Aaaaand...

I'm back!! A month away in which I have done much job searching and reading and getting frustrated at my broken internet and little knitting, I am finally able to return, my Internet provider has finally bestowed upon my village adequate broadband speeds to be able to load Google (yes for a while there it was so slow it took 20 minutes to load Google, insane ja?) I blame the new housing developments in my village, we have 3 new housing area's, 3!! And obviously they hadn't upgraded the exchange enough to manage these. Now, unfortunately, I mean what I said, I haven't done a huge amount of knitting, I have finished 2 projects and am just over half way on another, so without further ado, prepare for the update! The Hurricane Mittens:

Pattern Name: Swirly Hurricane Mitts Yarn Used: Malabrigo Worsted in Ravelry Red and Blue Graphite Needle Size: 4mm and 5mm Circ's in Magic Loop Problems: I had a little trouble when incorporating the thumb when it came to the swirlies, I had to do some quick thinking and guesswork, it worked out fine though! Modifications: I have incorporated a whole thumb and when I get round to it I will make them into flip tops. I have also added a longer cuff. Skills Learnt:To make the smaller size first Score: 6/10 as they aren't quite finished yet. Comments: I did indeed rip out my first mitten on these and reknit it in the smaller size, and I am so glad that I did, they are nice and snug on my hand and when I am not feeling so lazy will hopefully keep my finger tips nice and cozy too. A project I hadn't even started last time I blogged is up next, The Mum slippers:
Pattern Name: French Press Felted Slippers Yarn Used: Cascade 220 in Chocolate Needle Size: 10mm Problems: My washing machine is front loading and I decided that the locking mechanism combined with the lack of control with being able to get the slippers out when I needed to meant I should hand-felt these. These are the first time I have felted and were a challenge but came out fine. Modifications: They don't have any buttons yet because I haven't found any I like. Skills learnt: Felting!! I hand felted them by soaking in boiling water in the sink and then rubbing them against a cooling rack as well as rubbing with my hands and with a potato masher for more accuracy. Then i would dunk them in ice water to get them to shrink a bit. They were still a bit big after fully felting so I then dunked them in boiling water again and put them in the pre-heated tumble drier on hot for bouts of about 15 minutes until they were the right size for my Mum, this meant they were a little late for her birthday but she still loves them. Score: 8/10 Comments: I am rather tempted to make some of these for myself, my Mum loves them and the sock stop which I got from p2tog to make them non-slip is great, and I have plenty of it so I think slippers will be a good present for people! I have one more thing that I am working on, but I haven't had a chance to take any pictures yet, but hopefully I will soon!!