More cables!

Remember how I said I really wanted to knit some Evangeline Mitts? Well, knit them I did! I started these last Wednesday after digging around in the bottomless pit of stash (where I found multiple treasures that I was unaware of possessing - for someone with a good memory it's amazing how much yarn and how many purses I stumble upon that I've forgotten), and finished them on Saturday morning. This post is a bit delayed because I was out of town Monday and Tuesday and then didn't take photos until yesterday (thank you Shibani!). But, without further ado, here are the Evangeline Mitts:Project Stats: Evangeline Mitts

Pattern: Evangeline, by Michelle Szeghalmi

Yarn: Reynolds Andean Alpaca, purchased on Dave and I's trip to Bend in 2006.

Needles: Size 7 Crystal Palace bamboo. These happen to be the first DPNs I purchased (not for this project, obviously).

Time to knit: September 10-14, 2008.

Modifications: I made several to compensate for my small skein of yarn (in the end I had plenty, but probably not enough for another repeat) and to suit my preferences. First, I cast on 36 stitches instead of 40 because I have small hands and I figured these would be stretchy, and that the cables would be shown to their best advantage stretched out a bit. I also only did six rows of ribbing at the cuff instead of 10, and left out the ribbing at the ends because I decided I'd rather have more cabling and less ribbing (frankly I'm not fond of ribbing). I did seven cable repeats total, and these turned out just the length I was going for. See random musing below.

Impressions: They're great! These were quick and fun to knit, and were exactly what I was hoping for. It's not just the photos - the cabling is subtle, and I blame the fuzzy yarn and its slight marl. That's okay - I wasn't really trying for bold here. My only issue is that the yarn is a tad scratchier than I expected from how soft the skein was, and I'm noticing that to be a trend with alpaca. I'm knitting something else with 100% alpaca and it's heavenly in the skein but also a little bit scratchy once knit up. Not enough to be an issue because I don't have sensitive skin, but maybe something to consider if you do.

A random musing: Have any of you made actual elbow length mitts? They seem like they'd be annoying - my thought is that if it's cold enough for mitts one is likely to be wearing a long-sleeved shirt/sweater/etc, and how does one deal with elbow length sleeves with that? Unless you're wearing a t-shirt, but none of mine have sleeves that come down to the elbow, so I would be left with a patch of upper arm showing, which just seems silly. Then again, I did queue some elbow-length mitts from the new Knitty, so apparently I'm at least game to try...

And, what is this?

I've finished the vest pieces and seamed the shoulders - now for the crazy amount of finishing. In the photo the vest looks quite large because I haven't done the side seams. In reality it's going to be quite fitted I think. Annoyingly it's still quite short even though I added 1.5" before the armhole shaping. I haven't done the i-cord along the bottom yet but still. I'm short and if it's this short on me I think there might be some issuese there for the taller set. The vest is blocking now and I hope that it will be dry by tomorrow so I can attack it this weekend...