chevalier

I've had these mittens in queue for awhile. I had to focus on Christmas knitting before getting back to me. I wanted a pair of mittens, but not plain mittens, something with a little kick. I found the pattern for the Chavalier mittens on Ravelry. I loved the texture and detail of the cables.

At first the pattern gave me a little trouble because I had to follow a chart closely, however once I figured out where the cables were going it became easier. I also learned that when I need to increase a stitch, I do it much better by knitting into the stitch one row below as opposed to doing a tight yarnover, as I still got a small hole.

I love wearing these, the wool is incredibly soft and the fit is spectacular. My only issue is an error I made in crossing a set of cables where I accidentally pulled the purled stitches over the knit ones and didn't notice until much later. It really isn't noticeable to the untrained eye, but irritates me none the less.

I need to talk about this yarn. I bought it while visiting family in Michigan. It's from a historic farm which incorporated fiber mill called Stonehedge Fiber Mill. The yarn is Shepherd's Wool and is spun from incredibly soft merino top. It was a dream to work with and knit up beautifully. I love it so much that I may need to make a sweater from it.