A Bird in the Hand

It’s worth two in the bush, but still doesn’t quite measure up to having two in the hand. So to get my money’s worth, and to keep some poor soul’s two hands equally toasty, I better get started on the second.

Overall, I prefer the abstract design of the January mittens over these more figurative designs. I enjoyed watching the picture build as I knit, though that branch hanging over the bird’s head looks kind of like a claw hammer to me. Watch out, bird! And, of course, the brighter colors don’t sit with me as well. The effect reminds me of a sunrise over snow. I don’t have much experience of that, but that’s what I’m going with. These hues remind me of some jumbo-sized day-glo crayons that were available back in the 1970s. I never really liked them. Even then I was more of a traditionalist. Anyone else out there miss Raw Umber? Anyone?

The thumbs on this mitten, if anything, seem even tighter than the thumb on the previous pair. I’m going to try and remedy that in the blocking, but I really think the design could have stood to have 4-5 more stitches of room. Like the first pair, I’m drawn to the geometric design on the palm of the mitten. It’s quite mesmerizing.

I’ve got more wonkiness in my knitting going on with this pair than the previous pair. Maybe it’s just more visible because of the lighter background? But I have several stitches that lean in strange directions and places where the captured floats are quite visible. I keep taking deep breaths and reminding myself to trust in the miracle of blocking.

The second mitten features a jay or a cardinal in outline, and it takes up more of the mitten back. I’ll get it started on it soon.

Tonight was all about getting back to the Kerouac sweater. And messing it up. I did six rows of decreases across the middle of the back, counted, and found out I had one too many stitches. I patiently tinked those rows back, only to find that I’d started with one too many stitches. I’d messed up in the binding off a few weeks ago. I used a crochet hook to bind one more off at the edge. The gauge is small enough that I don’t think it will matter.