Hot Pink Gloves

I knit my first pair of gloves! The pattern is from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. It is one of my most favorite knitting pattern books, with basic patterns for hats, tams, mittens, gloves, socks, scarves, vests, and sweaters, the latter two which can also be cardigans. The patterns are written in a chart system, so you can match your yarn gauge to your garment size. Altogether, it adds up to probably hundreds of combinations. This book should be in every knitter's library, from newbies to the experienced.

The yarn is Patons Classic Merino Wool in That's Pink. This line has been discontinued and replaced with Patons Classic Wool - no merino. I used about 3/4 of a skein.

The schematics for the woman’s medium fit my hand perfectly. CO K1P1 tubular, 44 sts on #1’s. Worked ribbing on #2’s. Changed to #4 for the rest of the glove at 6 sts/inch.

Followed pattern exactly, except used Linc & Rinc on thumb gusset. Also, when working the K2tog’s to close the fingertips, I used the #1’s so the last round of sts are smaller, making a neater finish when you cinch them.

I followed the helpful tip in picking up more stitches (four instead of one or two) to begin the fingers, then decreasing on the next round.

A Lot of Knitting

February was a good month for knitting, because it was a slow month for working. I made lots of progress on my sock blank, and also completed two small projects - a pair of mittens, using my top-down pattern, and another Lily bath mitt.

 

I finally finished the SWS striped scarf. I alternated two colorways, Navy & Russet, inspired by Jared Flood's Noro Striped Scarf. Though it should've been a bore with endless 1x1 ribbing, the color changes continuously kept me interested. My honey likes it, too, although he has yet to wear it, but I'm not hurt, because I know he doesn't wear scarves. I was more interesting in knitting it than gifting it. Next winter, I'll make one for myself in more feminine colors.



I started an Ernie sweater for my nephew - a striped raglan, knit it pieces, so I can sew it up to perfectly match the stripes. It's based upon the construction of the pattern in Son of Stitch 'n Bitch, only much smaller. It's bigger than he is, though, and hopefully I can give it as a birthday gift, that he can wear when the weather turns cold in the fall.

For March, I will focus on finishing all UFO's before I start anything new, other than another small simple on-the-go-stuff-in-my-purse project. It keeps me sane whenever I'm out and about running errands and have to wait for something or someone.

Rock-n-Roll Wristwarmers

This is my last FO of 2008. My DD asked for fingerless gloves. These are essentially a knitted stockingnette tube with a little ribbing at each end, and a slit for the thumb hole. Doesn't get any easier, and it's the one piece of my knitting that she'll actually wear. Now she's asked for a felted black IPod cozy with a white skull on it. That may be more of a challenge, but I'm always up for a good one.

Christmas Oven Mitts

I crocheted these in double-stranded kitchen cotton for my future Mother-in-Law.

Special Mittens

As I was babysitting one evening, I sat down with my knitting and put in a DVD for my nephew to watch. Naturally, he was more interested in what I was doing.     "You knitting for ME???"     "Sure! What would you like me to knit?"     "I want gloves!"     I cringed at the thought of those tiny fingers. "Wouldn't you like some mittens instead?"     He tilted his head to the side. "What's mittens?"     I had a copy of Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns, so I flipped it open to show him.     "Yes, I want mittens!"     I pulled out 2 different balls of Patons Merino. "Do you want blue or gray?"     "I want both!" Double-stranded and tiny, the mittens flew off the needles. Before I left, I nearly had one finished. The next evening, I finished the other. A week later, after the mittens were washed with lots of fabric softener and blocked, I went to visit again, and gave them to him. He promptly pulled one onto his hand, and I giggled as I watched him struggle with the other one, trying to grasp it with his mittened hand. Just as he was about to throw a fit, I finally stepped him to help. "OOOOH! These are special!" he exclaimed as he studied the mittens on his hand for a minute. I think he liked the way the heathered blue & gray wool mottled in a random pattern. He wiggled his thumbs and smiled. He ran around the home, flopping his hands about, while squealing in delight. Then he pulled them off and threw them around the living room, demanding we play a game of fetch with his new mittens.

Lily Bath Mitt

I've made five of these so far. One for my sister, three for me, and one for my future sister-in-law. I tried to be clever by modifying the pattern to work them in the round, thinking that avoiding seaming would save time. Wrong! Garter stitch circularly on double pointed needles is tedious, compared to working the pattern as-is: flat, all knit stitches, a few decreases, and minor seaming. I can almost knit them without looking. Also, in the process, I learned from Principles of Knitting how to seam garter-stitch properly, which magically looks seamless from both sides!

So far, I worked this half in just under an hour, which means the last half will probably take less. I foresee lots of Christmas gifts along with some handmade herbal soaps. Currently, I've only experimented with melt-and-pour formulas, but in my Michaels Book of Arts and Crafts, there's some recipies for "real" soap, mixed with dangerous lye, natural vegetable fats, and essential oils, that read like a chemistry experiment. Now this is something I definitely can't resist trying!