Detour -- another set of mitts

Addey left a comment that pointed out how fun it is to take a detour into a small, quick project -- while working on a larger one.  I call this a detour and remember, not all detours are a waste of time and fuel.

I'm forever searching for new patterns.  Often they come to me in emails from the various sites I follow.  This pattern came from Red Heart, though the original site for the pattern is not Red Heart.  I'll leave lots of breadcrumbs so you can find it if you like.

Strolling Mitts are from Stitch Nation but I got them via an email from Red Heart.  Check out Stitch Nation cuz they have knitting and crochet patterns; many are free.

Does that hot pink yarn look familiar?  It's the same yarn
as the Hat for TKGA submission.  In the upper left of the pic
you can see the thumb section.  I'v added stitches and then
put the loose stitches onto a piece of darker yarn, so I can
finish the body of the mitt.

Mistake -- again I tried to do both mitts at the same time, using Magic Loop technique.  The mistake this time was that I was trying to use just one ball of yarn.  So for one mitt I was pulling the yarn from the middle of the ball and for the other mitt I was unwrapping yarn from the outside of the ball.  Major tangles, twists, annoyance, etc.  Tooooo much time spent on untangling and untwisting. 

So after a few rows one of the mitts was side-lined to a couple of DPN's.  The second mitt stayed on the long cord US 6 circular needle, which I am using for the Magic Loop method.  I do like the method, just that it seems to work with less chaos if I knit only one thing at a time.

The Mitts are knit around, so there's no seam.  My choices are a) DPN with about 13 stitches on each of 3 needles OR b) the Magic Loop method with 20 stitches as the front 'side' and 20 as the back 'side'.  For me, at least, 20 stitches allows for a bit of 'regular knitting rhythm.'

Here's the one mitt on the long cord and the other mitt being held by the two DPNs.

That's about as far as I got before I had to choose to reduce
the chaos.  On the left you can see the lovely wooden tips
of the long circular needle.   I'm ready to begin the pattern
'side' of the mitt.  The palm side is just plain stockinette.

Addey's right.  I've taken a break from the white shawl.  While lovely and with promise of great beauty, the white shawl work can be both tedious and boring.  Each row is so time-consuming.  Sometimes I just cannot face another row of that and then a row back to begin again.  So I decided to do these mitts.

Hoping your detour choices offer both relaxation and inspiration.  At the very least, a detour gives you a break from whatever routine your knitting -- or your life -- may have created to mire you down.  Lighten the journey with a trip to a new project.