First, the Spiral Rib Hat for the wonderful and talented Vince Martinez with a birthday on March 11. This is a hat for which I had admired a sample in class and watched a couple classmates making. The hat is simple and quick and is totally unisex. Just pick the right yarn for the right person.I haven't found a free pattern anywhere, but purchased one for $3.50 from Lauren. I very rarely pay for patterns (I mean, really... there are so many free ones out there!) but this one was totally worth it. It's set up with information to make four different sizes (child, kid, small adult, large adult) and with eight different gauges. Sweet! I can use it over and over and over and over...
This hat really was fun to knit. And did I mention quick? I think I made it in something like three hours. This is pretty great when you decide to make someone a birthday present four days before said birthday.
Yarn:
Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash (100% Superwash Merino Wool)
3.5oz/128 yd skein
1x Bitter Chocolate (872)
Needles:
US10.5 (6.5mm) 16" circular needle & double pointed needles
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Then, the Dashing fingerless gloves for the wonderful and talented Lilianna Koledin with a birthday on March 27. Again, there were samples of these gloves in the store and I always liked them a lot. Lauren dubbed them her "favorite dog walking gloves" and I thought, "hey, Lili has a dog that walks!"
I was always kind of scared of the thumbs on gloves... and I'm still too scared of that kind of thing to ever try real gloves with all five fingers. This pattern has a really neat set up for that thumb though. Basically, you knit in some waste yarn for a few stitches in the right spot and keep going like normal. When you're done with the main tube, you just take out the waste yarn, stick those loops back on the needles, and knit a smaller loop. Genius.
I learned with this pattern that cabling back is somehow much harder than cabling front. It seems like it would be no big deal... the stitches held on the cable needle just go in back instead of in front. But no. Somehow, it's both more cumbersome to hold and turns out with bigger holes and other funkiness. That all got patched up though and I'd imagine that next time I try it will look cleaner.
I was careful to count all of my rows so that the two gloves would match. Of course, it didn't work out that way and one was a bit longer. We can just say that I did it on purpose... a reminder that they're hand made?
I want some for myself now, hehe.
Yarn:
Plymouth Select Worsted Merino Superwash (100% Superwash Fine Merino Wool)
100g/218 yd skein
1x Moss (12)
Needles:
US7 (4.5mm) double pointed needles
