Fetching Fingerless Gloves

We were very lucky in the DC area to escape the monster snowstorm that wreaked havoc along the East Coast. But it has been very cold with extremely high winds. So I am delighted that I finished knitting a pair of fingerless gloves to cope with this weather. I love wearing them at the keyboard, when I'm reading and when I do needlework. They make me feel warm all over.

I used the free Fetching pattern from Knitty.com. This is a very popular pattern among knitters and I can see why. It's fun to knit and fits pretty well. The name is based on the fact that the cables on each glove twist 'fetchingly' toward each other. I love the picot bind off edging at the top too. This is my first foray into gloves knitted in the round on DPN's. The thumb was the trickiest part and I still need to work on that. These are done in Knit Picks worsted weight Swish yarn, Amethyst Heather.




I signed up to grant a mini-wish on the San-Man board. One of the members wanted a heart-shaped coaster. I planned to crochet one, but I didn't like the results. So I stitched this little freebie heart from Mausimom and added a crocheted rick-rack border. The fabric is a piece of hand painted 18 ct Khaki Aida from Sassy's Fabbys. I'll back it with felt or maybe fun foam.

Harry Potter Altoid Tin

Teenage boys are never easy to stitch for, but I had an idea for a Harry Potter lover who read all of the books faithfully as soon as they came on the market. Hope he hasn't outgrown the franchise!

I started this Altoid tin top by stitching a cute little Harry Potter cartoon-like design. My first plan was to stitch it over-two on 36 ct linen. But it came out exactly the size of the top and looked way too big for the space. So I went back and re-stitched it over-one on tea-dyed Monaco and liked it much better.




For the inside, I stuck with the over-one approach and stitched the Hogwart's Crest. The crocheted owl is a motif from the Crochet A Little blog and makes a great Hedwig. I added the ribbons since I plan to enclose a little Hewlitt-Packard (initials HP, just perfect, huh?) flash drive and it will get tucked under the ribbons.



For good measure, I crocheted a teeny little golden snitch that can fit in the box as well. The pattern is done in knitting worsted. I used #10 thread instead.



I couldn't let the bigger version of Harry go to waste, so I made him up into a companion bookmark.



All of these patterns were freebies and there is a link to each one in this post. I'm so grateful to all those designers who are so generous with their talents.

Little Lulu Bag

I finally got around to finishing the Little Lulu cross stitch piece. I made another one of those simple zippered sling bags that I find so useful. Hope my friend will feel the same. I modify my method each time I make one, but I'm never 100% satisfied with the results. This has some extra batting. I thought my last one was a bit flimsy. The two tatted motifs were part of the gifts I received from Wendy. I've beeen keeping my eyes and mind open to ways to use them and I think they look nice this way. The fabric color is somewhere between what you see in the two photos.




My Jazzercise friend Maggie tucked a cute little package into my hand the other night just before class started. I didn't open it at the time and I've yet to thank her, but it turned out to be a sweet little holiday ornament. I don't think Maggie is a stitcher so I'll be interested in finding out where she picked this up.


The other fun thing that happened was I reached the 20 class attendance goal that meant I got to take home this cute Jazzercise patent leather zippered clutch. Of course, my incentive to attend classes in this cold weather is gone now. I'm hoping I can continue to rally!

Knit/Crochet Fingerless Gloves

My hands are freezing at the keyboard as I type this. It's a great winter for those trendy fingerless gloves, whether for texting on the subway, working at your desk or even for stitching. Before I dared try the double-pointed needles, I made this pair for Kirsten. These are a combination of knitting and crochet. They are stitched flat and seamed on the side leaving a space for the thumb to poke through. I first saw them while watching the Knit and Crochet Now tv show. You can find the pattern on the site, but you have to register. It's shown on Episode 222. The pattern as designed included beads at the cuff, but I omitted those.

They are done in Knit Picks DK weight Swish yarn in Marble Heather. This is a soft super-wash wool. I'm becoming quite a fan of Knit Picks.

They turned out a little large, but Kirsten has worn them already outside so I guess they stayed on! The hand in the photo is mine, not Kirsten's.




I sent them with this holiday card made from the Sweetheart Tree design in the JCS 2010 Ornament issue.



Yea for the international mail! This package took less than a week to go from DC to Germany.

Signs of Winter

Seems like every blogger is showing photos of early snowfalls this year. It's cold here, but we haven't seen the first flakes quite yet. So this altoid tin top I stitched will serve to keep us on the lookout. This a Bent Creek design, one of the four for each of the seasons. Not sure if I love it in the over-one stitching on the tea-dyed Monaco or not. But I know I like the crocheted penguin inside. This one is just tailor made to be another winter survival kit with some Burt's Bees goodies added to fight the winter dryness.