NEW PATTERN / Linden mittens

It's no secret that I have a serious crush on self-striping yarns. I have a very modest stash (no really! ...ask any one of my friends) -- I don't really go on yarn buying sprees, I don't often buy yarn with no intention and it's a very rare occasion when I will splurge on a skein simply because it's beautiful. It's not because I don't want to -- I'm a minimalist and those types of habits can add up so quickly, before you know it you need a storage unit or a second bedroom for all of your yarns! One guilty pleasure however, is my collection of self striping yarns. I'm a huge fan of Knit Picks Felici and I normally add 1-3 balls of it each time I order from KP. In my defense this self-striping sock yarn gets used up as quickly as it gets added to my stash. I always have a pair of socks on the needles because they are my filler project, my in between, my purse knitting -- I like to keep them simple (plain stockinette) because it allows me to read, watch TV, or socialize while I'm knitting them. Using self-striping sock yarn is what keeps them fun!

I fell in love with the Kingpin colourway just as it was being discontinued, when it arrived it dawned on me that it was sport (my socks are normally fingering) so I began swatching in the round by knitting a little cuff, to determine my desired number of stitches for my foot circumference. I absentmindedly put the cuff on my wrist and at that moment I knew that my ball of Kingpin was destined to be mittens instead!

The mittens knit up fast! And I was so in love with the end result but looking for more colour variations was proving difficult so I contacted Knit Picks and sure enough the sport weight version of Felici Self-Striping sock yarn was set to be discontinued. So I tucked the pattern away and decided that once my book deadlines were over I would revisit it and add instruction for a fingering version as well.

I've finally completed the rewrite and we've had a great time in the test group with all of the colour options and substitute yarns that are possible for this pattern. The pattern is written for both fingering and sport weight yarns so really the sky is the limit!

I really hope you enjoy the pattern as much as I have (and do)! I've knit 3 pairs of these mittens already and have two more lined up -- if you would like to knit along with me I will be casting on after our JOURNEY knit along is over (end of February). I may have a little something to giveaway for those who participate :)

Happy Knitting!