I love fingerless gloves. I first made some when I was at high school. The house was cold. I could wear them while doing homework and playing violin. Many years later I appreciated their usefulness when walking on cold mountains but wanting to take photos. Then during the pram years, they were useful for retrieving whatever my son needed from the bag while we were out walking. Winters are relatively mild here, so I don’t think I will be reverting to full finger gloves any time soon.
I mended my grey alpaca fingerless gloves several times this winter. It is not the first winter that I have mended them. The poor things are in terrible condition. I noticed this morning that another thread has worn thin and another hole is about to form. I have started knitting a replacement pair. I knitted the grey ones several years ago. I couldn’t find the pattern I used to follow, so I had made a variation of the pattern in the Ann Budd book (the knitter’s handy book of patterns). I like there to be a left and right glove, so I set the thumb shaping in a few stitches. I also like to knit the two gloves simultaneously, so I work them on two circular needles. The thumb and fingers justify the possession of interchangeable needles, as stitches can be easily left on cords while the tips are attached to fresh cords to work the digits. Fun.
When I began the gloves, I wondered why I hadn’t written down how many rounds of rib to work on the cuffs. But once I started, I realised. I didn’t bother to count, as the cuffs are going to end up the same length by being worked simultaneously, and they can be tried on before embarking on the palms. Once again, fun. Much better than obsessively counting rows.
fadedfreckles 