Love is in the Air

February is quickly approaching... and you know what that means!  Valentine's Day knitting, of course!!! (or maybe it only means that to me and a select group of my yarny friends). Nevertheless, I have some heart-themed projects to share with you.

First up, some lovely, lacy heart socks knit up 2-at-a-time magic loop with Opal sock yarn.  The free pattern is Love Struck Hearts by Terri Knight, which you can easily download on Ravelry.  The original pattern calls for only 2 hearts down the leg, but I decided to add one more heart to make them a tad longer.  I really love this pattern.. especially with the hearts down both the back and the front.  Here they are modeled by my lovely dd (who only has size 3 1/2 feet, so these women's mediums are just a touch baggy on her).  If you are a member of Ravelry, my Love Struck Socks project page is here.

 

The other project I have to share with you are my Strawberry Sweetheart Mitts.  This is another free pattern called:  Sweetheart Glovelets by The Rainey Sisters.  This particular pattern calls for DK weight yarn, but all I had on hand was some worsted weight Cascade 220 Paints. 

The Cascade Paints yarn knits up at a slightly smaller gauge than a regular worsted (in my experience);  So…. I went down a couple of needle sizes (from a 3 to a 1) to get the right gauge of 6 stitches per inch. This made a very nice, firm fabric (very comfortable) with a my slighter thicker yarn.

I love the Cascade Superwash paints for their subtle color variation (at least in this colorway).. really adds depth to the finished item! The pattern was easy to follow once I figured out the charts (there is even a chart for the thumb gusset) and the finished gloves are really a nice gift!

I hope this gives you some ideas for your own Valentine's Day themed projects :)  Happy Knitting!