Pattern for knitted fingerless gloves

I’m a big fan of fingerless gloves – perfect for fall and spring weather. So in the spirit of Christmas, I’m offering here my own pattern. (For all you non-knitters, apologies for a blog that will be written in a language you likely won’t understand.)

This pattern is knitted up with 4.5 mm needles to fit a women’s medium size. You’ll also need a cable needle or a double-pointed needle of at least roughly the same size. The photo shows these gloves knitted in Araucanía yarn (80% wool, 10% camel and 10% silk).

Left Glove
Cast-on 34 stitches.
Row 1-3: K1, P1 rib.
Row 4: K10 P1 K6 P1 K16
Row 5: P16 K1 P6 K10
Row 6-7: repeat rows 4-5
Row 8 (cable row): K10 P1 cable 6 (slip 3 stitches on cable needle and hold behind while you knit the next 3 stitches on your left needle; knit 3 stitches from cable needle) P1 K16

Continue in this pattern, cabling on rows 14 and 20.

Row 21: repeat row 5
Row 22 (increase for thumb): K1 Kfb (knit into the front and the back of the next stitch so as to increase by one) K8 P1 K6 P1 K16
Row 23: P 16 K1 P6 K1 P11
Row 24: K2 Kfb K8 P1 K6 P1 K16
Row 25 pattern
Row 26: K3 Kfb K8 P1 cable 6 P1 K16
Row 27 pattern
Row 28: K4 Kfb K8 P1 cable 6 P1 K16

Continue in pattern until row 37, cabling at row 32.

Row 38: K4 cast-off 5 stitches, continue in pattern (cable row)
Row 39: P16 K1 P6 K1 P7 cast-on 5 (turn work and knit into last stitch, slip stitch back onto left needle, 5 times, turn) P2
Row 40: K2 (before next stitch, slip needle under thread between stitches, knit next stitch then slip thread over that stitch) pattern

Continue in pattern to row 63, cable row 44, 50, 56, 62

Rows 64-66: K1 P1 rib.
Cast-off and sew together.

For Right Glove, follow the pattern in reverse (start with K16 P1 K6 P1 K10). For thumb increase, always start increase 8 stitches after cable in order to slant in opposite direction.

If you knit a penguin a sweater...

In the last couple days, friends have been sending me links to the sites requesting knitted sweaters for penguins. It sounds like a joke, but it is actually true.

A recent oil spill off the New Zealand coast has dumped 350 tonnes of oil into the Bay of Plenty – and could leak as much as 1,700 if the ship breaks apart before the rest of its load can be pumped out. Maritime authorities are racing to rescue local wildlife – including many little blue penguins who are being covered in oil.

This is not the first time little penguins who live near Australia and New Zealand have been threatened by oil spills. Spills and dumped crude can be fatal to these little birds since the oil breaks down the penguins' natural insulation and the birds swallow the petroleum when trying to clean themselves off.

However, penguins exposed to oil can be rescued and cleaned by hand with warm water and mild detergent – but they are often sick when they're found and the cleaning process is quite stressful.

So penguins waiting to be cleaned – or recovering from being cleaned – can be protected by being sheathed in a cozy wool sweater which will keep them warm until their feathers insulate them again. The wool also keeps them from ingesting petroleum when preening.

Not surprisingly, appeals for protective penguin sweaters has gone global and viral. When the Tasmanian Conservation Trust issued an appeal in 2001 for penguin sweaters, they hoped to be able to create a stockpile of about 100 sweaters (or jumpers as they call them). They have received over 15,000 and have since closed the project.

Snopes has verified that this is a legitimate appeal – but warns that appeals can often go very wrong and in this case the road to hell could be paved with good... sweaters.

However, the idea of knitting a little sweater to potentially save the life of a little blue is, admittedly, very tempting. So I fired off an email to a yarn store in New Zealand that put out a call for sweaters to check if they do indeed still need sweaters, I mean jumpers. If they do, I’ll start knitting.

Knitting season begins

Suddenly summer is over. In the last week, the temperature suddenly dropped by 15 degrees and across the city people are scrambling to dig out our mitts, scarves and warm jackets. Here at home, my knitting needles have begun clicking away.

I tend to knit year-round, but I really pick up the pace between the first cold days of fall and Christmas. ‘Tis the season to yarn together a hat that fits my daughter’s ever growing head, or a pair of mittens to warm her hands. Then, as soon as I fill the immediate demands, I turn to Christmas gifts – which I usually am knitting right up till Dec. 25th.

Once Christmas is done I’ll continue to knit for the rest of the winter, but at a less frenzied pace. I’ll finish a sweater, perhaps experiment with new yarns or ideas. As spring approaches I lose the momentum – it seems odd to start a cozy knit project when the snow is melting. And projects that weren’t completed during the winter tend to languish half-completed until the weather turns cool again.

Today I finished up a little hat for Miya – I had planned to make something a little more elaborate, but this sudden shift in the weather had me quickly knit up something that she can wear for these cool mornings. And for some reason she keeps requesting legwarmers, so I have to get cracking on those. She’ll also need mitts.

For our 4-year anniversary, V gave me some beautiful, fine silk yarn. As soon as I’ve finished my immediate projects for Miya, I’ll be eager to get working with that. And then my knitting circle friends and I have come up with some knit graffiti ideas... never enough knitting hours in the day!

For anyone out there who has never tried knitting, I fully encourage you to give it a try. And yes, that includes men. There are plenty of guy knitters out there. Sure, looking at a sweater pattern can be intimidating – but don’t try to start there. Scarves are no-fail for beginners, especially with funky yarns. Then you move on to hats, then mitts, and soon you’ll be lost in wonders of yarn.

Knit graffiti flags

Several months ago a friend proposed that we knit up little flags for our local park. I loved the idea and jumped on board.

Together we made about 45 little flags and I strung them together sometime in June. At the time, we were planning to hang them up for the first summer park party of the year. But the party was delayed by rain and the flags never made it up.

Finally today I got my act together and hung the flags. V helped out by lugging over our rickety ladder. He kept Miya amused on the swings while I nailed up the flags.

One of the interesting things about knit bombing is watching the reaction of people when I am putting up the installation. Some are curious and even enthused – but most are indifferent, especially today.

A man who was at the park with his son (a son old enough to play unassisted) sat and watched me the whole time I was climbing up and down the ladder stringing up the flags without once offering to help or hold the ladder. When we were leaving he said, “They look nice.” Um, thank you.

Another dad who was pushing a little girl in circles around the park just gave me a few puzzled, blank stares. Two women chatting on a park bench tossed a couple of glances my way, but otherwise ignored me.

Point taken. Seeing a woman nail knitted items to a gazebo is nothing remarkable.

My mum sent me a clip of a news story about women in Montreal who are yarn bombing their urban neighbourhoods. Maybe if I was just a little more edgy I could get some press coverage too. But I think I need to come up with something more interesting for my next project.

Maybe I need to think bigger. Continue that knitted scarf till it could drape the length of the Peace Tower. Knit a body suit for the Terry Fox statue. Knit a mock-up of the proposed development project for the convent site. Perhaps I need to be thinking in terms of life-size installations, neon colours and high-traffic locations.... I need more hours in the day.

just like a knitted flag...

There’s a gazebo in our local park whose circumference is approximately 42 feet.

Tonight my friend and I were out measuring the gazebo. We wanted to see how much more knitting we have to do.

We’re making knitted flags for our park – a park that already has fantastic community engagement and is decorated with paintings and flowers. Adding a bit knit graffiti seems perfectly appropriate.

My friend’s been working on flags since Christmas, teaching herself to knit by experimenting on these little colourful triangles. (A great way to learn!) We measured her flags tonight and she has a little over 12 feet so far. I have almost 8 feet of flags (each one being about 7 inches wide). So we’re not quite halfway there.

I’m organizing a kids’ parade for June 18th. We’re going to walk along the pathway that the community has been fighting so hard to protect and end up in the park for a bubble party. There will be lots of music and bubbles and community fun – so if you live in Ottawa I hope you will join us – and it would be nice to have our flags up for the event. But that means we have some serious knitting to do before the 18th – or just we hang up what we have and finish the circle over the summer.

It’s fun to have another knit graffiti project to be working on – and great to have a co-conspirator. In the summer knitting projects aren’t quite as obvious as they are once the weather is colder and mitts, scarves, hats and sweaters are in demand. But knitting up colourful little flags with scraps of yarn lets me keep my needles clicking away merrily.

In the photo you can see Bogey, our cat, guarding one of my flags. Our cats are great fans of my knitting, (although Bogey’s affections sometimes go a little too far with the door worm I made for M’s room). If I forget to put away my knitting at the end of the night we’ll often find a trail of yarn leading through the chair legs, down the stairs, around corners, under furniture...
Endless fun to be had with yarn.

knit graffiti, part ii

Spring has been here for over a week now – and so I finally took down the knitted Christmas lights that have been hanging outside my favourite café for the past few months. They have weathered the winter amazing well, but since the snow is melting, their time really is up.

But I couldn’t leave the tree empty. It looked so bare once stripped of the festive lights. And so I hung butterflies and a little bee – signs of spring.

The installation of the knitted lights had been done under cover of darkness – late at night after the cafe had closed. But over time, word leaked out that I was the one behind the installation, so secrecy didn’t seem so necessary this time. Plus, this installation required a lot more tying of fine knots – something which would have been quite difficult in the dark.

So any attempt at subtlety was abandoned. I walked up to the barristas and asked to borrow a step ladder. Oddly, one of them thought I said ‘steam pitcher’ and offered to bring me a broken one from the back. He disappeared, leaving the other two barristas and me wondering why he was offering a broken ladder. He returned with a small metal container used to heat milk. It was maybe 6 inches tall, so really not too helpful for reaching the higher branches.

Misunderstanding righted, a friend helped steady the ladder while I took down the lights and strung up the butterflies. The barrista, walking by later, commented that we could have totally done that with a steam pitcher.

Again, oddly, while we were hanging things up, a woman stopped to admire the project and then gave us each a business card. I didn’t think knit bombing was a networking activity, but apparently it is. Her site has the tagline – Handmade by Mother – so you damn well better wear it.

We also got chatted up by the local Conservative candidate and his staffer. I wondered why two men were been so enthusiastic about knitting, until I recognized the candidate who’d come begging for signatures at this cafe a few days before.

So certainly much less of a stealth operation this time.

knitting

I need to get this blogging done quickly since I am off to my favourite café to meet some women for knitting. This is one of two knitting circles I belong to – this one is once a month and was organized by a woman in my neighbourhood. The other is every two weeks, hosted by me here at home.

When I first sent out an email in August inviting women to a knitting circle, I wasn’t too sure what kind of response I would get. I invited those whom I knew knitted or enjoyed crafts, and whom I would enjoy spending an evening with.

I was pleasantly surprised when about 10 women expressed interest and our group began meeting in September. Our house is actually much too small for 10 women to comfortably sit together in the living room with elbow room to knit, but since everyone has busy lives (and most, like me, are mothers of young children) very few can make it to every circle. So each circle has been a different combination of women.

Some knitters arrive with a bottle of wine or a box of goodies; I usually put on a kettle for tea. And I’m proud to report that some women who accepted my invitation though admitting they could not knit, have now learned or are learning. Certainly knitting is not obligatory and sometimes women have come just to hang out and chat.

I’d heard about knit graffiti (also known as urban knitting) and in October I convinced a few other knitters from the group to join me a knit graffiti project of our own: we made up about 30 little knitted ‘Christmas lights’ and one of the knitters crocheted a chain to link them all together. Then two of us went out late one cold, snowy night for a stealth installation of our handiwork (strung with the aid of a broom and a step stool).

The lights hang outside my favourite café, the one I went to almost daily to work on my thesis, the one I will be going to tonight to knit some more – boring ol’ dish clothes tonight. Every time I walk by them I smile.

fashion knits

I found this fabulous patter at the Red Cross this week. I brought it home to show V what I could knit for him and his greyhound (should he ever get said greyhound).

Wouldn't they make a stunning pair strolling down Byron Avenue?




There was also a great sweater set I could knit for us as a couple. It may not be exactly what is in the fashion magazines these days, but it will catch on.

Now where am I going to find someone who can style my hair like that?

handy knits

I began knitting about two years ago and have always seen it as a little nerdy. I defend it adamantly and call it my yoga, but admit that it may not be the hippest thing around.

So it was nice to discover that other people seem to enjoy something I knit.

I first made myself a pair of funky fingerless mitts about a year ago and found them so useful and cozy. They were great for fall and spring weather, and even in the winter I put them over another pair of mitts to keep my hands extra warm.

In September a friend of mine complained of cold hands after curling for a few hours, I lent her these mitts and she didn't take them off for the rest of the night. The next day she was wearing them again and I insisted she keep them - it was nice to see something I made being enjoyed by someone else.

I made myself another pair, but gave those to a friend on her birthday in November - they warmed her hands and showed off her lovely manicure.

The mitt shown in the photo above is of my latest pair, a thick, warm set of blended wools. Now that is quite chilly out, I've been wearing them everywhere - and have been picking up compliments... so I've decided to see if I can go into business. I'm going to make up little business cards and next time someone asks where I got my mitts, I can pass them a card and tell them I take orders. $25 a pair, of $15 if they want to provide the wool. I've already set up an email account at gmail.com where I can take order - handy.knit.

So if you know of anyone who has cold hands and likes some funky handmade handy knits... pass this on.

(above photo is of a winning scrabble game and the first of these mitts I made)

crafts & knitting

This collection of bold-coloured knits is my long overdue donation to the Red Cross.

Last March I responded to a post for volunteer knitters. The Red Cross provided the wool, which I was to turn into things that could be used in shelters and hospitals.

With such colours as I was given, it was hard to be inspired. But it was fun trying different patterns of mittens and toques, even though some were utter failures - like a toque the size of tea cozy!

I still have some wool left - and a few thumb-less mittens lying around. (Attaching the thumb is my least favourite part). But as we are cleaning house and getting ready to move, I have finally bundled this all up and will drop it off at the Red Cross today. Will they remember who I am? Will they be disappointed with my sad offering?

I have admittedly become a bit of a knitting junkie. One of the reasons I decided to volunteer knit was that I could get all this free wool and have someone to knit for. My own scarf basket is already overflowing.

But in our recent heat wave, it has been hard to pick up the heavy mohair poncho I am currently working on. Still, on Sunday evening I convinced a friend of mine to go with me to a craft and bingo night. It wasn't an easy sell... "Um, we'll do crafts and play bingo. And there will be d.j.... and it's in a gallery".

She is sweet and said she'd give it a try. She brought a craft she has had lying around for a few years - a picture frame and seashells she collected in Peru. I brought my mohair poncho. We didn't know what to expect and were prepared to leave early.

The event was a blast! Held in a funky downtown gallery - whose current exhibit is titled 'The Museum of Bad Art' - it was cool and hip and all the things you wouldn't expect crafting to be. It was bad art indeed that hung on the wall - reminiscent of pictures found in elementary school hallways or amateur art schools. But this was freeing and humourous. Art felt accessible and fun.

The crafts we had brought were quickly abandoned as we were invited to make our own bad art. Canvases were provided, as were heaps of craft supplies. It was like being at summer camp. We rummaged through buttons, crayons, paint, play-dough, glitter! and sequins. There was fabric, lots of glue, old photos, magazines... And with our only objective being to create bad art, we let our imaginations wild.

While we made bad art - and mine truly is bad - (The lady beside me said it reminded her of scrambled eggs and hash browns) a man named the Chinadoll, wearing denim drag and a hat like a pineapple perched on his head, called out bingo numbers and a d.j. put out funky disco beats. Chinadoll would interrupt his calls every so often to do some impromptu karaoke.

Who knew the craft crowd could be so hip? As a knitting junkie, I have new hope.