Fingerless Gloves!

Not much to say in this post except that I finished my fingerless gloves!  It took me about a week to finish them, but it was well worth it.  I’m looking forward to making more in the future, the biggest challenge I’m finding though is getting decent  synthetic yarn in darker colors.  For these gloves I used a 25% merino wool 75% acrylic yarn, which worked great, but still has that wool feel to it that I don’t particularly care for.  The pattern I’m using (which I really like) calls for a light worsted/DK yarn, and with the exception of wool blends, which I’m trying to stay away from in the future, the majority of yarns in the stores are baby yarns, which come in pastels, not the dark rich colors I’d like to make these gloves out of.  If anyone has any suggestions on a decent light worsted/DK synthetic yarn please let me know!

Double Pointed Needles and More!

Over the past couple weeks I’ve been expanding my yarn and needle horizons.  I’ve purchased some new yarn made from sugar cane (100%), specifically Araucania Ruca yarn, which is apparently made from sugar cane and because this fiber doesn’t absorb color as well as some other fibers, it only comes in beautiful pastels (according to the lady at the yarn store).  I have to say it’s the softest yarn  I’ve ever held.  I came across it at another yarn store just outside of Madison, but at the time had no idea what I’d make out of it, and if just one would be enough, so I didn’t get any.  At the store I purchased it at they had a lacy scarf made out of it, and it looked pretty nice.  I asked where I could find the pattern and started making my own.  The pattern wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, it’s just a combination of yarn-overs, k2tog, and purling, not bad.  It doesn’t seem like it’ll take long to finish, that is if I stop acquiring new projects as I have been.

My other adventure over the past couple weeks has been getting better with double pointed needles.  These are used to knit in the round when you have fewer stitches than would be appropriate to use circular needles for.  My first attempts weren’t too bad, but I feel that I’ve progressed quickly and am confident my newest project will turn out great.  I’ve decided on a pair of fingerless gloves.  I’m using size 5 needles and Naturally Caron Country yarn in deep purple.  It was a little difficult at first as holding double pointed needles can be a bit awkward, but the yarn was also difficult to knit around in the first couple rows as it bunches together.  As the gloves are getting further along it’s getting easier and quicker.  I’m hoping to have my first fingerless glove completed within the next week, we shall see.

Last, but not least, I knit some dishcloths for my grandmother.  She had heard that I’d taken up knitting and was making dishcloths, so she asked me to make her  some.  This is currently my favorite dishcloth pattern as it has a neat eyelet around the borders, but is very quick and easy to make.  I recommend using Lily Sugar’n Cream yarn for these, but any similar cotton yarn would work as well.

Happy Knitting!

Afghan

Well, it’s not afghan season, but I’ve decided to start making an afghan anyway.  I’ve always been intrigued by the work that goes into the blankets I’ve acquired from family members who knit or crochet.  When I started looking into what goes into an afghan I was afraid to take on a project so large, but luckily I came across a pattern that’s fairly easy yet creates an interesting pattern.  The pattern I’m using can be found here.

My version of this afghan has a chocolate brown as the main color and pink as the secondary color.  I’ve decided to use Caron Simply Soft yarn as it has a soft texture and is available in a large variety of colors.  I have not yet figured out how many skeins of yarn this project will take, though I’ve already purchased 3 skeins of brown and 2 of pink.  I have a feeling I’ll be buying more to finish this project successfully.

I started working on the afghan this past week and am already 19 rows into it.  It’s 270 stitches across and I haven’t counted how many rows it will be when it’s finished.  I’m knitting it on a size 7 circular needle, although the first six rows were knit on a size 6 needle, per the pattern instructions. 

 

Below is a more detailed photo of the stitch pattern repeated throughout the afghan.  The same pattern will repeat throughout the colors until the final rows, which will repeat the knit stitch that was performed in the first six rows.  I’m hoping to add the pink yarn this week, at which time I will provide an update.