Brr

Thorpe and Super Mittens
Originally uploaded by JRoKnits

That's about all there is to say today. Right now, at 9:13 a.m. CST, it's -8 with a -28 windchill. That's up from a -35 windchill when the kids left for the bus. Eek.

So yesterday I made Thorpe, thinking that a Fair Isle 100% bulky wool earflap hat would be just the thing to keep me warm.

Dummy.

I'm still a rookie at stranded knitting so apparently I must not knit as tightly when doing color work as I do when knitting plain stuff. If I'd known that, I would not have gone up a needle size.

Everything went along very nicely and the hat looks great, but it's a bit too big. Which is weird since I measured gauge and was afraid it wouldn't be big enough.

The patterned section is a big too long and loose and the garter stitch is waaaay too loose. The cold air is flying right through those bad boys.

It is so cute though and I'm not willing to give up on it just yet.

Those mittens, on the other hand, were a huge success! They are the Super Mittens from Weekend Knitting - my first and possibly forever favorite knitting book. I had bits of 3 colors of Lamb's Pride Bulky leftover from my kids' felted clogs. When I knew the deep freeze was coming, I decided to cast on and see how far I got. Lo and behold, I was able to get two pairs out of the leftovers - one for me and one for a boy, any boy.

The mittens are fantastic. So fast, so cute, and so warm. They are, indeed, super!