Favorite Mittens

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I spend a lot of time thinking about color. I shuffle my yarns around to see what looks good together. Then I get on my computer and work it out in a grid pattern. I use Stitchmastery software which gets the job done but I can’t say I love it. It’s doesn’t save my colors which is unfortunate. I mostly use Knit Picks Palette line and my old on-line program had those colors all imported. Sadly I can not use an on-line product like Stitchfiddle due to the time I spend in places without internet. So Stichmastery it is.

Here’s a photo that includes my first attempt at this mitten. I got pretty far before deciding to chuck it. Regarding the half-finished mitten on the left: I love these colors together, but I didn’t like the lack of contrast with the blue and dark brown. With the second attempt I made the flower section very high contrast with light and dark gray (basically black and white).

I think Favorite Mittens would look good with lots of different color combinations. You could use the colors I’ve worked out or pick some of your own. Below is the free pattern. If you want to share this pattern with anyone, please send them to this website.

Favorite MittensDownload

Boreas Mittens

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Man Mittens! This time David was my model and I was the photographer. I designed these mitten and made them for someone as a gift last month. Now I’m just getting around to writing the pattern.

Boreas Mittens are knitted by following several charts. First you knit the cuff, working through the ribbing section. Then you follow 2 more charts for the mitten body and the thumb gusset. After you finish the mitten body you work the thumb in pattern.

This is a FREE PATTERN. Enjoy! If you want to share this pattern with someone, please send them to this website. Gracias!

Boreas MittensDownload

Indiola, Oregon

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In July this year we were traveling in Oregon and I took my husband to Indiola. This is a place up the road from Mapleton on Lake Creek. We were just passer-byes being that I don’t know anyone who lives there anymore. It is were my grandmother lived and it is were my mother grew up. I spent many of my childhood days playing in the river there and running wild. Since I was knitting these mittens on that trip I named them “Indiola Mittens”. My mother passed away this fall so I’m a little sad posting this tribute to her childhood home. The actual house she lived in is gone now, but the air smelled the same and the river still runs.

Near the river is a plaque dedicating the boat landing to my grandparents. May their spirit live on and on!

Now, on to the knitting. The color of the year for me was Coriander Heather (a Knit Picks color that’s basically oatmeal). Here’s just a sample of the knitting I did this year and it’s clear I had a theme going on.

Here we have Floretta Mittens, Indiola Mittens, Blyn Hat, and a baby sweater (no pattern). I simply could not stop knitting flowers!

The other thing I was obsessed with this year is what I call “fancy thumbs”. I love designing mittens with complicated thumbs. Yes, it’s a bit fussy to knit in the round with 20 stitches but I just love how it turns out.

Here’s the Free Knitting Pattern for Indiola Mittens. If you make them I’d love to see a photo. Please post on Ravelry or send me a message. Happy New Year!

Indiola MittensDownload

Flowerfest Mittens

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I’ve always been a little skeptical about mittens that don’t have a ribbed cuff. How do they stay on? When I designed Flowerfest Mittens I first made one, blocked it, and wore it for a minute before I made the second just to be sure that it wasn’t going to curl at the cuff.

The edges do stay pretty flat. Also, they do not slip off when you wear them. Now that I’ve experimented with not using ribbing I’m excited to make more mittens where the colorwork is throughout the wrist.

I give almost everything I make away. I’m going to keep these for myself! I’m packing for Moab this morning and it’s going to be cold there so Flowerfest Mittens are coming along with me.

Here’s the Free Pattern for Flowerfest Mittens. If you want to share this pattern please link back to this site.

Flowerfest MittensDownload

Glacia Mittens

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Glacia Mittens kept me busy for a week. After designing on the computer, I sat down and started knitting. I didn’t do a swatch this time!

I’m sure we all have knitting “focus” categories in our minds. Mine are: Everything quiet, No talking, Ok for music to be playing, Ok for podcast to be playing, TV knitting, Conversation knitting, etc. I get motion sickness so I can never knit while riding in the car. There are, however, transportation knitting categories: OK for flights, OK on a ferry, OK for walking (never for me!). Glacia Mittens start with the cast on (No talking, No sound). Work a simple 2X2 ribbing (TV knitting). Work a Latvian Braid (OK for music). Start the charts (No sound for a few rows, then put on music). End with a kitchener stitch (No sound, No talking). Thumb (Music). Weave in the ends (Conversation or Podcast). Categories may very. Warning: if you don’t weave in your ends as you go you will need to listen to several podcasts to weave them in at the end.

Here’s the pattern for Glacia Mittens. It’s free and if you want to share it please link to this blog. If you make them please send me a photo or post on Ravelry. Enjoy!

Glacia MittensDownload

All-Star Mittens

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This week I’m presenting the free knitting pattern for All-Star Mittens. These wool mittens are knitted on Size 2 needles with fingering weight yarn. There’s a chart for the corrugated ribbing cuff then you follow 2 charts for the mitten body and the thumb. The front and the back of the mitten are the same. This is a pattern that I designed and knitted while traveling this summer. They are part of my cold weather back-stock of patterns that I plan to put out over the fall months

I though it would be fun to share something I’ve been keeping in a box for years. Let me first say that I am not a keeper of things and it’s very unusual for me to hold on to something for years. I’ve made lots of knitted items that were worn out, donated, or given away—never to be seen again. That’s why it’s so incredible that I kept the very first pair of mittens that I designed and knitted!

Centering the stars was just too difficult I guess! These mittens are so funny to me because I know I didn’t think ahead on how to place the color-work part. I actually wore them the winter I made them but I don’t remember how long ago that was.

Fast forward a few decades— I know how to design with the motif centered now! Here’s the pattern for All-Star Mittens. Enjoy! If you want to share this pattern, share the link to this website, not the pdf please.

All-Star MittensDownload

Starla Mitts

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There are two design elements that I’ve been focusing on lately–fancy thumbs and mittens that are the same pattern on the palm and back of the hand. It is true that I’ve made several fingerless mitt patterns with star motifs, but Starla Mitts are different because the palms also have the star pattern.

The other change I made in this pattern is to use ribbing on the thumb and finger opening. I really like how they fit. I used Size 2 needles for the ribbing and the charted star pattern. I always make mitten with Size 2 needles when using a fingering weight yarn because the closer knit makes a sturdy mitt.

If you prefer a seeding pattern for the palms check out Star Lit Mitts and Star Power Mitts, patterns I posted in 2023.

Here is the FREE patten to download if you want to make Starla Mitts. If you want to share this pattern just link to this page. Please do not post the pdf of the pattern on other sites.

Starla MittsDownload

Edie Beanie

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Because we were camping without cell reception/internet, I didn’t post weekly patterns like I said I would. Instead we went to Utah to the Uinta Mountains. There I found bright fall colors! I also realized how each region has different fall colors. (Of course there are no fall colors at my home in the Mohave Desert.) When I designed Edie Beanie it was still summer and I was going by memory of what fall feels like. I still love the colors in this hat pattern, but they are more subdue than the real life bight fall colors that are happening in some places. It doesn’t matter really because are we just trying to match the colors in our coats, right? 🙂

Edie Beanie calls for small amounts of 7 colors. I think it’s a good use of fingering weight scraps. The pattern of alternating botanical motifs travel up to the crown and meet in a way that creates a star at the top.

This is a free pattern for now. Please do not use any of these images without consent or post the pattern pdf on another site. It is okay to link to this website so others can find it.

Happy Knitting!

Edie BeanieDownload

Bonney Lake Cowl

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Earlier this summer I started making cowls while traveling around in our camper. I brought lots of balls of Knit Picks Palette yarn and worked on small projects while camping in Oregon and Washington. I tried several sizes of cowls to get a fit I like. The first cowl pattern I put out was Ozette Cowl which is 7 inches tall. Bonney Lake Cowl is 10 inches tall so it is a bit more ample.

Sometimes choosing colors for a project is time consuming and other times it just clicks and I know what I want. I usually make my patterns on the computer using a gray scale or just black and white then add in the colors. With Bonney Lake Cowl I knew right away which colors I wanted and I was happy that I had enough on hand.

Here’s the free knitting pattern for anyone who wants to make it. I do not care if anyone links to my free pattern BUT it’s not ok to take the pdf and use it for commercial purposes. This happened to me this week and I’m not happy about it. I’m trying to figure out what to do in the future so my work isn’t used for someone else’s gain. Even though my patterns are free I consider them my intellectual property. I ask for no money but I do want proper credit for my designs. Enough said. Here’s the download for Bonney Lake Cowl. Enjoy!

Bonney Lake CowlDownload

Blyn

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So many of my designs lately have a flower motif. This kick started a while back when I notice I had so many greens in my yarn collection I decides to use them for leaves. That’s how I came up with the design I called In the Weeds.

In the Weeds has 9 color changes for a busy colorwork project. I recently had a comment on Ravelry about this hat and they called it “controlled chaos” which I took as a great complement because that was the effect I was going for!

Excuse my rambling about an old project. This post is really about a new project called Blyn. (Named after the town Blyn, Washington. I was camping there when I was knitting this hat.) Blyn came about because I decide to use something other than green for the leaves. Why be so literal, right? I started using a color called Bittersweet Heather from Knit Picks and it gave me the effect I wanted–dark leaves.

Here is the Free Pattern for Blyn. Enjoy!

BlynDownload