Mitten Bootcamp

The long-anticipated Mitten bootcamp was this evening. I've been looking forward to this all month!

I thought I might be late, but instead, I was the first to arrive, even before Kate, instructor. The shop (this class was at LK) was *so* cold. By the time the class started, I fingers were icy. The space heater was on and I had some hot tea, but it was still chilly enough that I was shaking after two hours of knitting. There were four of us in the class - a mother/daughter pair and...wait for it...Serena, the Big Raffle Winner! LOL!

The class itself was fun. I love knitting classes - it's like 'Knit Night' with a specific goal, plus I learn so much better hands-on with someone showing me the ropes. I just sat there and followed directions and glanced at the pattern when I needed help and a couple hours later, I had a tiny maroon mitt!

I learned some interesting new things.

- You shouldn't wind a skein of yarn until you're ready to knit it up (the yarn can stretch).
- When doing a backwards loop increase, I need to cinch it up *much* tighter which explains the 'holes' in my work that I've noticed when I use this technique. I was just doing it wrong. Kate checked and I'm doing it correctly, I'm just not knitting it tightly enough. And I can always replace the backwards loop with a M1R.
- Kate doesn't recommend Manos and Malabrigo yarns because they're fragile yarns and pill easily.
- Double-stranding worsted weight yarn creates a more insulating mitten.

And finally, mittens are not all that hard to knit! I had all the skills in place already. I'm ready to knit full mittens!

Of course, with mittens, I run into the same problem I had had with the toques - namely, there are only so many mittens one person can wear. But it's a good skill to have.

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