Smitten (a Holiday Garland) by Emily Ivey. (Previously I’ve referred to them as ‘Smitten Mittens’.)
Yarn:
Each mitten is made from my early attempts at spinning (and dyeing and blending practice on some)
Cost:
Pattern: £0.00 Free on Ravelry
Yarn: £?? This is hard to quantify on this project, but I’d think there’s ~£20 of fibre spun. This was all practicing different techniques so I could have learned all with one colour but why not mix it up!
Such a simple pattern, although even after making 24 of them I haven’t memorised it. I really enjoyed making these and it would be interesting to see whether this pattern could be made with fingering weight and how much yarn it would use, it could be good for using advent calendar yarns. I’ve already got plans for the advent yarn I’m getting this year…oops I’m getting off topic!
Yarn summary and photo gallery
Every single mitten is made with my homespun, even the iCord string is homespun. I thought it would be nice to actually keep a record of each mitten and what it is made of and the process. So I’ve grouped them into categories:-
An attempt at Art Yarn
Fibre I dyed and then spun
Fibre I spun and then dyed
Fibre I blended on my blending board and then spun
Fibre I spun when practicing my supported spindle practice
Commercially dyed fibre I spun on my wheel
Rather than write war and peace about each one I’ve tried to combine the information with the photo gallery. I admit I’ve had trouble identifying one or two but you’ll see when you read more.
1.Art Yarn
2. Fibre I dyed and then spun
3. Fibre I spun and then dyed
4. Fibre I blended on my blending board and then spun
That’s 18 down, 6 to go!
5. Fibre I spun when practicing my supported spindle practice
6. Commercially dyed fibre I spun on my wheel
Well that’s it folks! It took me just under 6 months to finish, but I’m really happy with it. I’m glad I stuck to my rule of only using handspun throughout the whole project. I like that it has a history of my early spinning, plying, blending and dyeing experience. I wish I’d kept better track of which little mini skeins I was using, some of these will have my first ever chain ply attempt. Anyway, it has been a fun project and now they are all filled with chocolates they are even better 🙂
In the end I couldn’t find a place to hang them in the sunroom so they are now in the front porch which is the 2nd coolest area of the house.
(For any dyeing nerds, anything I’ve dyed was done with Kraftkolour Landscape Acid Dyes.)
That is a beautiful, interesting project! So neat to have a record for yourself of your early work and experiments with fibercrafting. And such a nifty pattern as well!
Whew! What a project, and impressive completion.
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What a gorgeous project! It is a lovely heirloom:)
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What a terrific garland that is! Super special and beautiful!
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This is such a neat way to use handspun scraps, it looks wonderful!
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Thanks very much
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Each mitten is really a work of art. I hope this garland will be a treasured heirloom for you! I’m so glad you’ve written up your notes for posterity!
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What a wonderful garland!
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That is a beautiful, interesting project! So neat to have a record for yourself of your early work and experiments with fibercrafting. And such a nifty pattern as well!
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I love this project so much. Brilliant idea. May I use your main photo of the garland as the cover photo for December’s Hand Spinning News?
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Sure, if it links to the post.
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Thank you 😀
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