WIP Wednesday: Mitten and Sock

Since Christmas, wherever I have been cold weather has followed. From freezing in England to snow, ice, and freezing winds  in the US, I have only just started to warm up.  This has obviously influenced my knitting, which is currently focused on warming up my extremities, such as my hands.  Here is a mitten:

Longwool Mitten

Over in England, when I visited IKnit I bought two balls of Wensleydale Longwool, which is yarn from the same sheep that make the milk that is the main ingredient in one of my favorite cheeses.  I knew the yarn would be too itchy for my feet so I decided to try top-down mittens, making up the design as I go. While the first one came out well, I shall be making a few changes to the next one. The thumb will be moved into the hand a little bit, so that the mitten top is not twisted when worn.

Yesterday, I was feeling unwell so I stayed home and started a sock:

Stripped Toe Down Socks

This is made from stash yarn.  Free stash yarn, as many years ago Knit Picks sent it to me as a gift for being a good customer.  The needles are Kollage Yarns’ Square needles, which claim to be easy on your hands and wrists.

Kollage Needles are Square!

Knitting is going very smoothly,  especially the magic loop cast which worked first time. Since usually it takes me three or four goes to get it right, I shall give the needles credit as their clear points allowed me to pick up stitches easily.

The sock is going to be worked in stockinette as the yarn is too colorful to hold a design.  For the heel, I am using the short row heel from Interlocking Leaves.  Despite having knitted Interlocking Leaves I did not get to knit the heel exactly as instructed.  I had to change the pattern due to my loose gauge. Unfortunately when I got the heel, I could not work out what was meant to happen so, I fudged it.  This time, I have the right number of stitches so I can follow directions. Hopefully, I shall understand what is happening, so that next time I shall be able to modify the heel directions for different gauges and sock sizes. I also need to adjust the leg so that it fits my slender ankles and does not falling down.  Perhaps if I start decreasing directly after the heel?  Hmm.