Pattern: KIS Mitts

KeepItSimple Mitts | download | @ravelry |

Way,way back in the beginning of September, I started planning the rest of the year's gift knitting. These were grand plans but I thought I could pull it off. As it turns out, not so much. Part of the plan was a pair of lace wristlets for my mom and she only requested them in time for last Christmas. Up until a few weeks ago, I was under the delusion that Christmas was still far off. There was stil plenty of time for knitting and finishing a pair of lace weight wristlets. All the holiday music at the mall set me straight. Those wristlets? Totally not going to happen. Again.

Enter Plan B. Around this time I was listening to the 150th episode of the Knit Picks podcast and the end of the episode really struck home. In a nutshell, it said: Christmas with all of its crazy knitting deadlines is not the time to prove that you know how to knit. Stick with something simple that you know the recipient will like. The gift doesn't have to be complicated and it'll be loved just as much as something more complex.

I ran with the idea and sketched up a simple color work pattern. I cast on for a pair of fingerless mitts soon after. The first pair, grey and orange, turned out big enough to fit me. The second pair, grey and gold, should fit my mom. On US 7 needles, they both knitted up quickly and didn't take too much yarn. My mom's 7" pair only took a little over 100 yds for the main color and only 12 for the contrast. 

In the end, Mom gets a Christmas present, the knitting list is a little shorter, and there's a new pattern to knit. Sounds like a good start to Thanksgiving to me. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!