Like Candy

I have been saving a skein of Lorna's Laces yarn for almost two years now, waiting for something special to come along. It didn't happen until I decided to do a little bit of de-stashing, and I saw the potential for hand warmers/gloves in the skein. I lost my first pair of dashing gloves (left them behind on the T), and so I figured that even though I have a great pair of fingerless gloves in my mermaid gloves, I needed a "fun" pair for this winter, too.

Pattern: Dashing from Knitty
Yarn: Lorna's Laces shepherd worsted multi in watercolor
Needles: size 6 clover dpns

Nothing too exciting, just the pattern as written, with fingers instead of the open cast off that the pattern calls for. With these needles and this yarn, I usually knit 10 rows in pattern, then make the fingers 9 rows of stockinette before I cast off - that seems to be a good height that allows for dexterity while also being long enough to provide warmth, and it looks better than stumpy fingers.

As if it weren't obvious how much I love this pattern (these patterns if you consider fetching), I'm knitting another pair of modified gloves based on dashing for a friend. Seriously can't get enough of this quick and easy fix to a little problem I have called "not being able to finish things."

What do you mean I have to make a second one?

This glove has gone beautifuly, even if it's gone a little bit more slowly than I would have liked. I mean...uh, I have to make a second one? UGH.

I fully believe that a) it will be well worth it and b) these will be a favorite pair of gloves.

I'm excited. Kind of.

Muir

This stole is going to be the death of me. I have such a perfect vision in my head about how lovely it's going to look when it's finished. If I ever finish.

When I saw this pattern in the latest knitty, I knew I had to have it -- and I also knew that I already had the perfect yarn in my stash. I had gotten some knitpicks alpaca cloud a while back, and while I was putting in an order to finish a (different) stole I was making, I decided to get another color to save on shipping costs. I already had every intention of making a lacy scarf, so I figured I'd be saving money by buying the yarn first. I lost the wind in my sails when I couldn't really find a pattern that fit the color, though, and I put it on the shelf and forgot about it a little bit.

It had been sitting patiently in my stash for a year when Muir was published. Even though the original stole is green, because it's inspiration is a forest...well, this shade of purple makes me think of trees, too. Plus, it's heathered and there's some brown in it, right?

Anyway, I cast on in September, during a Penn State game, and I have now ripped the thing out twice. I drove myself crazy when I kept going (for five repeats!) despite my mistakes on the first attempt, until I realized I would never be happy with myself, and then I wouldn't wear the stole, and it would just amount to more wasted yarn in my house. I decided to be more careful on my next attempt. EXTRA-careful. Then somewhere in the first repeat of the second attempt, I had too many stitches! Then not enough stitches! I forged ahead like a woman possessed. I kept thinking that if I knit fast enough, maybe I could fudge it gracefully, but then the alignment of my fudged YOs and K2togs was off by a whole leaf tip. I still thought I could keep going, so I did, for two rows. And then I got a little tipsy on Friday and ripped it out before I could think about what I was doing. I also ordered expensive Christmas cards...so it was a "productive" sort of tipsy.

So this time, my third time, I have used so many lifelines you would not believe it. I have completed my first PERFECT repeat. And I plan on taking my time this time. And it will be perfect. Now there's the obnoxious little straight-A student I was starting to miss!

Cute and Functional -- Just like Jason

Work has sent Jason into the middle of the desert for the past week to do research at the crack of dawn every morning. He keeps commenting on how cold the desert is (and he was surprised, which is cute). While he's outside the RV at five in the morning, before anything has a chance to warm up, he has to type at his laptop in the freezing cold. Last night he told me that he has been wearing his dashing gloves, because the fingerless mitts were perfect for typing and keeping part of his hands warm. One of the guys out there commented on how great the mitts were (he had moded a pair of gardening gloves by cutting the fingers off) - and wanted to know where he got them. "Oh, my girlfriend made these for me."

I have never been more proud of my knitting. Cute and functional.

Well...cuter than a pair of gardening gloves with hacked off fingers, anyway...and at least equally functional.

Pattern: Dashing from Knitty
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Aran Tweed in blue (09)
Needles: size 5 clover dpns

Also, just as a consideration for people like Jason who grew up where it does get cold, you know, unlike the desert - when there aren't any trees, and there isn't much concrete, there is nothing there that will retain heat after the sun goes down. So yes, it gets colder than you might imagine. So make sure you've got your mittens!

Warming the Office, Two hands at a Time

I started wearing my own pair of Fetching mitts around the office last year, and even though I technically only wore them to go out in the cold, they caught the eyes of some co-workers. They bought me some yarn and I agreed to knit them some fetching gloves for the office. I ended up adding finger holes to theirs because my own gloves had started warbling and curling at the finger end, and they both wanted finger holes, despite my inner-protest that casting off without fingers would be way easier.

This year, the building management didn't turn the heat on when it first got cold (and thank goodness because it was 60° yesterday, and hot as hades in here), and so a third co-worker remembered the mitts I'd made. He asked for a pair, and seemed excited to pick out yarn, so once again I agreed to warm another pair of hands at the office.

His mitts were a modified version of dashing (sans-cables. He didn't want frills or anything fancy -- Just a manly rib), and I sadly did not get any photos of anything but the yarn.

Once he told his wife about the plan, she also became excited, and in exchange for a handmade wristlet of hers, I agreed to knit yet another pair of fetchings. I really love this pattern, I do, but to mix things up I modified the pattern a little bit to keep things interesting. I am slowly falling in love with the pink my co-worker chose for her, although I wouldn't wear it on my own skin (it clashes something fierce). I'll be glad to get these done, though. I have holiday knitting to finish!

Pattern: Fetching from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: Size 5 Clover DPNs

Mods: I staggered the cables:

Row 1: C4B, p1, [k4, p1]x2* rep to end of row
Row 2: k4, p1, C4B, p1, k4, p1* rep to end of row
Row 3: [k4, p1]x2, C4B, p1* rep to end of row
knit 4x1 rib for two rows
Row 6: C4B, p1, [k4, p1]x2* rep to end of row
Row 7: 4x1 rib
Row 8: [k4, p1]x2, C4B, p1* rep to end of row
knit 4x1 rib for two rows

Repeat the last 10 rows once
Knit rows 1-3

Then I followed the fetching pattern until I got to the cable for the fingers.

Knit one row in 4x1 rib

To make fingers that line up with the cables (this was the part I found difficult to do with the other two pairs that seemed to work out this time. I don't really know how. Angels, I think. From heaven.) My guess would be that I managed to use about 4-5 stitches for each finger, making sure the cable was somewhat centered, and decreasing or casting on as I needed smaller or bigger finger holes. Oh, and that I paid attention and did a little bit of math...that usually helps, too.

Pasha the Penguin

Pasha the Penguin from knitty.

Pasha was not difficult to knit, but I learned the importance of swatching. Also, because I used very inexpensive acrylic yarn, blocking was not really helpful, but Ironing Pasha out before seaming him up helped a lot - especially in achieving a nice sheen...erm, which was intentional.

He has no feet, as you can see, and he never will. I gave him to my sister and told her that he can slide on his belly, as that's what penguins do. She insists that he needs feet to propel himself, but since the yellow yarn was so difficult to work with - I don't see that happening any time this year.