Knotty Gloves

Another Finished Object!

Knotty Glove

Last night, I picked up my Knotty gloves and finished them.  The last of the pair (and the first started -- see this post) had been waiting patiently other higher priority projects to be finished.  I just had to add two fingers and a thumb, plus weave in all the ends.

Yarn:  Socks that Rock, Lightweight, in Spinel.  I ordered one hank, and have some left, so it took less than one hank.  Love the yarn; love the color.  Might need to find some scarf yarn that echoes the teal color.

Needles:   2.5mm double pointed harmony needles from Knitpicks.  These were sock needles.  I know they sell shorter needles that might be more appropriate for fingers of a glove, but short needles hurt my hands.  The longer ones are fine, and I like double pointed needles.

Pattern:  Knotty Gloves by Julie Mueller.  This is a free downloadable pattern.  It is easy to follow; nice pattern.  I really like the cabling work on the back of the hand.  The only change I made is that I knit the cuff about half the length the pattern calls for.  If you are knitting them, keep that in mind when you consider yarn usage.  I imagine one hank would still have done it, but I'm not sure.

Skills that are helpful to know for this pattern:  Cabling, and if you can do it without a needle, the knitting will go faster.  Here's a link that helped me when I first learned to do this -- excellent skill to master.

I wonder if I should have gone down a needle size; I seem to be learning that I knit at a looser gauge that what yarn and patterns normally call for, and of course, I didn't knit a swatch.  They are OK in fit, but might have been better a little smaller.

Knitting gloves is great.  You just try them on and knit the fingers to a custom length.  That's really cool.

My only bummer about these gloves was that as I was finishing the weaving of ends, I noticed what looked like a moth hole in the cuff.  Now I"m worried I have moths!

I would also like to know if there is a way to knot gloves without getting holes between the fingers.  I go back when I'm finished and sew them together, but why are they there in the first place?

Knotty Gloves

As I finished the Seasons Shawl, I had a yen to knit gloves. I found a pattern of Ravelry called Knotty Gloves by Julia Mueller -- free pattern for some very attractive gloves. She knit the pair in the pattern using Socks that Rock yarn in a color called Grawk.

I like Socks that Rock yarn, so I opened up the computer and went searching on their website for yarn colors that appealed to me. Have you ever done that? Do you know how long you can look at pictures of yarn on the Socks that Rock website?

Hours later, I placed an order for one hank of Spinel and one of Corbie. Spinel is a shaded solid color -- one color, dark into light and back again. Corbie is part of the Raven clan group of yarn -- black yarn overdyed with other colors (Grawk is also one of those). I used the Spinel to work on the gloves.

I started them on the way to Kansas City as a traveling project. One the flight to the city and then while in town, I finished the hand and one finger of one glove. Knowing that knitting gloves requires snipping the yarn and starting another finger, I put the first glove aside and started on the second one for the flight back -- no scissors required.

So far, the second glove is finished and I have two fingers and a thumb to finish for the first glove. A very strange way to knit gloves!

Image: Glove on the base of the John Wesley statue at WV Wesleyan College (although you can't tell).

Hints and FO

I was reading Knitting with Laura today and found a very nice list of "glove hints" that any knitting gloves might enjoy. Turning the fingers into the glove so that they don't get into the way while you are knitting the others -- why didn't I think of that???

I finished knitting a (project named removed to protect the gift recipient) today for (name removed). Have you ever knit something so ugly that you don't want to ever see it again? Hopefully, felting will help, and I'll post pre- and post- pictures after Christmas.

Second pair of gloves --- done!

My second pair of gloves are finished. These are a Christmas gift. I was VERY TIRED of them, and had threatened to throw them away if I didn't finish them soon. These are garter cuff gloves (as done previously) in a black and green Plymouth DK yarn. GLAD THEY ARE DONE.

Sock and Mitten Tree

These are the mittens that I did for the Sock and Mitten Tree at church. Purple ones done in the "pumpkin" pattern without the leaves, and the pineapple mittens (done with the leaves). For the second pineapple mitten, I switched from knit three together to another double decrease, Slip 1, knit two together, pass slipped stitch over -- as suggested in a comment to my previous post. It was SO MUCH easier, and while I realize that this is a different kind of decrease, I really couldn't tell by looking at the mittens that I had made the change. It saved this pair -- I was dreading the second mitten with all those K3T -- they actually made my hand hurt.

Knit Unto Others Mittens

Each Christmas at our church one of the younger Sundays school classes sponors a sock and mitten tree. Socks and -- you guessed it -- mittens get hung on the tree to be donated to the local food and clothing pantry. I bought some of those "one size stretches to fit all" gloves at Target to hang on the tree, but decided to knit some mittens. On the left is a pineapple mitten -- very hard to knit. Not a difficult pattern, but physically hard to do -- every fourth row was full of Knit three together. I've finished one mitten. The mitten on the left is actually a rich eggplant purple, not blue. It is the "pumpkin pattern" on the same pattern sheet with no leaves, so tha it really just looks like a mitten with a rolled cuff. I finished the first one today (except for the strings which need woven in). It was a much faster knit. 

Second set of Gloves

Here is a photo of the second pair of gloves in progress. I'm working on two at once to avoid "second glove syndrome." I'm up to the fingers. When I finished the thumb on the second glove, I realized that I had made two left hand gloves. Luckily, the pattern is the same all around, so I just knit 3/4 of a round and converted the second glove to a right hand glove -- I hope.

More Gloves and a Walk

I've started on another pair of gloves -- this one is a Christmas present. I'm using the same pattern as the pair I just finished. The yarn is DK weight Plymouth Encore in a green and black combo. I've picture it earlier here. It's really hard to see in the photo -- the color, I mean -- but I'll try to get a photo of the gloves taken in daylight to add to the blog.

I just got back from a Walk to Emmaus. What a wonderful, grace-filled experience. My husband was my sponsor -- he went in April. Our community is located in Ashland, Kentucky. I highly recommend this experience.

Two completed projects

I finally got the Highland Triangle Shawl blocked. Isn't it amazing what blocking can do for wool? The points are pointy, the holes are open, and the whole thing is bigger. The drape is so much better. Yippee. She's stretched out above on our newly exposed wood floor. The flash makes the color wrong -- it is actually a darker blue, and the floor is actually a little more gold looking. The shawl is knit in KnitPicks merino (storm) on the size needles specified in the pattern. She measures 80 inches across, 50 inches from edge to point, and 60 inches on the angle, which is bigger than the pattern specifies.

I have also finished the gloves. They knit in leftover merino style from the pattern in Weekend Knitting. I found what I think are a few errors. Here is what I found, and how I "fixed" them:

• The index and ring finger patterns call for decreases in the tip of each fingers, which is fine and expected. However, starting with 15 stitches on the needles, I was supposed to knit two together around, and end with 12 stitches. Truly knitting 2 together to complete the round would yield 8 stitches. Instead, I interspersed 3 K2T while knitting the rest of the stitches = 12 stitches at the end of the round. I then continued on with the decreases as specified.
• When I finished the left glove, the index finger and middle finger were too long. I wish I had taken a picture because the glove looked a little deformed. I frogged back the decreases at the end of each finger and three rows of regular knitting. I then knit the decreases to finish the finger (in effect, making these two fingers three rows shorter than the pattern specifies). The other two fingers and thumb were fine as designed.
• I had some trouble with the directions for the right hand glove. The only described difference in the right and left gloves is the placement of the thumb (which was fine). The instructions are to knit the other fingers as for left hand (placing them in the correct order for the right hand). In order to make this work, I joined the yarn at the base of each finger on the back of the hand instead of on the palm, as described for the left hand.

I had to come back and stitch closed a few holes at the bases of the fingers. Maybe with the next pair I will be able to avoid these holes. I also noticed something that looks like a seam in the garter stitch cuff where I changed from purl to knit and back again. Springy seems to be having the same problem.

Glove Knit Along

I joined NonaKnits Peaceful Palms KnitAlong. Check out the patterns and updates.

How I Found Knitting Confidence in the Palm of a Glove

I don’t remember why I was thumbing through my copy of “Weekend Knitting” by Melanie Falick. I had it with me on a Friday evening, sitting in front of Chili’s, waiting for a table for dinner. My husband and two boys were with me, and they are used to mom bringing her knitting along. I stopped on the page with patterns to make gloves – both fingerless and whole. The pattern calls for DK weight yarn; I had just finished my Highland Triangle Shawl using Merino Style from KnitPicks, and knew I had almost two skeins left of this DK weight wool.

I have been knitting for almost two years now, but almost all my life (since fourth grade?) I have been a crocheter. I am fond of saying that I can crochet anything, as long as it is square (or rectangular). When I started knitting in early 2004, I was motivated by a New Year’s Resolution to “learn to knit.” I started knitting; it was fun. I found an internet community of knitters; it all became even more fun. I was determined to really learn how to knit – not just rectangles, but other, more useful, shapes. My first finished project was a scarf followed by a multitude of Christmas present scarves. My resolution in 2005 was to knit a pair of socks – sufficiently un-square. I’ve done that. This year I’ve knit socks, a clapotis, a shawl, three bags and a lace scarf. I saw the glove pattern, and thought, “I can do this.”

And then I read the pattern. It looked intimidating. I snapped the book shut that Friday evening, and said, “That’s too hard. I would never be able to finish a glove.”

However, on the way home from dinner that evening, I stopped and bought the dpn that I would need to knit the gloves. That evening, I started the pattern, using my very soft, storm colored merino wool along with my hope that if I just followed the instructions, I could actually knit gloves.

The next evening, I was dancing around the family room, holding up my half-finished glove, sing-songing, “I have a thumb. LOOK! A thumb.” Happily, my husband was suitably impressed.

Knitting gloves in public is a fun adventure. First of all, your knitting looks like a porcupine, with all those sharp needles sticking out. Friends and strangers alike must ask what I am knitting. At this point, I get to enjoy the fun of showing them the first, already completed glove. I really enjoy their reaction – “A glove? You’re knitting a glove? Isn’t that hard?”

We all know that it isn’t. It’s just one stitch after the next. But – WOW – at the end of the project, I’ll have a pair of gloves. I will also have a huge pile of self-confidence to tackle the next, more difficult project. I am on my way to becoming a Knitter (with a capital K). Someday I’ll do a sweater – one stitch at a time.

Look! A Glove!

I had some leftover yarn from the Highland Triangle Shawl, and I saw a pattern for gloves in the book Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick. I read the pattern, thought that it looked way to complicated for me, and decided to try it anyway. Look! A glove. I'm working on the other one now. I feel like a real Knitter!

Glove!