Purl Ridges Mittens | A Finish {Knitting}

I think I am a small-knitting-project-kind-of-girl. I love the process of knitting of course - but I get bored so quickly with repeats, no matter how beautiful I know the end result will be. Whereas with small projects you have a chance to finish quickly - which is really rewarding. Using naturally dyed yarn - dyed by myself - make the result even more special of course. 

So these mittens ... well they got knitted up quite quickly considering I am knitting a baby blanket as well as getting on with Christmas projects at the same time. 

I had been wondering for a while whether it was worth buying the pattern - it is quite expensive (well, I think) for a basic mittens pattern. I bought it because I did not have the brain power to work it out by myself - but I think you can - but really wanted this pattern. 

However I think it is worth it in the end - because you do get a basic pattern that would work for any mittens (there are a few stripey versions made with this pattern). The knitting of the thumbs is really interesting compared to other mittens patterns I tried in the past - and really neat actually. Also they fit my hands perfectly -  I have small hands and I usually have issues with size, so that's pretty good. 

I may have to add that I only wear mittens so having a basic pattern in my pattern library is quite essential. 

Pattern: Cozy Purl Ridges Mittens by Jenny Gordy (available here)

Yarn: Hand dyed worsted weight yarn (naturally dyed) - by me. 
I talked about the kit I used here and here.

Needles: as recommended by the pattern
Size: The pattern is in one size

Modifications: None

Result: I love how it shows this pattern, and the yarn of course. 
I do think I need a grey version of those as well. 

If you are looking for handmade presents ideas - I would recommend this pattern. It is easy to adapt to anyone's taste and the technique is simple but makes a neat result. And of course now, my little hands will finally be warm!

I will be linking up this project to KCCO and Ginny. 

Serious about Naturally Dyeing | WIP {Knitting}

This is the second skein that I dyed naturally (and using another kit from SpinCityUK). The result is totally unexpected - in a very pleasant way, of course. I thought it was going to be dark (very dark) - and well no, there are shades of darker green of course, but the overall effect is quite soft and light green. 

In fact I left the dyeing process much longer this time than the last (I posted about the result here), but once I saw the actual colour, I knew exactly what I wanted to make out of it, and I started as soon as the yarn was dry - mittens using this pattern, it is simple but has a bit of texture to it - also it is quite a versatile pattern. And it should be a quick project. 

Compared to the previous kit I bought, the yarn is much thicker - you don't get to choose the yarn in the kit, so that is already a bit of a surprise of course. 

I will naturally dye more yarn (on a one skein scale still), and not use a kit anymore and have a bit more control over the process and elements. The kits were a great start though - and I cannot recommend them enough. 

So just you can see by what I mean by the unexpected, here is a picture of the dyeing jar. You may notice that instead of mixing the dyeing stuff with the yarn, I made some muslin bags filled with the dye stuffs. I am not sure whether this is why the colour is less saturated, but again looking at the jar the outcome was unexpected. 

Where is the green?? Where has the dark colour gone? A bit more work needs to be done - in the meantime I shall get on with some knitting and look forward to new mittens. 

Linking up to Ginny's today.