How about now?? I think the weather is just about to break and I can pack away all the hats, mittens, scarves, cowls, and gloves.  I think.  Today the high is supposed to be 41F.  Tonight the low 37F.  Tomorrow the high is supposed to be...get this...seventy freakin' six!  That's 76F.  That's nearly a forty degree difference between low and high for the day.  I figure there's going to be some wind in there somewhere but that's ok.  After that,  warmth for days.  Not that I don't love my woolies but when we go out as a family, that's 5 hats, 10 mittens, 5 scarves and boots to schlep.  That schlepping has been going on since October and I could use a break from keeping track of that many bits of outerwear.

Now just because I'm storing away warm snuggies doesn't slow the production of more knitted warm snuggies.  Here are a couple recently finished items.  They hadn't made the blog before this because they had to be delivered as Easter gifts and the deliveree reads this (Hi, DDS!).



Pattern:  Bella Mittens by Marielle Henault  (from Ravelry)
Apparently these are mittens worn by the main non-vampire character in the movie Twilight.  Although, since the subject matter was vampires, the mittens in the movie are gray not magenta and lime.  Not very vampirey colors.
Mods:  Fewer stitches in the wrists and longer thumbs. Same mods I always make for mittens made for my family.  (Really our hands are quite normal looking in person.)
Yarn:  Malabrigo in Melilla about %80 of a skein.
Needles: US 7



Pattern:  Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt from Interweave Favorite Socks
I can see why over 2200 people have made these socks -- fun pattern with lots of stretch.  Due to the stretch, they look much better on feet than off.  Off, they look a bit like a deflated overstretched balloon. 
Mods:  Added ribbed cuff.   Longer toe.  It made the last leaf a bit elongated but I needed the length.  (This is also a common mod I have to make for socks for my family...apparently we have long pointy toes too. *
Yarn:  Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in green
Needles: US 1

And, lo, look at these socks!


These socks I made with my own handspun yarn which gives me an almost blushing sense of pride.  These started out as just a pile of fluff and now they are socks!  Magic!  Really slow magic but magic none-the-less.

From here

   

to here


to socks.  Cool.

Pattern:  Basic toe-up socks.  First time I've done a gusset in a toe-up sock.  Seems an awkward construction to me.  There's a lot of re-jigging to get the heel in the right orientation to the foot.  There's also a lot of ripping back involved to get the sock the right length if you don't start the heel in the right place.  Ask me how I know. 
Yarn:  Mine!!  Super wash BFL from Susan's Spinning Bunny.
Needles:  US 1  (Cuff 56 stitches)

*  Frequently I have to make the same kind of modifications to knitting patterns for my family.  The usuals are:
socks: narrow ankles; longer, pointy toes
mittens:  longer fingers and thumb, narrower wrist
hats:  bigger all the way around
sweaters:  longer arms, shorter bodies

Based on these, one would think we're are truly an odd looking bunch.


<Giggle> 

Actually we're quite normal looking...



most of the time.