#and several pairs of socks that my best friend's mom commissioned

[the-crafting-gremlin]

I finally just set the mitts aside for the moment. I think I managed to fix at least the worst of the laddering on the test mitt but I'm not positive. I've been thinking about trying the magic loop method to see if that might help but that's something I'll have to test when I'm not at work.

Since I work in what is essentially a call center, I'm able to knit or crochet (or do whatever else I want at my desk that doesn't disturb others or interfere with my ability to do my job) on the clock which is fantastic. (It's the reason I was able to churn out five crocheted blankets in four months for Christmas presents one year. Never doing that again.) It just does also mean I can't work on anything that's going to require too much thought--so, new or complicated patterns or techniques.

I've also been working on a sweater for a co-worker's toddler. This one has finally forced me to learn to read knitting charts because it doesn't have a written version of the pattern. It's slowed me down a bit because I keep having to check the legend but I'm getting better. It's also the first sweater I've ever knitted in the round; I'm used to knitting socks but this feels like a whole different beast. It took me 4 false starts but I think it's finally looking how it's supposed to. The pattern at least is right and I like how it's looking.

What I think is throwing me is that even though the gauge swatch I did matched, the sweater still almost seems too big. The little one it's for is nearly the height of a 3 year old even though she's only a year and a half (I did get measurements from her mom) so the sweater should, according to the pattern, only be a bit big for her. It may just be that I'm so much more used to seeing my cousin's youngest, who's the same age but smaller, so it makes me feel like the sweater is going to be the wrong size.

I guess it doesn't matter that much since it's for a kid. If it's even bigger than I expected she'll just grow into it (the pattern's smallest size is for 3-4 year olds so I know it's going to be a smidge large for her right now which is fine. Kids grow fast).

This sweater is also my first time knitting in the round primarily without dpns. I needed them for the neck and I'll need them for the sleeves, but I switched to my interchangeable needles as soon as the circumference allowed because I knew my dpns weren't going to be long enough after a certain point and I only have one set of 4 mm dpns. It's definitely made a huge difference with my laddering issues.

I think I still prefer dpns overall, but now that I've had a chance to adjust to using my circular needles to actually knit in the round, rather than just taking advantage of the cord length for wide projects, I don't hate using them as much as I thought I would. They always felt a little awkward and almost unwieldy when I used them for blankets. Maybe it's the lighter yarn or the smaller project but I'm pretty okay with them, especially not having to worry about where certain parts of the pattern are landing on the needles.

If the magic loop method ends up working out well for the mitts I may use it to tackle some of the sock patterns I fell in love with ages ago but had trouble with because of loose tension between dpns.