About Me

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United Kingdom
Hi there & welcome to Annie's Place. A place inspired by and named after my late Grandmother Annie. Somewhere I can be creative, and share my love for all things handmade. I like nothing better than sitting with hook & yarn, crafting something home spun & completely unique, or rustling up some yummy baked goodies. I live in a town with a beautiful embankment, situated on the River Great Ouse. You may know me as CosyKitty on Ravelry. Why not stop a while.....?!!

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Winter warmers

Source

Being as it's Shrove Tuesday here in the UK, I think I've found the perfect excuse to indulge in some big fat sweet pancakes don't you? How many of you shall be partaking in this tradition today?  Plain with just a sprinkling of sugar and a squeeze of lemon perhaps? or how about a few scoops of vanilla ice-cream & a drizzle of maple syrup? Whichever way you have them they're sure to be yummy!!


Another thing to fill me with delight today is the completion of a pair of snuggly mittens (or as I like to call them, wrist warmers). I managed to snatch a few minutes here and there this past week, to work on them. It's my very first attempt at making something like this, and I've actually really enjoyed crocheting up something completely new & different, using only one ball of yarn at a time. No colour changes necessary, just easy! 

I plumped for using some Debbie Bliss Eco Baby Organic Cotton, #14019 French Navy. Quite a departure for me as I don't generally work in dark block colours. The pattern suggested using Rowan Baby Alpaca DK, but I couldn't wait to use the new cotton I'd acquired. 

My inspiration came from a book I purchased recently entitled Crochet Workshop by Erika Knight. Visually it's a lovely book, lots of fantastic photographs and easy to follow tutorials. Perfect for a beginner as it covers everything from choosing yarns & hooks, through learning all the different basic stitches. I think it's been put together extremely well. In fact, when I was just starting out on my crocheting journey a couple of years ago, I'd have relished having such a fabulous resource. It's RRP is £16.99, but you can purchase your very own copy for a steal through the Book People here



There is a pattern for fingerless mittens on page 80 that I was immediately taken with, and as it looked like something I could realistically achieve I decided to have a go. I'm still not 100% confident reading stitch diagrams, so I was glad that there was a very detailed set of written instructions to follow as well. I didn't follow the pattern to the letter as I only wanted some short mittens, so I modified it to suit. As you can see from the pics above they're quite long and loose. 

As I worked my way through the pattern I began to realise that there wasn't going to be a lot of stretch in the cotton I was working with, so I improvised a bit by adding a few rows of dc stitches to each side of the mitten to give an extra bit of width, before stitching the side seams. Had I used a lighter yarn, such as the Rowan Alpaca, I'm sure that wouldn't have been necessary.  To finish them off I added 4 little white buttons as an embellishment.


All in all I'm pretty pleased with my little mitts, 
and shall enjoy wearing them with pride......



20 comments:

  1. Lovely wrist warmers! I especially like the little buttons -- such a sweet finishing touch. Your pancakes look absolutely delicious, by the way. When I first woke up this morning I had forgotten it was Shrove Tuesday or I would have whipped up a batch myself. Perhaps "breakfast for dinner" is in order!

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  2. Your wristwarmers are beautiful. Your crocheting is very neat and the buttons just add that special touch.We are having a pancake overload for tea. Starting with stuffed cheesy chicken and broccoli ones and followed by our own choice of sweet ones. Sue.

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  3. Your mitts are terrific, love the color.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  4. I love your fingerless gloves, especially the little buttons! I think the navy blue is gorgeous.

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  5. Sugar and lemon please - pancake not too thick, not too thin! Well done on the wrist warmers - I love the fact they are crocheted - might give it a go x Jane

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  6. yes had pancakes for breakfast, lemon and sugar for me! The wrist warmers look like a nice thing to make, good price for the book too, Heather x

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  7. Oh yes very lovely mitts, you'll need them in this weather - its freezing! The colour is just great and looks really smart with the white buttons. Really neat work too x

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  8. thanks for sharing... your mitts love great. Have a good week x

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  9. Nice fingerless gloves and very yummy pancakes :))

    Lluisa x

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  10. Your mitts are beautiful, nice job! Hope you enjoyed your pancakes. :)

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  11. Beautiful mitts, and those sweet cakes looks so tasty!! xo Heather

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  12. your wrist warmers are really nice!!!
    xxx Ale

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  13. Uj mega giga tolle Handschuhe,
    sehen toll aus und sind wunderschön gehäkelt.

    LG Irene

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  14. I had to look up "Shrove Tuesday", what a brilliant tradition! :-) Since I love pancakes, and I'm Belgian, I highly recommend trying your pancakes the way I love them: with a certain chocolate paste on top of them called "Côte d'Or Noir de Noir" (available in the UK!), you won't regret this... :D
    I love your wrist warmers, and the little white buttons are perfect! Have a lovely week :-) xxxx

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  15. Hi,

    jam jam , das sieht lecker aus.
    Und die Pulswärmer sehen wunderschön aus.

    Ganz liebe Grüsse
    Chris

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  16. Well they may be your first attempt but they look pretty ok to me. Enjoy wearing them during this cold weather.

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  17. Just beautiful and elegant and your pictures are a delight to the eyes :)

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  18. Wonderful mitts! And beautiful post. Thanks for sharing!

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  19. Hi Sharron! I've nominated you for a Liebster Award for newer bloggers. I have posted about it on my blog today with questions for you if you want to participate. I know these things aren't for everyone but I really love your blog and wanted to give you an award. :)

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  20. Is there a recipe for the pancakes? They sound divine! I love the white buttons you added to the arm warmers! So pretty!

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Thank you for visiting me here at Annie's Place, and for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate each and every word x x x

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