Tuesday, January 11th, 2005

Shh, it’s a secret

I’ve been knitting something. I can’t tell. I can’t show. But just so you know, I’ve been knitting it. Don’t worry, the wait won’t be long. But I SO can’t tell.

I need a new pair of gloves. Remember the pretty white ones I knit from this book? Well, I love them. I wear them ALL the time, and when they get dirty and I have to stop wearing them so they can be hand washed and air dried, I get grumpy. (They’re hanging by my heater right now). I bought some fabulous koigu awhile back, and I think it’d make lovely gloves. There is a great article in the Winter 2003 issue of Interweave Knits about making up a glove pattern. I don’t know why I can’t just follow someone else’s pattern, but I’m coming to terms with the fact that much of my knitting experience isn’t going to be that way. My point is that I need two pairs of gloves, at least, so that when one is wet and drying, I can wear another. I’m thinking about swatching the honeycomb cable pattern. I’ve always liked that one, and have yet to use it. We’ll see how it is in Koigu. And how it would look on gloves. I’ve seen gloves that make hands look super-fat. Well, there’s one pattern in a book I have that I’m thinking of specifically. I have enough body parts that are ample, I don’t need fat hands.

I have a question… Do fingerless gloves, and fingerless mittens keep hands and fingers warm enough? I don’t live in a harsh climate, like, at all, but I still like wearing my wool gloves. I’ve seen some very nice fingerless patterns that interest me, but I don’t want to knit them and then be annoyed with how they wear. Any experieced opinions out there? Other than, “knit it without the fingers, then if you hate it, add fingers”. That is sound advice. It’s not what I’m looking for. I want input from “the field”.

I bought Lion Brand Fun Fur today. I never thought I would. No disrespect to those of you who love it. I am finally able to be happy for another’s craft, regardless of my personal taste, and am actively seeking to drop the arrogance and idiocy I have been guilty of in the past in thinking that projects/yarns that interest me are the only “worthy” projects/yarns out there. I am embarrassed to admit that I have thought ill of projects I have seen that I would never, ever make or be seen wearing. I will still think something is ugly, particularly in some magazines, but I have no desire to belittle anyone, privately OR openly for their choice of yarncraft. I’m tired of hearing others do it, and I’ve decided to amend that attitude in myself. There. I’ve openly admitted a character flaw. I’ve had snobby thoughts. I’m changing it.

Right, so I bought some Fun Fur today. It was on sale at my grocery store. I bought three different colors to make three quick little scarves for my girls. I was in a yarn store recently, and saw the CUTEST little girl in a frilly, stringy, furry scarf thing, and it was adorable. I told her so, at least three times, and she beamed. I think that my girls would love them, and they’ve been grabbing the two kid scarves that we own almost every time we leave the house, because we are going through quite a cold spell right now. They will get used.

Enjoy the day, and don’t forget about my fingerless gloves question. :-).