Monday, December 10, 2012

Wrist warmers and lighthouses

It's about that time of year when I get the urge to knit or crochet.  Of course, since I do this so seldom, I feel like I have to re-learn all the little tips and tricks and I figured out last time.   I bought some chestnut colored Wool-Ease to play with and tried out a couple of fingerless glove patterns that I had saved some time ago.   The first is a knitted pattern called Malabrigo Hand Thingies that I used to practice the double-pointed needles knitting in the round.  Had to make three gloves to get two to fit, but these are really warm and snuggly.  They don't look much like the samples from knitters on Ravelry so I must have misinterpreted something in the way I did the slip stitch, but I'm happy with them all the same.



Next, I tried a crochet pattern that had been on my radar for a long time.  These are shell stitch wrist warmers by Drops. Kirsten first showed them to me, but the pattern was in German with a crochet diagram and I was too intimidated to try it.  The pattern has been translated to English now, and I am better at reading diagrams, so I gave it a shot.  It was still a bit difficult to understand, but I looked at the photos of finishes very closely and figured out what I couldn't follow from the directions.  After that, it was a breeze.  Crochet zips along so quickly that I finished these in no time.  Another very warm pair.    I might not keep both pair for myself, but I do like them both.


And not to neglect cross-stitch, I signed up to do a square for a lighthouse-themed quilt at World of Charity Cross Stitching.  The theme didn't appeal to me, but when I discovered I had a suitable design of just the right size in Sue Cook's "Wonderful Cross Stitch Collection" right on my bookshelf, I considered it an omen.  It's stitched on White Monaco.  I changed the blue sky background to half-cross stitch to make it go faster.  The effect of that is to make the lighthouses really pop.  Couldn't escape doing the porthole borders.  They were small at least.




18 comments:

Nima said...

lovely wrist warmers...and cute cross stitch as always

Siobhán said...

I wish that when I got the urge to knit or crochet that the outcome would look like your gloves. Usually my attempts end up as wonky scarves. I dream of getting better at both some day! Your stitching looks great!

Vickie said...

Awesome job on all of them. =)

Annette said...

Your ready for Winter crafting and sitting behind your laptop.pc with your lovely gloves.. I have a pair too. got them last year.. ! like it very much.
haven't use them .. yet...
Lovely stitching!!!

Jan said...

I think you did great on the knitted ones. The crochet ones are great too.

Margaret said...

both sets of wrist warmers are beautiful! Love the crocheted ones! So neat about the square for the lighthouse-themed quilt too. Very pretty!

Jackie's Stitches said...

Love your wrist warmers! I love having the freedom of having the tips of my fingers bare so they can do things but yet having the rest of my hands warm. Yours fit you really well too!

Anne said...

Lovely wrist warmers Annie. You did beautiful work. I love the style of the crocheted ones with the scalloped look. Your lighthouses are so very cute!! :)

Jane said...

I really like the crocheted wrist warmers, beautiful pattern

Mii Stitch said...

The crocheted wrist warmers look a lot prettier & lovely little stitching!!

Carol said...

Amazing that you only knit or crochet now and then, Annie, because these look like they are perfect! I really like the pretty scalloped ones. Glad you could figure out those tricky directions. I learn much better with pictures than with written directions, too.

I think your idea to just do half cross stitching in the sky was genius--it looks better to me than if it had been fully crossed... I know the lucky recipient of the quilt will love all the tiny details in each scene.

Enjoy your week, Annie :)

Rachel S-H said...

Love the shell patterned finish!

Heather said...

The fingerless mitts look great. Good job!

And I love the lighthouses. It was definitely a good call to do the sky as half stitches.

Melanie said...

Very nice!!!! And it's not so often you see someone post something with THREE different skill sets in it. :)
I know there isn't much wool in Wool-Ease but I love the dickens out of that stuff. The colors are FAB.

Michelle said...

Great knitting and the crochet wrist warmers are so lovely! Beautiful stitching - I love lighthouses and anything with a nautical theme - those lighthouses are so cute!

Karen said...

Annie, I love the wrist warmers, especially the ones with the shell stitches. They must be awfully nice to wear when it's cold! And the little lighthouse scenes are so cute!

♥ Nia said...

Oh!! I miss reading your blog more! You used to post more often, didn't you? I miss coming here more times..
I like the idea to use half-stitch on the sky, it gives a nice shade :)
Great job with all your finishes! :D
hugs&smiles

Nicky said...

Those mitts are gorgeous, hope the weathers isn't so bad you need them too often! The lighthouses look fantastic, you are very dedicated to stitch something that initially didn't appeal. You've made a wonderful job of them....