Eagle Pine Mittens

The Eagle Pine Mittens are fun to knit and wear. Knit with worsted weight yarn, these mittens work up quickly and will keep your hands cozy all winter. 

The pattern comes in sizes suitable for a woman, man, or child. Make them in a trio of brights on a neutral background, or with two contrasting colors. 

The slip-stitch pattern is easy. You'll never knit with more than one color at a time. These mittens are knit in the round, with your choice of double pointed needles or circulars. The stitch pattern is both charted and written. 

This pattern is available for $3.99 as a pdf download via Ravelry.*

You may also purchase a copy through Knit Picks.
The Eagle Pine Hat pattern is sold separately.

to fit hand circumference: 6-7 (7-8, 8-9)"/15-18 (18-20.5, 20.5-23)cm

finished sizes: Hand circumference, 7¼ (8, 8 ¾ )"/18.5 (20.5, 22)cm. Length, 9¼ (10¼, 11)"/23.5 (26, 28)cm.

needles: US 5/3.75mm and US 7/4.5mm. Use set of dpns or 1 or 2 circulars depending on method you prefer for knitting in the round. Directions do not specify needle type. Change needle size if necessary to get gauge.

yarn: For multi-color mittens, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, 1 (1, 2) skein(s) Bramble Heather (MC), 1 (1, 1) skein each of Avocado (CC1), Calypso Heather (CC2), and Rouge (CC3). For bi-color mittens, Knit Picks Swish Worsted, 1 (1, 2) skein(s) Squirrel Heather (MC), and 1 (1, 1) skein Delft Heather (CC).

approximate yds/m: MC (either mitten option), 100 (110, 121)yds/92 (101, 111)m. CC1, CC2, and CC3, 21 (24, 25)yds/20 (22, 23)m. CC (bi-color mittens), 63 (72, 75)yds/58 (66, 69)m.

other: tapestry needle, stitch markers, scrap yarn

gauge over 4"/10cm: 20sts/32rws in slip-stitch pattern, and 20sts/28rws in stockinette

stitches, skills: rib, casting on, k2tog, ssk, Kitchner stitch, knitting in the round, picking up stitches, stockinette, working with multiple colors

* The buy now button will take you to PayPal. After entering your payment information, you'll receive an e-mail with a download link, or if you're a ravelry.com member, the pattern will be placed in your library.

Eagle Pine Hat

The Eagle Pine Hat is a classic beanie with a laid-back vibe. Knit with worsted weight yarn, you’ll have it off your needles and warming up your head before you know it.

The pattern comes in sizes suitable for a woman, man or child. Make it in a trio of brights on a neutral background, or keep it basic with two contrasting colors.

The slip-stitch pattern is easy. You’ll never knit with more than one color at a time. This hat is knit in the round, with your choice of double pointed needles or circulars. The stitch pattern is both charted and written.

This pattern is available for $3.99 as a pdf download via Ravelry.*

You may also purchase a copy through Knit Picks.
The Eagle Pine Mittens pattern is sold separately.

to fit head circumference: 18-19, (20-21, 22-23)"/45.5-48.5 (51-53.5, 56-58.5)cm

finished sizes: Brim, 15¼ (17¼, 18¾ )"/40 (44, 47.5)cm. Body, 18½ (20, 21½)"/47 (51, 54.5)cm. Length, 8¼ (9, 9¼)"/20.5 (22.5, 23.5)cm

needles: US 5/3.75mm and US 7/4.5mm. Use set of dpns or 1 or 2 circulars depending on method you prefer for knitting in the round. Directions do not specify needle type. Change needle size if necessary to get gauge.

yarn: For multi-color hat, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, all sizes, 1 skein each of Bramble Heather (MC), Avocado (CC1), Calypso Heather (CC2), and Rouge (CC3). 
For bi-color hat, Knit Picks Swish Worsted, all sizes, 1 skein each of Squirrel Heather (MC), and Delft Heather (CC).

approximate yds/m: MC (either hat options), 86 (93, 109)yds/79 (86, 100)m. CC1, 23 (25, 26)yds/22 (23, 24)m. CC2 and CC3, 16 (18, 19)yds/15 (17, 18)m. CC (bi-color hat), 55 (61, 64)yds/51 (56, 59)m.

other: tapestry needle, stitch markers

gauge over 4"/10cm: 20sts/32rws in slip-stitch pattern, and 20sts/28rws in stockinette

stitches, skills: rib, casting on, increasing, k2tog, knitting in the round, stockinette, working with multiple colors

 * The buy now button will take you to PayPal. After entering your payment information, you'll receive an e-mail with a download link. If you're a ravelry.com member, the pattern will be placed in your library.

Pictures of the day

I'm trying to take a photo every day or so. I'll post some of them. I like these two. One of them is not even a cat! It's Don's Christmas sweater out on the town.

I want to write a pattern for the sweater, but I might change some details and maybe make a women's version. I used Barbara Walker's simultaneous set-in sleeve technique, and I have mixed reactions to it.

I tried the black and white setting on my camera. I couldn't get Ziggy to look up or to stay still...

The Highs and Lows of Photography

I want to take better pictures.

Ziggy, 1995

Ziggy, 1996

A cat, 1976

Most of the photos on this site and in my knitting patterns were taken by me.  Since I now use a digital camera and trash my failures, I had to search the archives for the best examples of my worst shots.  I get better results than I used to but still struggle to take good photographs.

When I searched online for help, I found Steve Johnson's Minimalist Photography 101.  The site and Johnson's ebook, Low Cost High Impact Photography, contain useful information for photographers who want to take great pictures using relatively inexpensive cameras.

Johnson writes, "An expensive camera and an in depth knowledge of photography is not required to take good photographs. "

The first part of this point is well illustrated by the photographs on his site and in his book. He took this photo with a Canon A3100 IS, a compact camera.

Woman on bridge in the snow, by Steve Johnson

Many of Johnson's photographs are black and white. He writes that shooting in black and white "is a very fast way to get a good appreciation for the importance of tone and it will feed back into your photography very quickly."

A new ebook

I found both Johnson's site and book inspirational. I have a dSLR, which I love, but there are times when I prefer my compact. I wasn't very far into Johnson's book when I had to admit I've been making a mistake leaving my compact on auto.

For the last few days I've been experimenting with different settings and finding a new appreciation for my old Canon PowerShot. It's quite fun to, as Johnson puts it, treat a camera as a sketchbook.

Even after reading this practical book, I'm lost when it comes to the technical aspects of cameras and photography. Fortunately, the book includes tips and techniques that one can put into immediate use while still mulling about f-stops, ISO speed, and depth of field.

I like to learn by reading, practicing, and then reading a little more. I'll be revisiting Low Cost High Impact Photography in between taking pictures. In the meantime, I'm keeping this encouraging advice from Johnson in mind:

Photography is never as complicated as it sounds on paper or screen; always treat this sort of writing as jumping off points for your own ideas and experiments. If something doesn't make sense don't worry about it, it may tomorrow or in six months' time.

Take lots and lots of pictures and treat the camera and photography as a learning process. The best photographers are the curious ones who have a reasonably developed eye.

by Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson's photographs and words are used here with his permission. No cats were harmed in the making of this blog post.