sophy's knits, notes, etc.

when i first saw a picture of these mitts, i thought the bobbles represented the kodama, you know, those somewhat creepy little rattle-head spirits that wander in and out of the trees in Princess Mononoke? because of that, i just had to make a pair.

yeah. i took this picture while sitting in a meeting at work.

pattern :: Friends of the Forest Mittens by Katrin Silvius. [ravelry]
yarn :: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, Color #45, 1 Skein.
needles :: US 1 (2.25 mm).
start-to-finish :: Dec 3-11, 2009.

modifications :: i did not do the turned picot hem, since i worked most of this on my flights to and from Philadelphia (too finicky to work in semi-darkness). after seeing these mitts, i have to say, the picot hem really makes it prettier. but i adore my k1p1 ribbed mitts!

also, for some reason or other, the pattern didn’t line up after row 15 (i tend to make mistakes when i'm following written instructions and not charts), so using the project’s photo as a guide, i winged it. mostly, i just wanted it to look a bit more like leaves all around. but you can see from the photo below that i made some other nitpicky changes that i won't go into. of course, it wasn't until i had finished one side completely and looked at some other finished versions on ravelry that i realized i had made a pretty big mistake with the pattern.

while adam snores, i jot down some notes as i make my mods.

did you know there is supposed to be a person in the "forest"? i assumed it was a tree and while winging the pattern, intended to make it look more like a pine tree with extra bobbles for tree ornaments (for the holidays, you know). but ultimately, i didn't bother. because i thought the bobble was purely ornamental, i didn't think anything of it when i positioned it under the "tree"-top.

so now, my "friend of the forest" looks rather like a person bowing down -- to show his respects to the tree spirits, perhaps? rather, i like to think it looks like an Evangelion angel unit frolicking in Mononoke's forest. but, that's just me.

you might remember this yarn from a sweater vest i made for my husband last year. i absolutely love Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool and will probably knit many more projects with this in the future.

happy knitting!