Fingerless Gloves

Warning: It's a knitting post.

While speaking with my favorite sister some months ago, she mentioned that her favorite daughter would be joining the high school marching band (the one I joined a short 28 years ago) in the fall. It gets cold for a good half hour to forty-five minutes every year in Texas and Kathy (my sister) thought Alyssa (her daughter) would really love a pair of those fabu fingerless gloves that I've made. With fingerless gloves, she could play her clarinet without her hands getting cold.

(for Michael)

Then she mentioned that her son, Michael, would also be in band again next year, and, uh...okay. Got it. Then I reviewed my childhood and I realized that if my cool, gay, expat uncle had sent hand knit gloves to one or both of my siblings without sending me gloves, I'd feel like I was missing out on something. So I committed to knitting Knucks for all four of those children. (P.S. I didn't have a cool, gay, expat uncle. That would have been awful. I would have totally hated having a family member who didn't bristle or cry when I came out. Think of all the drama I would have missed. Was that bitter or funny?) Since I am crazy about Kathy and since I do my best to set a cool and generous example for them kids, I don't mind doing these at all. Plus, it's a brilliant pattern.

(for Alyssa)

Of course buying yarn was fun. It's always nice to have a reason to have to buy yarn. I bought all Rowan Felted Tweed. Kathy provided color suggestions and words that I will embroider onto the fingers. Okay, I say I bought all Rowan Felted Tweed, but it doesn't come in black. So the black ones are Rowan Scottish Tweed. (I just didn't want to mention the Scottish in too many posts this week.)

(for Benjamin)

I started with the smallest. They flew off the needles. Then I did the blue ones in medium or women's size. (Still pretty quick.) Then the black ones, which are really big (they fit me perfectly) and feel like an oven mitt. And then I did the purple ones in medium. They're all a little different. I experimented here and there to keep it interesting.

I'll get to the embroidery after I finish the pair of socks I'm working on.

(for Jonathan)

I've also got another pair to do as a gift for the girlfriend of my nephew. Why not? It's just knitting. I think I'm going to have to re-do the purple and the blue ones any way because I think they're too small. I've had a friend try them on and they were tight, but they fit. And Fred's sister, who insists that her hands are not that big, couldn't even begin to get them on. So I'll knit them up. I'm crazy about this yarn anyway.

This really is a quick project. My secret is that I do all the fingers two at a time (and for the purple ones, I actually knit eight little fingers on Magic Loop) and then I put the whole thing on the Magic Loop and do both gloves at the same time. No kidding. Zip and they're done in a day or four. Finishing is a fair amount of work, but after three pairs, the last ones practically finished themselves.

So I've got three more pair to go and I'll probably end up with two extra pair that I'll give away. Or maybe I'll have a drawing. Stay tuned.

(for a little comparison)

As for yarn consumption, I had a lot of yarn left over. The black ones weigh 71 grams and all of the others weigh 25 grams. So I really could have gotten away with using one ball of the felted tweed for a pair of the small or medium gloves, which interestingly weigh the same amount.

I feel like I'm about half way though this project, but I have until September. They're planned to be a going back to school gift. I might be embroidering in Cambodia in August if I don't get on the good foot.

Oh. Did I mention we're going to Cambodia for vacation this year?