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Warm Paws Thrummed Mittens Pattern

Inside the Warm Paws thrummed mittens

Warm Paws is an easy to follow knitting pattern for making thrummed mittens.  What are thrummed mittens?  I’m so glad you asked!

Warm Paws Thrummed Mittens pattern

The term originally comes from weaving, where thrums are the leftover warp on the loom after a project has been cut off.  What to do with all that leftover yarn??

Thrums are traditionally loom waste

For knitters, thrums are tufts of wool knit into your project to create a warm, fleecy lining.  Thrums are great for mittens, slippers, hats, and headbands.  At first your mittens (or whatever you choose to make) will be really puffy, but, with use, the air is pressed out of the tufts of wool and you’re left with windproof, insulated mittens.

Inside the Warm Paws thrummed mittens

Materials for Your Thrummed Mittens

To make these mittens, you need about 200 yards of worsted weight wool and about 2 oz of unspun wool.

Materials for knitting thrums

Combed top is the easiest to work with — that’s the really smooth fiber preparation that is often sold in beautiful multicolored braids.

Hand painted combed top for making thrums

Roving will work too, if you want to use what you have around the house.  Because the fiber prep for roving is intentionally disorganized (for making woolen-spun yarn), it can be a bit more challenging to control, but I have done it and it’s not so hard that it’s not worth trying.

Wool roving can be used to make thrums

I also know someone who used a two-ply bulky yarn and cut it into short lengths to use for thrums.  She still wears those mittens, so it must have worked!

The pattern calls for US 6 and US 8 needles, but your mileage may vary depending on whether you’re a tight knitter or a loose knitter or winging it with something other than worsted weight yarn.

Heard enough?  You can buy the Warm Paws Thrummed Mittens pattern for $5 through Ravelry.

button to buy now

Warm Paws Thrummed Mittens in progress

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Trecolori Shawl

Photo detail of Trecolori Shawl by Carol Ullmann

The grey is here to stay for a few months, but we can combat the blahs with comfort and color.

Photo detail of Trecolori Shawl by Carol UllmannDesigned for Happy Fuzzy Yarn‘s Corrie Sock fingering weight yarn, the Trecolori Shawl is an easy-to-knit textural asymmetrical shawl with a deep border of arrowhead lace.  Knit in three colors, Trecolori uses the Fibonacci sequence to make a fun striping pattern.

Photo of Trecolori Shawl by Carol UllmannYou can blend your stripes a little if you use a multicolor yarn with two coordinating semisolids, as I did here.  “Jane” is a multicolor comprised of pink, orange, and green and I combined it with a semisolid “Peony” pink and “Granny Smith” green.

Photo detail of Trecolori Shawl by Carol UllmannHappy Fuzzy Yarn released this design in early summer and it has pattern has sold well at shows and online — in fact, I think the paper pattern is headed for its second printing soon.

Photo of Trecolori Shawl by Carol UllmannI don’t have my own Trecolori shawl to keep and wear.  I can’t decide what colors to make mine with — I like bright colors, but hot pink is definitely not in my wheelhouse.  I’ve always loved the “Enchanted” colorway so maybe I will start there.  Or perhaps “Cherry Float”?  No, “Moss on Stone.”

Help! What colors would you choose?

Trecolori is available for purchase on the Happy Fuzzy Yarn website or on Ravelry.

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Spring Valley Shawl

photo of the Spring Valley Shawl by Carol Ullmann

One of the things that I bought yarn for at the recent Fiber Expo was 3 skeins of Happy Fuzzy Yarn DK Merino to make my own Spring Valley Shawl. Finally.

Picture of yarn from Happy Fuzzy Yarn
DK Merino, just waiting it’s turn.
Photo of Spring Valley Shawl by Carol Ullmann
I did the pattern photography with my friend’s daughter modeling.

I love this pattern!  Riin picked the colors and I designed this striped asymmetrical shawl with a deep edging of beehive lace and a simple crochet edge to highlight the new DK Merino yarn base offered by Happy Fuzzy Yarn.

Some patterns fight back in the design process and require a lot of ripping back, swatching, swearing, and finger-crossing.  This one was smooth, joyful, easy, and sprang pretty much full-formed without fuss.

photo of the Spring Valley Shawl by Carol Ullmann
Pattern sample done blocking and I am so sad to see it go!

If you are the kind of person who loves a big cuddly shawl or scarf, Spring Valley will make you happy too.  Happy to knit, happy to wear.

Available to purchase on the Happy Fuzzy Yarn website or on Ravelry.

I can’t wait to see what other people do with this pattern — other color combinations, perhaps other weights of yarns.  If you are a clever sort of knitter, it would be no big deal to knit this in any weight of yarn so long as you set yourself up with the correct stitch multiple for the lace.

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Stripe it like there’s no tomorrow

You can’t knit just two!

In my experience, creation falls into two categories: quick and slow.  Whether one is writing a story or building a piece of furniture, some things come together in a flash of frenzied inspiration, while others must cook for a long, long time.  This sock pattern falls into the latter category.  I have noodled out and knit up versions of it since December 2008 when it made it’s debut as a multicolor striped slipper sock for my brother’s girlfriend.

The organizing principle: what tiny balls of leftover yarn are in the bottom of my Wool-Ease basket?

Although I love the funky multicolor stripey-ness, this early sock needed to be knit at a tighter gauge to be more durable.

First I had a detour into some Harry Potter themed House Socks, which gave me the name, but were still too loose.

Slytherin or Gryffindor?

 

A few years later, I got around to reworking the numbers and quickly had these!

This combo of green and blue makes my eyes happy.

 

Before giving them over to the whole wide world, I had some friends test it out.  Thank you, friends!

Alison Denomme

 

Allison Phelps

 

Casey Braun — her first socks ever!  Wow!

 

Melissa White

 

Heidi Lemon

 

Abbey Buckley

More views and more socks are available on the pattern’s Ravelry page!  It is with great pleasure that I give you House Socks!  Enjoy! Please be in touch if you have any questions.  Via Ravelry is best way to contact me.

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From my needles to yours

Mistake Rib Cowl

This mistake rib cowl was my comfort project of the winter of 2010-11.  I made the first one with some precious bulky weight handspun merino from my friend Jenny, which she and I later dyed a deep deep emerald green.

Mistake Rib Cowl

Mmmmmm…  I love this color, love this cowl.

I loved it so much I couldn’t stop there.  This one is made with Lamb’s Pride Bulky in “Oatmeal.”  Lamb’s Pride was my first yarn-crush back when I was a noob (is this becoming a belated yarnie Valentine post?). I remember when Lamb’s Pride was really popular and easy to find.  I miss those days.

Then I foisted my cowl pattern on my friends and family.  Dennay made it in Lanaloft Bulky “Autumn Run”:

My mom made it with Lion Brand Homespun in a colorway known only to the stash-gods:

And now it is your turn!  You can find the free pattern on my website here.  The Ravelry project page is here.

Enjoy and stay warm.