start at
    http://tinyurl.com/2f7u2of —– (Knitters Brewing Company)
    where all of her yarns have lovely alcoholic names, like “Last Call” and Margarita” and the sock patterns are devilish…but go and see. I’m about to begin a new one…..at this rate I’m going to change the name of my queue to “Garment a Week” club. I’m afraid to even type “SPILLYJ…” – aack! I can’t finish it! I’m lost…..lost! I just finished a full year of a yarn diet, and its the 9th already……(The KAL was a Christmas present….)
    She whines, and goes to the siren song site….

  201. I finished a pair of spillyjane’s flamingo mitts for a Christmas exchange in the middle of December. I definitely have plans to knit the gnomes after I finish up NHM #7 out of Selbuvotter!

  202. I love the idea of beer mittens, and they would be a great hoot (and hit) with the guys at the next bar gathering…Just don’t let anyone take ’em out side for a cigarette break (that’s the law here in Illinois).

  204. I love love love her mittens. Someday I will make them all.
    I have to ask….I’ve been seeing those purple DPNs before….and a lot… I was wondering what kind of needles they are? I figured if you use them as often as it appears they must be awesome:) and I’m always on the lookout for awesome needles.

  205. Well missy, there you go agiain getting me into trouble . I mean really cupcake mittens, I am a pawn to you. 🙂

  206. Wonderful wonderfulness! I love them even though I’m not sure I could actually knit any of them. However, one of my 2011 resolutions is to push myself to achieve more in my knitting, so who knows? I may make some SpillyJanes myself this year! These all put a smile on my face.

  207. You, dear Harlot, are an Enabler! A new and exciting website with gloriously silly patterns. Gnome socks and mittens for all!!!

  209. Have also cast on for beer mittens.
    Is there any reason for including the “mini-pints” on the sides of the mitten? Will I be punished for just using the main colour instead?

  211. Me too! I ran across her mittens a year or so ago on Rav and friended her so I can stalk I mean see what she does. I am currently knitting “Warm Woolen Mittens.” What’s worse than how adorable her mittens are, her patterns are well written and very specific and clear….

  212. Oh thank heavens I’m not the only one. I let out an inner squee (and sometimes an audible one) whenever I see her mittens.

  213. My goodness. That woman is a genius. I fell for her “William it was really nothing” hippo mittens.

  214. Everyone goes through it, Stephanie. That relationship that you know with every sane bode in your body is going to be nothing but bad news but you just can’t resist. The tattoos, the Harley, the prison record, the look on your mother’s face….and yet, there is something irresistable about it.
    Indulge, dear. We’ll be here for you when it’s over.

  216. @Nancy – Thanks for passing along the Knitters Brewing Company!
    The comments here are hilarious and I love all the enabling that is going on. My Rav queue has grown even more. Must knit more socks. Well, more is kinda relative, I guess since I’ve only knit one pair ever.
    Does anyone else keeping coming back to read the comments?

  218. i have been knitting for over seven years, and so far have resisted learning to read a knitting pattern chart. but…….these spillyjane mittens may have broken through my wall of resistance. i love them!

  219. Yes, I understand! I am equally in the SPILLYJANE! trace/web! So much so, that without even really knowing this about me, a distant friend on Ravelry actually paid for and sent me a SPILLYJANE! pattern (Swedish Fish mittens). (well maybe she peeked at my favorites or queue). I’m going to start knitting them right after I finish . . well, NOW.

  220. You have converted another knitter into a SpillyJane fan!! I held myself to 3 patterns but I will be going back for me. The first pair was cast on as soon as the pattern came out of the printer!

  222. Well, you did it to me again.
    Here I was, just merrily knitting away on my 6th little cabled slouchy hat (yes, 6th. I kinda got on a roll- you understand) when you had to go and give a knitting lesson on mittens. I wasn’t even thinking about mittens. I already have some. I want to keep doing these cute, cabled,slouchy hats.
    so…here i go to check my stash for mitten yarn. thanks

  223. No I think The Lesson Du Jour is not mittens but on self forgiveness and your not as crappy as you think. Color work is something you either work at or you dont. It is about trial and error always.

  224. Oh man, I have been looking for a pattern for my sister – and this one is it! Thank you!!

  225. Oh crap. You HAD to tell me about Spilly Jane. I had no idea there was such a creature! I love her gnome mittens…sigh.

  226. Stephanie, what you’re describing is the creative process. Thank goodness it doesn’t exist ALL the time, or our lives would be fraught with chaos. “To everything there is a season….and a time, for every purpose under heaven.” I enjoy it while it lasts (and clean up the chaos afterwards as regularly as I can.} I appreciate your being so open on your blog. Happy knitting.

  229. Just in case you want a hat to go with the mittens:
    Meagheen on Ravelry
    “Have a pint beanie:
    Love the mittens! They’re all so cute!

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