Out on the Town: Staying Active

I'm currently living in a smaller town, and have sometimes found it difficult to keep myself entertained.  So, I'm going to try and keep track of what I've done before.  That way, if I find myself bored in the future, which is inevitable, I will have some guidance on what I can do.

We're in the process of moving!  See the full post here: Staying Active

Grandma's Basic Lined Mittens

I've been so busy making items for the Carrie and Claus Etsy store I hope to set up within the next week, that it took until now for me to realize that I might want to have a pair of mittens to carry around with me. I've been using a pretty evergreen scarf and hat from Carrie and Claus, so I've been set with that, but somehow my mittens were overlooked.

Then, my grandmother suggested that I put up a mitten pattern, which solidified the fact that I needed to make a pair. No, my grandma did not write this pattern. I quick wrote it up as per her request, and thought you might find it useful as well. They are very basic, with none of the cabling I love so much, but that makes them a good project for beginners. They are also lined, and therefore warmer than a lot of other mittens.

Pictures to come soon!

Yarn:

• Caron Simply Soft Dark Sage - 1 skein

Knitting needles: US 8 (5.0mm) or size to obtain guage
Extras: Yarn needle

Guage: 20 sts and 24 rows = 4" in St st. Use any size needles to obtain the specified guage.

Right Mitten Lining

Cast on 36 sts. (18 sts per needle).
Rounds 1-10: Work K1, P1 ribbing around.
Rounds 11-28: K around.
Round 29: K34, inc1, K1, inc1, K1.
Round 30(and all odd rounds): K around.
Round 31: K34, inc1, K3, inc1, K1.
Round 33: K34, inc1, K5, inc1, K1.
Round 35: K34, inc1, K7, inc1, K1.
Round 37: K34, inc1, K9, inc1, K1.
Round 39: K34, inc1, K11, inc1, K1.
Round 41: K34, slip 13 sts to spare yarn, cast on 2 sts, K1.
Round 43-60: K around.
Round 61: K2tog, K14, SSK, K2tog, K15, SSK.
Round 63: K2tog, K12, SSK, K2tog, K13, SSK.
Round 65: K2tog, K10, SSK, K2tog, K11, SSK.
Round 67: K2tog, K8, SSK, K2tog, K9, SSK.
Round 69: K2tog, K6, SSK, K2tog, K7, SSK.
Cut the yarn, leaving a 12" end. Thread end through yarn needle and draw through all sts on needle, remove needle and pull end tightly to form top of mitten lining. Complete thumb.

Left Mitten Lining

Cast on 36 sts. (18 sts per needle).
Rounds 1-28: Work as Right Mitten Lining.
Round 29: K19, inc1, K1, inc1, K16.
Round 30(and all odd rounds): K around.
Round 31: K19, inc1, K3, inc1, K16.
Round 33: K19, inc1, K5, inc1, K16.
Round 35: K19, inc1, K7, inc1, K16.
Round 37: K19, inc1, K9, inc1, K16.
Round 39: K19, inc1, K11, inc1, K16.
Round 41: K19, slip 13 sts to spare yarn, cast on 2 sts, K16.
Round 43-end: Work as Rounds 43-end on Right Mitten Lining.

Left Mitten Shell

Cast on 40 sts. (22 sts on first needle, 18 on second).
Rounds 1-10: Work K1, P1 ribbing around.
Rounds 11-28: K around.
Round 29: K38, inc1, K1, inc1, K1.
Round 30(and all odd rounds): K around.
Round 31: K38, inc1, K3, inc1, K1.
Round 33: K38, inc1, K5, inc1, K1.
Round 35: K38, inc1, K7, inc1, K1.
Round 37: K38, inc1, K9, inc1, K1.
Round 39: K38, inc1, K11, inc1, K1.
Round 41: K38, slip 13 sts to spare yarn, cast on 2 sts, K1.
Round 43-60: K around.
Round 61: K2tog, K18, SSK, K2tog, K15, SSK.
Round 63: K2tog, K16, SSK, K2tog, K13, SSK.
Round 65: K2tog, K14, SSK, K2tog, K11, SSK.
Round 67: K2tog, K12, SSK, K2tog, K9, SSK.
Round 69: K2tog, K10, SSK, K2tog, K7, SSK.
Cut the yarn, leaving a 12" end. Thread end through yarn needle and draw through all sts on needle, remove needle and pull end tightly to form top of mitten shell. Complete thumb.

Right Mitten Shell

Cast on 40 sts. (22 sts on first needle, 18 on second).
Rounds 1-28: Work as Right Mitten Lining.
Round 29: K23, inc1, K1, inc1, K16.
Round 30(and all odd rounds): K around.
Round 31: K23, inc1, K3, inc1, K16.
Round 33: K23, inc1, K5, inc1, K16.
Round 35: K23, inc1, K7, inc1, K16.
Round 37: K23, inc1, K9, inc1, K16.
Round 39: K23, inc1, K11, inc1, K16.
Round 41: K23, slip 13 sts to spare yarn, cast on 2 sts, K16.
Round 43-end: Work as Rounds 43-end on Left Mitten Shell.

Thumb (for all Linings and Shells)

Beginning on palm side, pick up 8 sts with one needle, and 5 with second.
Round 1: K8, K5, pick up 4 sts along thumb edge.
Round 2: K8, K5, K2tog, K2tog.
Round 3-14: K around.
Round 15: K2tog 7 times, K1.
Round 17:K2tog 4 times.
Cut the yarn, leaving a 12" end. Thread end through yarn needle and draw through all sts on needle, remove needle and pull end tightly to form top of thumb.

Finishing

Weave in all remaining ends. Turn both Right and Left Mitten Linings inside out, and slip Right Mitten Lining into Right Mitten Shell. Do the same for Left Mitten Lining and Left Mitten Shell. Sew the cuffs of Mitten Lining and Shell together, and weave in ends.

In a Little Corner of the Library: Heaven is for Real

A couple days ago, I realized I hadn't done any free reading for an incredibly long time, and decided that needed to change.  So, I looked up the USA Today Bestseller list to see if anything would catch my eye. The Hunger Games topped the list, and although I've heard great things about those books, I wasn't particularly interested in reading any of them at the time.

We're in the process of moving!  Check out my full review here: Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Each Morning I Wake Up

Today, at 7:30am, I was woken up by my cellphone ringing.  It was the elementary school calling to see if I could come in to work at 8:00am.  Half an hour to get ready and get to the school.  I think the one thing I had going for me was the fact I only live five minutes away (I Googled it to make sure!).

We're in the process of moving!  See my morning routine here: Each Morning I Wake Up

What's the Band in My Head Playing? The Girl in 14G

I'm not sure what possessed me to do this, but a couple of weeks ago, I decided to add a 'Kristen Chenoweth' station to Pandora.  I liked it fine, but then I heard a song of hers that I hadn't before: Taylor the Latte Boy.  I was obsessed.  She has an amazing voice, but then this song was really funny, too!  I'm usually the type of person that will listen more to the melody of a song than the actual lyrics, so the fact this song got me to listen to what she was saying was a pretty big deal.

We're in the process of moving!  See the rest of this post here: The Girl in 14G by Kristin Chenoweth