July 15, 2009
I’m almost finished with Bella’s Mittens** and admittedly, I won’t be sorry to end this rather tumultuous relationship. The pattern is well-written (and supposedly a joy to knit), but the combination of my chosen yarn (Cascade Pastaza–which I LOVE) and the Denise circular needles I’m using, makes for a slippery knit. I’m convinced that while knitting, there is moisture or some natural oil seeping from the yarn (50% wool/50%llama) onto my hands and needles. (I guess llamas really do spit). I’ve never had quite so much difficulty keeping tension.
I wasn’t in love with the Denise Interchangeable set when I bought it and foolishly, I didn’t do enough homework before the purchase.
The set definitely has its merits. I wouldn’t be knitting the mitts otherwise; I had a bear of a time trying to find 40″ circs in a size 9 in my neck of the woods. As a last resort, I purchased the 40″ Denise cord and started knitting. Others had warned me that the Denise tips are rather dull. This is most obvious when I’m trying to work my cable stitches. Overall, I think the Bella pattern would have been a more enjoyable experience had I started with better tools.
I must add however, that for every knitter I’ve met who loathes the Denise needles, there is one who absolutely loves them. I plan to sell my (almost) brand new set just as soon as I finish the second mitten. I’m confident they will find a good home.
Allow me to give credit to these mittens:
Though I wouldn’t consider this pattern “easy” as so many have stated (in part because I am a fairly new knitter), I will say it’s refreshing to follow a pattern from start to finish without having to guess what the designer was thinking. It is written in such a straightforward manner that even when I made mistakes, I was able to backtrack and find my error simply by re-reading the pattern.
The mittens are beautiful; so different from a traditional mitten. I’m making them for my daughter, who will be traveling to London for winter semester. She loves the long length and the snug fit.
This was my first experience knitting mittens and for the most part, it was a pleasure. My only complaint (thus far) about knitting mittens (as opposed to my beloved hats), is that after rejoicing over the first successful mitten, you have to knit a second one. Instantly gratifying they are not.
Perhaps someday if I am able to knit with reckless abandon at warp speed, I will feel differently.
I’m almost tempted to try knitting these on a 9″ circular
(I said almost).
The cable pattern is simple enough to follow. I am generally a very tight knitter and I was concerned about obvious gaps that appear between each cable. Somehow, the gaps seem to take care of themselves as the mitten takes shape. A more experienced knitter might be able to explain this in detail. For now, I’m content (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it).
As I mentioned, I’m knitting these on a 40″ cable using the magic loop method. I find this method manageable but I’m not sure I understand exactly what I’m doing. Mind you, I’m doing it, but just like driving my car or using my Mac, I’m not always clear on the way things work, or why they work. Ignorance really is bliss.
For example: I’ve been told many times that there is no need to switch to DPNs when using magic loop because it can all be done on on the circulars. I simply cannot wrap my head around this idea. When I get to just a few stitches at the finishing stage of the project (like the thumb), I am completely dumbfounded, and thus switch to DPNs. Works for me.
At any rate, all is going well.
I’m actually quite happy about how the mittens are turning out.
I simply cannot wait however, to start my next hat!
There simply aren’t enough chilly heads for all of the hats I long to knit 
Until next time,
Knit out loud!
–Michelle
** The pattern for Bella’s Mittens can be found on Ravelry.com for members.
