Hello

Hey-o, everyone! This is the first entry to my crafty blog. I normally knit gifts, so I have very little knitwear for myself and immediate family. I made an exception these last two weeks.

I was buying another ball of yarn to finish a tank top for me (Janis, from knitty gritty). I thought I would have a relatively inexpensive, rockin' new top, but it may end up costing around $20 -- I may as well have bought a new top at a store. Oh wait, you can't find anything at a store like this. I knitted my own fabric! Isn't that cool? I always, always, out of habit, peer in the bargain basket of single skeins (doesn't matter what store I enter, I always look in the bargain bin). I found a skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino dk yarn for $1.50. I liked the color. I thought I would buy it and figure out a use for it later. This is rare for me. I usually buy things that are on my list. Impulse buys are very few.

Anyway, I searched for pattern that uses one skein of yarn. Tiny shrugs and cell phone cozies, hats and stuffed animals, etc. -- none tripped my trigger. Then I attended my older daughter's ball game. Senior league usually plays the late games. They begin at 7:45 p.m. So although the weather was pleasant during warm-up, I felt chilly by 7:45 and continued to feel colder as time passed. (The free, close-out pizza from the concession stand warmed me a little.) I remembered seeing a fingerless glove pattern at knitty.com called fetching. It was for the yarn I bought, but in aran weight instead of dk. I thought I would go for it. I have nothing made of cashmere, why not gloves?

Here they are:Photo by Cole.

I cast on 40 stitches instead of 45 because the circumference of my wrists and hands are small. I probably could have gone smaller, because they have a lot of stretch in them. The thumb hole is large, too, but I was not going to spend brain cells working out a smaller thumb hole. And they work! Definitely warm, totally luxurious. I thought fingerless gloves were silly for a long, long time because I couldn't see myself needing any. Until the game last week. I can still dig in my purse, work a zipper, turn a knob in the car, etc. without removing my gloves! Revelation! I really like the color, because it is close to skin tone. I would not want a bright or dark "Hey, look at my fingerless gloves!" color. That would be too attention grabbing and over the top for me.

I liked making cables. I wish the picot edging laid and showed better on the finger edge. Maybe that would change with washing or blocking. I feel very smart because the gloves were a very quick knit, pretty darn cheap, and rather handsome. I finished with much more than the one yard noted in the pattern. So I still have really nice yarn in a small quantity. Maybe a little sweater or sock ornament will evolve from it.