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Glove Jones

(Don't like Glove Jones? Check yesterday's comments for Geane's contributions to goofy glove entry titles)

Still working on Sanquhar-style gloves here. Still eager to work on some more gloves! Still no progress photos. Glove means never having to say you're sorry, though, so I'm not apologizing.

Nephew

My very excellent nephew spent the afternoon here after school yesterday, and he and the pups played fetch until everyone except Della was exhausted!

The pups got a great workout and so did their squeaky toys. Geoffrey is wearing the very first sweater I ever knit, a Vogue Knitting magazine design from way back when:

I was living in California then, and when I saw the magazine at the grocery store, I knew I had to knit this sweater. In addition to yarn, I had to buy needles and I remember the yarn shop owner sold me a snazzy bag to keep all my new stuff in. I didn't know intarsia was hard, so I just jumped right in. I also didn't know it was challenging to substitute yarns, so I made mine out of a Pingouin cotton/rayon blend that I liked. I think this sweater sums up my philosophy pretty neatly about learning to knit, and that is: If You Like It, Knit It! Looking back (and this sweater must be nearly 20 years old now), I think I must have had beginner's luck. You will too! The stuff you love seems to turn out just fine.

Pups

Jack and Della say It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Friday! Enjoy!

You Can't Hurry Glove

No, you just have to wait when you are knitting with 0000s. Sister's second glove grows, but isn't finished yet. I am eager to cast on the next pair, but I am determined to remain disciplined about finishing Laura's pair. Let's talk about gloves, baby . . . but first! a gratitude-gram:

Hey! You are all very sweet! Thank you for the compliments and comments on my new haircut and color. I have what is known in the trade as Party Hair; very thick, very fast-growing, naturally-occurring Big Wavy Cheerleader Hair. It always feels great to have it under control for a few weeks with a shorter haircut. Thanks for your kind words.

So! Back to my obsession with gloves. Do you have a copy of Handknitting with Meg Swansen? I was looking through my knitting books yesterday for further glove ideas, and whattaya know! Right there in HwithMS are the cleverest gloves ever! The fingers are created from I-cord! Can you imagine? No? Look here. I almost stopped working on Laura's glove to make some I-cord fingers! As it is, these gloves are high on my list as I work through my passionate glove affair. I never fail to be amazed, inspired, and entertained by a pattern, design, or book by Elizabeth Zimmermann or Meg Swansen. Schoolhouse Press rules.

Pups

Little Jack says Forget Your Troubles! C'mon, Get Thursday!

Have a happy one!

Endless Glove

I'm still working on the mate to Sister's glove; tiny needles, you know. I'm moving much more quickly on the second than I did on the first, but it's not ready for a photo shoot yet. Why not go look at Sheila's raspberries and cream Sanquhar glove? Isn't it cool that the Glorious Glove Project is producing such gloveliness? I'm really enjoying the group-knitting, and enjoying viewing the gorgeous gloves that are turning up around the knitting-blog ring.

IK

I picked up my copy of IKs Winter 2003 issue from my Local Yarn Store today. In a lovely bit of timely synchronicity, there's an article on gloves and glove-gussets. The gloves shown in the article are knit on US 7-sized needles, which gives me a little pause, since the Glove Project knitters are all working at US 0 and below. I'm kind of curious as to what type of glove fabric would be produced on US 7s, and will probably try the pattern out. There's also a very interesting article by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts on working intarsia (shudder) in the round on some ethnic footies, so I consider my $5.95 well spent for this issue.

Pups

Della says fly high; it's Wednesday.

Oh! Personal news! I got my hair cut short and dyed a reddish-shade called Cherry Cola. Cherry Cola! Can you stand it?

Cheers! We'll see you tomorrow!

Glove Letters

Many thanks for your kind comments on my first glove success! I appreciate the comments, and must say again how much I have enjoyed working through this glove-experience. Gloves are too cool! Plus, there is the delightful size of the blank canvas aspect...gloves are just the right size to practice peeries and skulls and other whimseys.

Speaking of peeries, did you realize that there are 900 authentic Fair Isle charts in the reprint of The Complete Book of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting?

Sheila McGregor's book has been reissued by (God Bless) Dover, and I just gotta get my hands on a copy. It appears to be available from Schoolhouse Press and also from Marcia's Needlearts Book Store, and I'm going to get one right now.

[sizzle-sizzle-creditcard-sizzle]

I met Sister at the local Y for our Monday evening swim class, and afterwards, she found time to try on her finished glove. It fits perfectly! Therefore, I've been working on the mate, free from fit worries. No point in showing you a photo of it in progress again, so why not go look at CCF's incredible glove knitting? Beautiful work, Carolyn!

Oh! Gloves! They're simply glovely.

Other Knitting

Hohum. The Morning Glory Vest by Alice Starmore is lanquishing at the armhole steeks, and Laura's Bead Ribbed Sock lays abandoned at the heel flap. Oh dear. Glove-knitting has completely turned my head.

Pups

Mike and Della say Go Team Go! It's Tuesday!

Wishing you an easy day and happy knitting.

Glove is a Many-Splendored Thing

I finished all those fingers (seemed like more than five) and so my first glove in the Glorious Glove Project is a wrap. Many thanks to the knitters who created the pattern and then posted it on the internet. My first glove is a Sanquhar-style glove, with authentic Sanquhar motifs on the front, and with historically-correct finger-gussets.

The back, of course, is not-quite-Sanquhar.

I have learned so much from this project, and not just about small villages in Scotland. The pattern can be a little puzzling, but I think that's owing to the puzzling nature of glove construction when you are knitting your first one. As Nanette reported, the pattern is error-free, and my gauge also seemed to change quite a bit over the course of knitting the whole thing. I expect a lot of the bumps to come out in the blocking. One thing that seems like it might contribute to a better fit would be to start the little finger before the ring, middle, and index fingers. I'll try that on the next pair. I think this glove is going to fit Sister perfectly. When I make my pair, I think I'll go up in needle size, from the 0000 to at least a 00, because I don't think I want to do the math to create 14 st per inch on a glove that would fit me and my large hands!

However! All that being said, isn't it awesome? Making a glove is a very cool project, and I want to knit many more. I've cast on the corrugated ribbing for the second to this glove, so Laura will have very elegant gloves to wear here with her shorts and t-shirt. (Weather note: It's November! But it is horribly hot and muggy! Gross!)

Pups

Jack and Della say It Smells Like Monday.

Hope you have an easy one. Enjoy your knitting!