Monday, January 24, 2011

Twice as Nice

A little less than a year ago, I decided to tackle a pair of Northman Mittens as my Knitting Olympics project. They were a resounding success.

So much of a success that I almost immediately decided that I needed to knit a “reverse colorway” pair with the leftovers.

NM2flat.jpg

I cast on during the Family Reunion trip between Christmas and New Year’s. And then discovered that my gauge was WAY off. So I ripped out and started again with a larger needle. Totally worth it.

NM2flat.jpg

The pattern is so intuitive and well-written that I would recommend it for anyone, even fair isle beginners. With the dark blue on the beginning cuff, it’s difficult to see the braid at the start. Sorry about that, but it was really freakin’ cold out on Saturday when I was taking these pictures.

NM2palmsworn.jpg

Having now knit this pattern twice, I still won’t rule out doing it again. These mittens have made me a big fan of Ultra Alpaca, and in a surprising change of events, a new devotee of Blue Sky Alpaca’s Brushed Suri.

NM2liners.jpg

When I finished my Knitting Olympics pair and shared my blog posts with David, the designer, he suggested lining The Sequel with the Brushed Suri. I finished these mittens at Hurricane Knitters on Wednesday night, and it was unanimous. If you put on the old pair first, they were very nice (lined with Blue Sky Melange). But then you put on the new pair with the Brushed Suri liners and …

NM2guts.jpg

… Heaven. Seriously. I can’t even tell you how nice they feel. And I’d say I only used about ¾ of the skein. Yes, I have seriously small hands, but still. Plenty in a single skein of the Brushed Suri for two liners.

NM2thumb.jpg

Again, the little details really make these mittens. The colorwork on the thumb flows perfectly with both the front and back of the mittens, as you see above.

NMset.jpg

Now, my biggest problem is going to be deciding which pair to wear!

NM2backsworn.jpg

Northman Mittens, The Sequel

Pattern: Northman Mittens by David Schulz (Ravelry paid download)
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Navy and Light Blue
Blue Sky Alpacas Brushed Suri in Acai
Quantity: Leftovers of the Ultra Alpaca with enough left over that I wasn’t nervous about running out. Roughly ¾ skein of the Brushed Suri
Needles: US 5/3.75mm throughout. Magic Looped with KnitPicks Options
Started: 27 Dec 2010, ripped and re-started 5 Jan 2011
Finished: 19 January 2011
Mods: None. The pattern remains perfect.

4 comments:

Sarah said...

You should be very glad that my thumbs are too long or those brushed suri-lined mittens might have made their way into my bag on Wednesday. ;-)

Jenn said...

They are all lovely! I'd be tempted to wear one of each!

turtlegirl76 said...

You could totally wear one of each! At least if you lose one, you have a back up. They look awesome. I like the idea of a liner.

Zonda said...

Those are awesome! I'm thinking the newer ones will be worn more due to the Suri lining ;)