I finished the Tra Mittens this week and that was very good timing.
Even though we had some lovely spring weather where it looked like the chilly days were over for a while, this weekend turned very cold again and I needed all the woollens – hat, scarf and mittens!
It made me appreciate the qualities of wool and how they are not just for the winter months.
Knitting those Tra Mittens pattern in Donegal Twists DK also helped me work out what my next cast on should be.
And it is this…
This new project is very exciting – so exciting that I already want to cast on another one and I haven’t even finished this one yet!
Many, many moons ago I designed with Noro Yarns and produced about ten books of hand-knit designs for them. It feels like it was in the time before the internet – not quite, but certainly in the world of knitting books. It felt like a slower time and sometimes I think it would be lovely to get back to that.
Above is a small selection of the books. I loved designing with the Noro Yarns and playing around with the shades. They were fabulous, and my ethos of simple knits that let the yarn shine really worked with them.
So when West Yorkshire Spinners created the colourful Re:Treat Chunky it reignited my Noro mind and I just knew what I wanted to do with the shades to create something unique.
Stripe them.
Striping variegated yarns is one of my favourite things to do. It creates endless possibilities from what already feels like endless possibilities in yarn.
As I’ve always said, one ball of yarn has endless possibilities – which can feel exciting and overwhelming in equal measure. But all you have to do is pick up the needles and knit with it to calm the overwhelm and find the excitement again.
The first two shades I’ve chosen for this new design are very close to each other. I chose them because of that, to create a gentle blend.
But the next two? Those will be a contrast! Maybe these two shades?
And there I am again, already thinking about the next design before I’ve even finished this one. So back to the needles I go – because I am absolutely loving knitting this.