Mittens
I got tired of crocheting caps . . . As of Friday I have started learning how to knit mittens. This is great fun! . . . a sense of satisfaction fills my soul. I’ve tried knitting before (maybe two scarves in my lifetime), but never really enjoyed it.
My mom knitts away at anything mittens, slippers, sweaters, afghans,and now she’s started into socks. A couple of years ago when I tried it again (the first time was in my childhood) I was doing it for her sake kinda. . . . But now I am REALLY glad I tried for the third time! It’s great! (Don’t ask me though how my first mitten turned out . . . these things take practice 
February 27th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Just curious how you learned or who taught you and how long it took.
I love to crochet but don’t have much time to do it, but like to on car trips. Maybe I’d like to knit, but I’ve always thought it looked real complicated and hard. But I’d feel more “satisfaction in my soul” if I had something really useful to make, like caps or mittens or…and I haven’t taken time to find patterns, etc. Where do you find easy patterns? Or maybe you just make them up?
February 27th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I’ve been wanting to learn for awhile asking church ladies or whoever if they knit and if they knit mittens. There were three ladies I knew who I could ask, but it wasn’t until I asked a neighbor lady that comes to church just on Sunday mornings that I knew God wanted me to learn from her. So as an excuse to spend time with her and get out of my house and into hers that I made an “appointment” for Friday morning. She had directions written out on a paper that she photocopied for me.
It is a bit harder than crochet I think, but once you get the hang of it it’s nice! I just am finishing my first one and is it a sight! There are some things I need to “iron out” in my knitting mittens but I’m anxious to try again.
The caps I made I crocheted and just found a simple pattern in a magazine (you could maybe find something in the library) or I could send you a pattern. I just did the same one over and over varying it just by using a ring of accenting color here or making the band different or having a row of diamond looking stitches or whatever. I used up scrap yarn this way not costing me a cent and that is also very satisfying to the soul! No, I haven’t made any up. They just look like different patterns because or the color changes and variations.
As for how long it took one could say years or days I guess . . . I already knew how to knit kinda, but for mittens I had to knit one then purl one and that took a bit for me to get used to and if I messed up one could sure see the goof, cause it was the ribbing cuff. And for purling the yarn has to be on the left side of the needle and for the regular knit stitch it has to be on the right. This was hard to remember at first.
Then just following the pattern whether decreasing or increasing at the right times and holding the stitches for the thumb in a big safety pin till I finished the rest of the mitten body. My biggest thing though is keeping the ends tight (you use four knitting needles, three with stitches in so you can knit in a “circle” and the other to knit it with) between the needles so there’s not a noticed difference in the finished product. Some how though at the end I ended up with a row of purls at one of these between needles spots . . .
Oh, well, I’ll try again!
February 27th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
I wished my Mom was closer . . . or that I’d have learned when still at home . . . Oh well, it is nice to learn something new in my “old” age.
Especially after changing many diapers a day, teaching obedience,manners, washing dishes . . . Learning is refreshing!
February 28th, 2007 at 5:06 am
Good for you, Aimee! I am currently trying to learn to quilt! For someone whose mother didn’t sew and has never been around it, it’s very difficult for me! But I will keep at it.
I wish I had gone to the “quilting bees” the older ladies used to do at my church when I was growing up! Oh, my wasted youth!
Have fun with the mittens!
February 28th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Awwwww . . . I love quilting! Way to go, sticking with it, Tina!