Ravelry Inspiration – fdigitalis.com

I had the most awesome little Cupcake mitts that I knitted a couple years ago… they were warm, perfect for taking out the dog, and allowed me to be able to stay warm while keeping my fingers uncovered to do…well, the stuff you do when you have to take the dog out.

Confession time: for a fiberhead, I’m terrible about fiber care, and tracking what I make stuff out of so I can actually take care of it properly. I’d have sworn on a stack of bibles that those adorbs little mitts were made of superwash, but alas… a bad day at the washing machine. They were felted so stiff I couldn’t even pass them along to one of the kiddos in our circle of friends. And it’s the middle of winter, no less! I needed replacements—stat!

I found the perfect pattern on Ravelry to meet all my needs… the “Rye” mitts were soft, slouchy, long on the arms, and kept my hands and arms warm but kept my fingers freed up to put on leashes, use my phone, and unlock the front door.

I bought a bunch of yarn (surprise) to try this pattern, and opted instead to try something from my stash: This beautiful blue/grey/eggplant Malabrigo Rastita. So beautiful, soft and drapey.

I worked it true to the pattern, but I worked it a little longer on the arms, since I wanted them to extend pretty far up my arm when I wanted to be extra warm. I tried the magic loop technique for the first time, so I could use my favorite Knitter’s Pride Dreamz circular bamboo needles from the Knit Shop in Eugene. Love that place! The lovely buttons are from Gossamer in Bend.

I love this simple, elegant pattern… I’m going to work up a pair of these for my mom next, out of the dreamiest, lightest weight stuff I can find. And multiple colors for every outfit!

You’d have to live under a rock to not know that this holiday season has been all Star Wars, all the time… especially if you happen to have little (or even big) boys in the house. One of my husband’s birthday presents was tickets during opening weekend for Star Wars: TFA. We loved the movie and are so excited about the new characters, new droids, new villains… and questions. So many questions!

A few years ago, my mom gave me my old Christmas stocking, which was knitted by my grandmother, not long after I was born. I think every one of the grandkids got one of these homemade beauties, personalized with his or her name. I found a copy of the old pattern, a classic from the mid-40s on the Internet. I love mine, with the fuzzy angora Santa’s beard and the sequin sparkles. So kitchy and cool!

I’ve wanted to make one for J for years, and let’s face it, I’ve only got a few more years where he’ll still put up with this kind of fussy Mom-ness. So I decided to find a pattern and make it with a more modern spin, and personalize it with more than just his name.

I found the original pattern online, and then proceeded to find some really awesome Star Wars Intarsia patterns created by Leah Fenton and available on Ravelry as a free download. I kept it to a simple color combination, to honor the spirit of the original.

I made mine from an affordable, basic cotton worsted weight I found at the local Hobby Lobby. Probably, if I had it to do over, I’d choose a sport or dk weight to make the overall size less gargantuan. But, since I hate colorwork, keeping it larger and easier to manage ensured that I’d actually complete it by Christmas.

I did the lightsabers in duplicate stitch, with a strand of metallic thread worked in. This was the first project where I tried duplicate stitch, so that was a nice bonus! It’s rough in places, but overall I’m happy with the results. Plus, we were done in time for Christmas. May the Force be with you this season, everyone!