Showing posts with label draconic mittens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label draconic mittens. Show all posts

Friday, 14 March 2008

Draconic mittens - FO

Done and with pictures!

As I said yesterday, I blocked my mittens, with cardboard and ductape. The blocking tools worked really well, much to my surprise, and the lace was brought up, making them look even more beautiful!

Blocking tools Blocking mittens



Behold the Draconic Mittens! Fear the Dragon!
Draconic mittens


Scales detail Finger detail


I'm very proud with how they turned up. I like that the do not have ribs like the Fetchings, as soy stretches lots and it widened the mittens too much to be worn comfortable.

The Draconic Mittens are knitted in Sidar Just Soya in green, using 3.0 mm needles. Pattern is dapper gloves by Oceanwidnknits.

Their ravelry page is here

Thursday, 13 March 2008

Of illnesses and tails and blocking soy

Alex is ill today, with a rather bad cold. He was home and in bed yesterday when I came from work, which is something he *never* does, no matter how tired, so he is really not very well. He did come out of bed yesterday for a bit, while I was ironing, to play Shrek III in the Play Station, and he was looking much better. Only then he felt crap again after a while, and today he is staying home. I spoke to him at lunchtime and he is feeling better (and he sounded so much better), but he is still not 100%.
It made me a bit sad that I couldn't to anything to help, and I think part of me is a bit sad still. The manic happiness of the weekend is now past. That was so weird. I was ecstatic, bouncing around, with this uncontrollable energy inside me, and I had no idea what to do with it. It was nice, but in a way I'm glad it's now past: it was too much and uncontrollable. I would like to be just normal. I've never gone manic before, just depressive, but I guess it's never too late to develop bipolar disorder. Which I doubt is the case, but the word "manic" earlier brought it to mind.

While he was ill yesterday, I worked on my Draconic Mittens, discovering that I had not written down the needle changes I had done. I'm pretty sure now that the finishing edges are knitted with different needles, but it doesn't look too bad or different, so it doesn't really matter. The knitting is done now, and I need to block them, to bring out the diamonds.

I'm not entirely sure how to block soy. The ballband says not to iron it, but I do plan to iron it, just at very low heat and through a piece of cloth. There is not need for molten green soy on my iron, thankyouverymuch. My current blocking plan involves digging out some of the old moving cardboard boxes and cutting some strips from them, in the width of the mittens. I will cover the longitudinal edges with ductape so that the cardboard doesn't catch on the yarn (and maybe all the cardboard, so it doesn't soak and get messy). If I damp the mittens, slide the cardboard inside them, and pin them to shape with pins onto the cardboard, and then let them to dry, that should hopefully keep the diamond lace into place and pretty. I really hope it works out, because the mittens are really really pretty. Pictures will be up soon, most likely when Alex feels well enough to take some pics. Sadly, I do not have a tail to hold the camera while modelling my mittens. Evolution cheated us there. We kept the monkey hairy armpits but not the tail. I want a tail!

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Knitting lesson 4219

Knitting lesson of the day, courtesy of my Draconic Mittens

If you are going to do any modifications to the pattern, write them down. Here, in Ravelry, on a piece of paper or tattoo them on your skin, but write them down. Particularly if you then have to make *another identical* piece afterwards.

Sunday, 2 March 2008

Oh noes, the pictures are clogging the tubes

Picocon. Picocon was awesome, and here are some pictures of the DoDM (destruction of dodgy merchandise).
Here is Alex about to golf a frozen snitch, and then me with the golden snitch wings in my Jayne hat (which everybody loved).

IMG_5057 IMG_5058

Some more general DoDM: the enjoying audience, Owain destroying a Darth Vader mecha-TIE fighter, the abomination that is Highlander 2 (sorry for the profane language), and Peter making sure that the abomination doesn't survive.
IMG_5061 IMG_5066 IMG_5070 IMG_5072

And Miranda!
IMG_5051



Draconic mittens!
Draconic mitten (front 2) Draconic mitten pre-sewing


And, as said, I finished the tummy piece, and redid the neckline of the Blue Tomato. Now it's 4 rounds rather than 8, and I think it looks better, and doesn't buldge so much at the shoulder pieces.
Tummy piece New neckline




Jonathan was here this weekend. Alex has just left to drive him home, and then he is off to a course on rockets (lucky him). I was a bit sad yesterday, and I realised it was jealousy-based, because Alex had spent a lot of the day with JJ, while I just was on the side. But he paid a bit more attention to me today, and I was a lot better. On the other hand, I think that he passed me his cold. While he won't be here this week to take care of me, it is nice to be alone sometimes, and I can just lounge around being ill. And knitting!