Lace Lessons Learnt, and future plans.

I finally finished my Porom. I have learnt valuable lessons whilst knitting this hat. When I started the pattern I didn't really comprehend that this is a LACE pattern. It was only after the first few rows, I twigged that I what I really needed was life lines. Once I started using life lines, my knitting got a whole lot easier.

Once I was on the decreases for this hat I realised that I was going to be using the life lines a whole lot more than I wanted to, as the lace pattern got very complicated (well for a beginner like me anyway). After frogging back for the third time I was practically weeping with frustration. Then I had an epiphany. I decided to approach the complicated chart pattern the same way that I had the complicated fair isle pattern, that also had me weeping with frustration. What I did was add stitch markers at the end of each chart repeat. Marking up the repeats meant that if I was interrupted or distracted, which happens to me a lot (I take lots of pain killers), I only had to count back to the start of the repeat rather than the start of the round. Marking up the 20 stitches of the chart meant I could focus on small parts of the pattern, and I could verify I was on track every 20 stitches rather than after 160.

Once I marked up the chart repeats for the decreases, I didn't have to frog once, Woohoo!



See all those lovely decreases?

Now all I need to do it block it. Once it is blocked I will show you another pic as I am trying to motivate myself into getting into the habit of blocking. Posting pictures of before and after blocking will hopefully keep me on the straight and narrow.



I am also hoping that the blocking will tighten up the ribbing. I know this is probably a vain hope, but I am clinging to it. The ribbing feels really loose and I worry that the hat will fly off in high winds. If it stays loose, I shall just have to thread some elastic through!



As well as finishing off my hat, I have started on the gauge square for my KAL Blanket. I have used the Mirror Image block, which is number 16 from 200 Knitting Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans by Jan Eaton.



As you can see, I have already started the blocking process. I really must get round to making up a proper blocking board, because it will make the whole 'pinning the pieces straight' thing a bit easier. Thus far, I can tell you the Elle Elite yarn is lovely to knit with and it certainly shows good stitch definition, as I hoped. This first step will help me get on the way to drawing up the plans for the blanket as a whole. It has also given me confidence to knit more cables, as this was my first go.

As well as planning my blanket, over the next few days, I am going to try and start my first pair of gloves in the yummy angora I bought at the beginning of the month. Clare, who owns my LYS, made lots of gloves as Christmas presents and she said that one thing she hates about hand knit gloves, is the seam on the fingers. I found instructions on the net explaining how to make i-cord fingers for gloves and I intend to use this pattern, as it looks fairly straight forward. I hope this means, as the fingers won't have a seam, the gloves will be even softer - YUM!

Post Christmas Round Up

I am totally over stuffed with Christmas chocolate, cake and ice-cream. I spent most of the Christmas period either eating or knitting and, I am now the size of a small bungalow. It is only because my hands were busy, with wool and sticks, that I did not become the size of a 5 bedroom detached house in the country. Thank you knitting, you have saved me once more!

I had a wonderful Christmas and have received positive feedback regarding most of my knits. I have not received any negative feedback, so I can carry on in blissful ignorance if my knits were loathed with a passion and stuffed down the back of a chest of drawers. I am pretty sure my SILs were very pleased with their knits as I got a text message at the crack of Christmas dawn thanking me for the shawl I made for Emma.....



....... and Juliana kindly wore her purple socks all Boxing Day. I think she was pleased with them because she was dropping very large hints about how I could make bed socks, couldn't I? A little birthday hint methinks... like I'd ever forget her birthday when it's the same day as mine.

This Christmas holiday, my journeying in cars was a lot more bearable than usual, as I decided to knit in the passenger seat. Normally a long drive leaves me feeling tired and in pain, but this time I not only felt tired and in pain, but I had shed loads of knitting to show for the time, which has to be an improvement. Looking at my knitting at least made me smile after getting out the car, which is quite a rare occurrence, even if it was a little feeble.

I have managed to get to the decrease rows on my Porom hat. It is looking so pretty, I really hope I don't ruin it now with all these complicated K3Tog TBLs and SSKs. I have had to undo the first row of decreases twice already, but I blame the Christmas TV for these mistakes. I stopped after the second go and decided to leave the hat until I was home and watching something less interesting. Again I give thanks for the life lines.



The Sumptuous Stripy Scarf is going great guns and I am sure it will be finished in next to no time.



The Fair Isle Bag is pretty much on its final push, with the bag bit all finished and the strap pretty much half done. I'm doing the strap in double moss stitch and it is looking good thus far. I think that this stitch is very similar in appearance to the double crochet bag bottom, which ties the bag nicely together.



As these three projects are getting to the wrapping up stage, I have been thinking about what to cast on next, and I have been very inspired by the new book I got for Christmas, "Knitting Never Felt Better" by Nicky Epstein. I am going to do some serious thinking about which of the oodles of techniques to opt for as there were so many in the book that I KNOW I am going to want to try around 50 different things. I was already bitten with the felting bug, and this book has completely ramped up my addiction levels. Felting is amazing and magical and I can't wait to get started. If you have ever been tempted to try felting but thought it was only useful for bags, this bag is chock full of serious inspiration. The other book I got was "The Vogue Ultimate Knitting Book" which I have only had time to flick through but it also looks fantastically useful and inspiring.

On the Christmas present front, I finally got the knitting needle case from my brother and SIL which I chose at the Harrogate show. It is made by Lantern Moon and is sooooo beautiful. I just sit on the sofa with it beside me whilst I knit, and stroke it periodically. I love this case so much as it is an item of beauty that also has a valuable function.



One important lesson I relearned this Christmas is that my Mum is allergic to wool. I had totally forgotten that she is allergic to lanolin, and where does lanolin come from...? Yes, that's right from WOOL!!! I can't believe I was this dumb. I am so grateful I decided not to make her the felted slippers I thought about. Phew.... lack of time saved me. I must now go on a hunt for some pretty yarn that my Mum can wear, so she can receive a knitted item in the future. Any suggestions?

Felting Fun

Now I have handed over my Christmas knits, I am wandering back to my unfinished projects. I decided to felt some bits and bobs. I had a mixed success rate, but the important projects felted well.

The slippers were my favourite result. I was amazed that my ridiculous giant slippers actually felted down to the required size. They are a perfect fit and only took two goes in the washing machine to get to the required size. After moulding them on my feet and stuffed them with a combination of packing foam and paper towels and stuck them on the radiator. They are now keeping my feet toasty warm whilst being as light as a feather. I am looking forward to modelling them over the Christmas break at the in-laws. I think because the slippers are crocheted they are quite thick, even though one strand of wool was used. This means they feel a bit sturdier than they might if they were knit. This is something I will try to remember for future reference.



I love the way the colours turned out on these slippers.



The other success was a little free pattern for a glasses case from Plain Jane Creations. This only took one go through the washing machine and then I shaped it using a nasty plastic glasses case. Once it was dry, I cut up a cardboard inner to keep the glasses a little bit safer and voila.....



And with the flap open....



Both the above projects were knitted in Twilley's Freedom Spirit wool and as you can see, it felts beautifully. Thank goodness I have lots more of this fabulous stuff, as felting is has become a serious itch, that I just have to scratch.

On a less cheerful note, the bag I crocheted for my notions, didn't felt, well most of it didn't felt. The sides felted, but the body of the bag didn't. I don't know how it will turn out, but I shall see what happens as it dries. Maybe the mixed textures will look ok and I will just leave the bag as it is. A photo will follow once the bag is dried and the tie sewn on.

I have also started my Porom Hat by Jared Flood. The lovely raspberry Shetland wool is nice to knit with, but so far I have come across three knots in one 25g ball of wool. I was not too impressed, but I shall overlook it as other than the knots, this wool is fab. The knots did give me an excuse to try a technique I read about on the web, called a Felted Join. It actually is very simple and works amazingly well. I can't find where the ends were when I look back at the wool.

I did a long tail cast on as I thought it was time I tried a different cast on method and I had read that this method produced a nice stretchy cast on. My research proved accurate and I do like the resulting cast on edge.



As well as experimenting with my cast on and the felted joins, with this project, I have decided to try using life lines. I have to confess to having to use them already. This concept is a brilliant one, that I will use whenever I do any lace knitting. If you have never used life lines, here is a link to a video about them.



Having regular life lines has meant that I feel much more confident about knitting this lovely hat, and frogging only a couple of rows at a time is much more palatable than frogging the whole hat.



I think this hat is going to look lovely when it is finished, I can't wait.

One more present and then onto the planning....

I thought I had finished making presents, but I forgot that I promised myself to make a present for my brother's cat. Silly I know, but he is part of the family and he always makes me welcome whenever I stay. I made a cat toy a while back for my puss cat and she loves it to bits. (i.e. it drives her crazy). As this toy was such a success and took me no time to make, I decided to do exactly the same toy. I used some left over yarn and here is the result.



And from another angle.



So now I have finished Christmas, I have started to plan my projects for next year. I have several small projects that need doing. The first is the baby blanket I started when I found out that my friend was expecting. That is about half way done and I have until March, so that won't be a problem. I will finish my scarf, which will probably be done by Christmas in the many car journeys I have booked in, and my bag, which will also be done fairly soon.

After that I have the Porom hat by Brooklyn Tweed lined up and I want to do a pair of gloves too. I am sure there will be lots of other little projects that I will get on the needles in the new year too. However, the one big project I have for next year is a KAL (a Knit ALong) project. I am going to make a year in a blanket. Well, that's what the KAL group is called. The idea behind the KAL, is to make a blanket in the space of the year. It doesn't matter what design you do or how big it is, but we are to try to get a 12th of the blanket done each month and post our progress to the group on Ravelry.

I have been getting quite excited about the blanket and have been doing lots of planning. I have bought the book, Blankets and Throws to Knit by Debbie Abrahams and got 200 Knitted Blocks for Blankets, Thows and Afghans by Jan Eaton out of the library. These two books have really helped me to plan out the ideas I have for my blanket and I have all sorts of ideas fermenting in my brain. I have also been thinking about what yarn to use. I studied the yarn at Mary Clare's yesterday and I think I will probably use Elle Elite, which has 50% cotton 50% wool, which should make a nice light fabric and also give good stitch definition. Clare has said she can order the colours I want and I found a pdf of the colours online. I bought a ball of Elle Elite to try knitting with, to get a gauge to design the blanket. All this work on my plan is making me quite excited about starting the project in January. I hope that over the coming year, you will enjoy seeing my progress too.

I'm not sure that I will be posting again until the New Year, so if this is my last post, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for reading my blog, I am amazed every time I receive a comment, as I never thought anyone would read my musings except me, and possibly my mum who always supports my endeavours. Hello mum (waves). So thank you for joining me in 2008 and I will look forward to seeing you in 2009, hopefully with many more new projects.

So have some big Christmas hugs on me.

Lots of love

The Crafty Cripple

xxx

I am feeling sooooo smug!

Yup I you may have guessed it, I have finished ALL my Christmas knitting. Not only that, I have finished all my Christmas SHOPPING. Now all I have to do is wrap it all. This is not a small task. My OH bought a couple of rolls of wrapping paper yesterday, but I'm not sure if that will be enough. I can't face starting to wrap them today, because I spent all yesterday working on my SILs present. I am just about Christmassed out, and think I deserve a little break.

Once again I won't post any pics of the present for my SIL, as she may see it, nor will I discuss my workings on here either, but if you are interested, and you are on Ravelry, the link is here.

I can, however, discuss my Fair Isle Bag. This project is going really well, though it has hit a few bumps on the way. I spent several days over the last week or so trying out different ways to put a base on the bag. It sounded so simple in my head, pick up stitches and stocking stitch the base. But when I got half way through it just didn't look right. So I decided to start in the round and do decreases at the corners at the bag, this also did not look right, so eventually I settled on doing the base in double crochet. I also decided to use the dark teal colour for the base so it contrasted more with the main body of the bag.



The double crochet also feels more sturdy than stocking stitch and I think will be more robust for when it gets chucked on the floor. I tried putting my hand bag swapper inside, and the bag did stretch a little. I think the stretch means I will have to line it somehow. I have decided, to at the very least, knit the top inch or two of the lining in stocking stitch. I picked up the stitches at the top of the bag, from the provisional cast on, and knit one row in the round and then purled a row to make a nice neat fold.



I am going to carry on knitting in the round for at least an inch and then decide if I I am going to knit the whole lining or whether I am going to use fabric. Fabric may be more sturdy, and I picked up some nice cream lining material in a sale the other day. Sewing the lining will probably be quicker, as well as neater and stronger. Whilst I am working on the lining I am also considering the best of way of making a strap. I think I may use the same method as the base so the strap doesn't stretch too much. Do you have thoughts on how to attach the strap? I am thinking it should be reasonably wide and don't know whether to attach it inside the bag, or run it down the side of the bag to join onto the base. I'm sure it will come to me.



All in all, I am very pleased with the way this bag is turning out. Quick to make, it is not, but I have really enjoyed designing my own bag. I am sure it will be finished by next term so I can take it into college as a finished project.

On a different project, last night I worked on my Scrumptious Scarf. It was my reward for finishing everything else off, and working so hard on projects that required much thinking. I love that scarf so much, I think I am going to have a little weep when I don't get to knit it anymore. Though I am looking forward to wearing it, my own piece of luxury.

Emergency Knitting

Phew, my fingers are all cramped up. I have just finished an emergency knit. This is my first, but probably not my last emergency knit. My OH (Other Half) and me were invited to a Wet The Baby's Head get together on Saturday afternoon. We thought we weren't going to be able to make it, because of visitors. These visitors are no longer coming, so, we are hoping to go to the "do" on Saturday after all. As the first baby to be welcomed into the world since I started on the knitting road, I felt I had to take a little something to this get together. As we only found out last night we could go, I had to start this little knitting project this morning. Why do I set myself these impossible challenges, someone tell me please!!!

Luckily I had plenty of Sirdar Snuggly wool in the house because of its excellent balance between value and huggability. I also had it in a nice cream shade - how impressive it that! I knew there was a reason I bought wool nearly every time I leave the house. So I pulled up Ravelry and started looking at the free Booties patterns and couldn't find any that I liked. Then I remembered that there was a pattern for some nice simple booties in one of my few knitting books, The Knitters Bible, by Claire Compton. This my first knitting book and I think I will be using it for many years to come. I opened my book and I was right, there was a little booties pattern, so I knitted it.



Aren't they cute. I think it is the size of the booties that makes me go all squishy inside. Not that the size shows in the photo, but believe me, they are tiny. Oh, and, the white stuff inside the booties, that is toy stuffing that I used for shaping purposes, not some fancy furry lining.




I apologise for the lighting in the photos, but I wanted to take the snaps before we went out tomorrow and I lost get the chance to record them for posterity. For an accurate colour, this photo of the yarn is better.



I hope the recipients like their booties, if they don't, I won't mind, because I enjoyed making them, even if my fingers don't like me very much at the moment.

Speaking of my yarn buying compulsion, here are the pictures of the Noro I bought yesterday, as promised.



This one makes me think of sweets!



I am going to try and blend the new colours in as smoothly as possible, but if I have to rip the whole scarf out and knit it again, I honestly don't think I would mind. I think I could knit this scarf forever. Evidence would suggest that I am not alone in this fond wish. See what my search on Google threw up.



But my lovely Scrumptious Scarf will have to wait, as I have one final Christmas gift to knit for my future SIL (Sister in Law), the lovely Emma. Not content with a scarf, I have to make her a triangular shawl. Now all I need to do it work out how many decreases and where, this is not as simple as I first thought. Now where did I put my calculator........wanders off counting on her fingers.......

Finally Finishing

Oh I was feeling so virtuous last night. I have been really good, and finished some projects off. The first one was my last Christmas Scarf. Once more I will not show this in my blog, because there is a very remote chance that the recipient may see it before Christmas, and that is just plain wrong! I have had this scarf on my needles for well over a month, so it was good to finally clear it down.

On top of this completion, of the Christmas trilogy of scarves, was a very small project that took me a few hours. In a previous posting I mentioned using a French Knitter. Well this French Knitter had a needle and instructions with it, and once it came out of its box there was no way it was going back in again. I wondered what to do with my little kit and decided the best thing I could do was to make a very small bag in which to place said items. I had around half a ball of wool left and picked up a needle and started crocheting. After shaping the little bag to hold the French Knitter I placed it inside and thought "t'daaaa" until the pins started poking through the base of the bag. So in a fit of ingenuity I cast on again and made a nice circle in the same wool and made it slightly smaller than the base of the bag. I then sewed the new circle onto the base of the bag with some stuffing in between. This not only stopped the pins poking through the bottom of the bag, but weighted it, so it now stands upright!



I used one of the glass beads I got from the Harrogate Show, when I took out my magazine subscription, as a button. So basically the bag was free and I think it looks mighty pretty. Not bad for a few hours work huh? I am very pleased with the way the bead goes with the wool, I think it looks like a giant ruby. Oh if only it were, then all my yarn problems would be solved.



See how it all fits so snugly inside the bag. This bag totally fits it's purpose.



I love the wool I used, Twilley's Freedom Spirit and because it is 100% Pure Wool, it felts beautifully. I used this wool but in a different colourway for my ridiculous slippers and my Frankenstein Bag. In fact, I love this wool so much that I bought some more, yesterday, in a different colourway. It is brilliant to have around because it adds such character to whatever you are making. Plus it is quite reasonably priced. This new colour is quite yummy. I only bought a small amount, but it is probably enough for a bag or similar size accessory.



I'm sure it will get used up very quickly.

I took my yummy Noro Scarf out to my Knitting Group today. When I got there I noticed that I was chomping through the wool at a rate of knots, and probably didn't have enough. What a shame, I have had to get some more. Unfortunately Mary Clare's didn't have any more of the colourways I already picked so I have been FORCED to buy two different colourways. I will take photos tomorrow in the daylight so you can see how they will all flow together. The ladies at the Knitting Group were cooing over the colours almost as much as I was.

So there you go, I have had a net reduction of projects. However, I have had a net increase in the amount of wool I possess. Ah well, I tried.

Ridiculous Slippers & Presents in the Post

I have finally finished my ridiculously large slippers. What do you think?



The pen is to show scale. But can you imagine what they look like on my feet....



Yup, pretty silly. I really, really hope that these shrink enough, because the yarn really seems to suit the pattern, and I think the different colours blending together through felting will give real interest on such a basic shape as these.

I seem to have got into a bit of a crochet habit, what with the slippers and also my notions bag. I decided that as I only had around 2/3rds of a ball left of the yarn I used to crochet my notions bag I would make a cord, either to use as a handle or to use to wrap around the bag instead of buttons, I still have not decided which. Instead of doing an I-Cord, or a crocheted cord, I dug out my little impulse buy from a few weeks ago.



It is a French knitting dolly. I used these when I was a child, at a friend's house. I haven't used one since and I saw it a couple of weeks ago and bought it on impulse, for pure nostalgia's sake. It was tricky to start with, but once I got going I think it is much quicker than an I-Cord, plus its just a little bit different. Let's face it, different is quite often fun.

I had a bit of a tidy up last night. When I was ill over the weekend I ended up getting all teary because I couldn't find something that I wanted. You know how it is when you feel so weak and wobbly and only one thing will do to cheer you up, and when you can't find it you feel even worse than before you started looking? You don't know? Well I do! I promised myself when I got better I would sort out the chaos that surrounds my sofa. So last night I was feeling a bit brighter and decided that I would make space in my "ongoing projects box" for all my ongoing projects. So I emptied out the box, oh and found the thing I was looking for, and took a good hard look at my stuff. I decided that I was going to be ruthless and cast aside the things I knew I didn't want to finish, to make room for all the things I did want to finish.

Last night I finally frogged my hideous Fair Isle Tank Top. It was such a relief to finally acknowledge that there was no way in hell I was ever going to finish it. I put the yarn in with the Fair Isle bag I am still working on, and whatever is left over will probably be used for a project I am starting in January. I will tell you more about that project in a future blog. The next thing I frogged was the plarn bag I started months ago. It really hurt my hands knitting this and I have come to the conclusion that I used needles that were too small. I will try knitting with plarn again in the future, but at the moment I have too many other projects ongoing to go back to this one.

So now I can finally see the floor around the sofa again and all is right with the world. Oh and the thing I was looking for, it was this...



I made it months ago and I finally got a pin to attach it something with. So at last I can add this pretty flower to my coat lapel as was intended at it's conception.

Now this would normally be the end of my ramblings, but I have got to tell you about my presents before I go. I got two things in the post today, that were knitting related and designed to make me smile. The first was a box, in which was lots of little gifts, as well as my kitty, from craftybunny, from Ravelry's group Knitted Kitty Swap. I love this group! I sent off my Pumpkin Puss today as my part of the exchange and I received the truly cuddly CookieCat.



Not only did I get this box of goodies, but my yarn from Jamieson's finally turned up. I purchased this at the Harrogate show and I have been waiting for it with baited breath ever since. Isn't it yummy!



Now I can start my Porom Hat. Oh such a toasty warm head I shall have. Yippeee! Phew I think I am giddy from the relief of not being the illest girl in the world any more. I most go have a quick lie down before I pick up my needles again, or I might do myself a mischief.

Trying to make a full wash..

I know that I said I wanted to get more projects finished, but I had a revelation. In order to finish off some of my existing projects, I need to run a washing machine, and I am NOT doing that unless I have more than 1 item to felt. So in order to finish off other projects, I must do more... can you follow my twisted logic? (or do I mean excuses?)

I decided that I needed a notions bag. I got one in my Kitty Swap last month, but it is not quite large enough for all my junk. I decided to make a larger bag using the nice variegated aran weight yarn I bought at the Harrogate Show. I double crocheted the main body of the bag in the blue/purple colour of which I had three balls. I then crocheted two side panels in the dark blue/purple colour and crocheted them on to the bag. This gave the bag a little depth.



A flap folds over the bag, like a clutch purse. Along the edge of the flap I used the same colour as the side panels to do one row of dc, but with four button holes.



I tied plastic strips through the button holes to ensure that they do not close whilst felting. I may also put something inside the bag to prevent that felting together as well. Once it is felted I will add some buttons and then it will be done. The notions bag that I got from the Kitty Swap will fit inside this bag and will hold some of the smaller items, whilst the bigger ones will fit in the large bag outside. I think it will be big enough for all my bits, but you can never tell with felting.

I have also started to crochet some slippers for felting. I got the pattern from this month's Let's Knit, and is called Mulan by Susie Johns. The pattern specifies Knitting4fun Pure Felting Wool but as I already have some Twilley's Spirit, I have decided to try this yarn instead. I had to buy a 6mm crochet hook to carry out the pattern, but that wasn't exactly expensive, so these could be quite cheap slippers when I'm done. The first of my slippers is finished and it is enormous. I am hoping that the size isn't wrong because of the yarn exchange. The pattern does specify that they will be "ridiculously large" so I am sure it will be ok. I have needed new slippers for ages, so I was really pleased to see this pattern in the magazine, especially as they are crocheted, which is much faster than knitting. When I have finished both slippers I will show you how ridiculously large they really are!

After I had justified to myself the amount of additional projects I could get away with, I did some more logic twisting to justify starting my Noro Striped Scarf. I couldn't wait any longer, so I started my twisting thusly. I went round to our friends' house last night for a curry. I decided I would take some knitting but all the projects, I was currently involved with, were at a fiddly stage or required some measure of concentration. I also didn't want to take the baby blanket for fear of making it smell of curry. Do you like my logic?? So I decided to take the nice simple Noro Scarf with me, and oh!... it is wonderful. I cast on 48 stitches on 4.5mm needles and knit 1x1 rib in stripes two rows wide in each colour, alternating. I am loving working this project just as much as I hoped. The way the colours unwind from the balls and knit onto the needles is seemingly miraculous. Each row knit is a surprise and delight as the colours blend and change. The softness and sheen of this yarn is sumptious and tactile, and gets progressively more so, the more it is handled. This yarn is worth every penny, and I am going to be hard pushed not to buy tonnes of this stuff every time I see it. I really am a sucker for expensive yarns.



Speaking of which, I was weak at Mary Clare again. I only intended to buy a crochet hook, the 6mm one I needed for the slippers. But Clare was knitting some amazing angora mittens in this pretty soft grey yarn and she told me that a ball was only £3.25 and I weakened. I do need some gloves and this stuff is divine. Its a Louisa Harding yarn again. I really do love her fabulous colours and textures.



I shall use this to make myself some of the softest gloves imaginable. Someone from my knitting class had made some last week, in angora, and I was practically salivating at how soft and gorgeous they were. To have this temptation compounded by Clare's mittens was too much for me. I bought a couple of balls. I know I am weak.

In addition after my success with knitting Pumpkin Puss, I bought some silky long fibred yarn to make my next kitty. This one I am going to keep because it will be gorgeous.



Can you imagine it?

Finished Gauntlets

I actually have something to show you. I have finished my "Ladies Gauntlets" designed by Anni Howard from Knit Today, December 2008.



The wool was wonderfully soft to knit with, but it was quite sticky and splitty so unravelling mistakes made the wool quite fuzzy. However the colour graduations and softness make the flaws more than excusable. A jumper in this wool would be so cozy, so it is a shame that it costs far too much for my pocket. Until I win the lottery, I will continue to treat myself to odd balls of expensive yarn for small projects like this one.



I bought the buttons from Fenwicks and they cost 25p each. They had some very nice ones, but I drew the line at paying £1.80 per button. These ones are perfectly adequate and they match the wool really well. I secured the buttons with the project yarn but felt that it might not hold too well, because of it's splitty nature. I decided that I would use my felting needle to bind the fibres together and this has stopped the insides of the gauntlets having too much of a hard knot where the buttons attached. This trick seems to have worked. I will probably look up how you are "supposed" to attach buttons before I complete my next project, as I am sure this is not the recommended way.



The fit on these gauntlets is a little loose, especially round the wrist. I think this is because I over-compensated for my tight swatch and forgot that I had used larger needles. I think the more I knit, the looser my stitches get. If I ever knit this project again, which I would do if someone asked me, I would go back to the 4mm needles originally recommended.

So there you go, a finished project. I can't help feeling that it is a shame it isn't one that has been stalled for longer, but at least it's a step in the right direction. I am getting on pretty well with the final Christmas scarf and my Fair Isle bag is only rows away from doing the bottom and inside, and then I will have to decide how to do the handle. So as you can see I will probably have more to update you on soon enough. The trouble is the magazine at my feet open at a very tempting page. It shows some crocheted and felted slippers. I'm sure they wouldn't take me long......