Baby It's Cold Outside

It has been so cold here and the humidity is higher than we like, as an inversion settled over us early in the week. It lifted for about 12 hours and is settling back over us, again. The morning temperatures are in the teens and hover around freezing during the day.  Layers are the only way to get by. Wearing gloves, hat and a scarf wrapped around your neck, is a must.  My new favorite accessory is the wrist warmer or gauntlet.  It covers the exposed area of arm between the glove and coat sleeve.  A pair of Bonne Marie’s Voodoo’s, in black alpaca, look good with everything. A second pair is in the works in a lovely blue Inca Alpaca.

A few months ago I knit a pair of Sally’s Gauntlets and find they are a favorite item of mine to wear.  They are very long and cover my arm almost to the elbow and can be worn over a sleeve and under a pair of gloves. I have been wearing both the Voodoo’s and the Gauntlets in the office, or while teaching, as well as when outdoors.  They give a little bit of extra warmth when your hands are cold. I’ve been able to knit while wearing them, too.

This is the latest Koigu that talked me into bringing it home. It will make another pair of gauntlets. Koigu (which is what Sally calls for) is heavenly. The yarn is soft and comfortable to wear next to the sensitive wrist skin. The multi-colors of Koigu make it interesting and possible to wear with a multitude of colors. This is also another good excuse to buy more Koigu and, yes, I do love me some Koigu.

With so many great wrist warmers patterns out there it is hard to choose what to do next.  The best laid plans are to make several and give up my sock obsession, just for a time. Mrs. Beeton in Knitty is a fun pattern and I have some Rowan Cashsoft DK that Emma sent to me during the Better Pal Exchange (yes, I bought the KSH recently) and I still have the beautiful bunny/alpaca that Anne sent to me before her move to Utah. She also gave me her pattern for a neck gaiter and wristies and I have only made the neck gaiter. It's time to rectify that!  And, Susan has done it again with her Knit Picks pattern for Fingerless Mitts. I swear that grrl is full of good ideas.

Jody also has a fun cabled wrist warmer pattern called Natalya. You can see Cassie's beautiful pair finished here. And speaking of Cassie, she has a fun lacey wrist warmer pattern on her side bar (go all the way to the bottom for a PDF file of the pattern.) I'll be stash diving to find the perfect yarn for both patterns and will make up a few for gifts NEXT YEAR.

Wristies are a great way to use up the nice bits of yarn or the one skein leftovers you have sitting around. Now, don’t hold me to all of this knitting right away! I’m mostly dreaming of staying warm.

Comments

[Kim]

It's been reaallllly cold up here. -18 this morning....bbrrrr! Right now we need more than wristlets, but I have to admit that those Mrs Beeton's are high on my list of to-dos this year ;-)

[Kathleen]

I just sent my mom some stash yarn for those Knitty wristwarmers--very pretty. Nice planning ahead for the 2006 holidays!

[Lolly]

Okay you talked me into it - I need some wristlets too :) I have been mighty interested in covering my wrists lately, as well as my ankles (I just joined the legwarmer knitalong!)

Stay warm, M!

[Carole]

I've been wanting to make wristwarmers and gauntlets for a while. Just haven't gotten around to it yet. They'd be great for using up some handspun, I'm thinking.

[stitchnsnitch]

I've been snuggling up in my hats and wrist warmers. Accessories really do make a difference!! :)

[Anne]

Gosh - you have a lot of that yarn left - I forgot how big that skein was! You could get several pairs of mitts out of that - and I was just petting another bunny blend skein of handspun I have and trying to decide what to make with it - I love Cassie's version too!

[Jan]

Perfectly timed post, Margene. Last night I was thinking that I must do a search for a pattern and I've already found what I was looking for in your links. Thanks!

[claudia]

I was just thinking how cold my hands were, and here you are with all the patterns neatly arranged in a smorgasbord. :)

[Jennifer]

Wow! It's so cold where you are. I've been thoroughly spoiled by California weather. I'm not sure I'd survive!

[marie in texas]

and i made 'executive funk' just for fun so Mrs beeton is on my list of things to do.

[heather]

I've had to break out the scarves and hats too. We have the same cold down here but just not the inversion and smog, luckily. I have a couple really soft scarves I made with chenille yarn last year, they're such a pleasure to wear. I'd like to try some wristlets, I'm thinking the Mrs. Beeton pattern in the current Knitty would be fun.

[Leslie]

May I recommend the beaded wrist warmers IK Fall 2002 or Fuzzy Noodle's freebie at http://fuzzynoodleknits.typepad.com/photos/free_patterns/stars.html

Nice list!

[Kristy]

The yarn I ordered for Mrs. Beeton's arrived just yesterday. I wondered if I was the only one enamored by these fun wristlets. I still have socks to finish for holiday giving before I can start on the wristlets, but I can hardly wait!

[regina]

Do you have Joelle Hoverson's book "Last Minute Knitted Gifts"? There are gorgeous wristwarmers in there, and you can make a pair out of one skein of Noro Cashiroha or Debbie Bliss Cashmerino or Frog Tree alpaca (i've used all three to great effect).

Gawd, I love Koigu. I have a heap of it at home waiting to be knitted up, but every time you post a photo of it, it's almost a Pavlovian response: i start to glaze over and immediately think about going to the yarn store to scoop up some more.

[Kathy]

After the Christmas knitting is done it'll be time to dive into the stash and make some things for my own self. Wristlets and gauntlets are topping the list, currently. Besides, I have this Cherry Tree Hill Supersock that needs knitting up ;-)

[Laura]

I'm loving all the comments about yarn addictions. Pavlovian response - pffffttt.... funny!!

1. I have never heard of inversion. Obviously I've never lived anywhere cold enough (or mountain'y enough?).

2. I never thought, until reading this post, that wrist warmers had a true purpose. Obviously (again) I've never lived anywhere cold enough. But I grew up in Michigan!? You'd think that wrist warmers would be some old grandmotherly concept of what you must wear to keep properly warm and teenagers would say puh-LEEEEEEEEz leave me alone and don't make me wear those things!!! Are they a new style? Back in style? ARCTIC CIRCLE STYLE? I don't know how these have eluded me until this year.

[Michelle]

It's cold here too! I might have to try out one of those patterns ;-)

It has been colder than usual here too.. hoarfrost in the trees to their 40-foot tips! I didn't think I "needed" wristlets till I saw the cute ruffled ones.. I will have to dig through my stash:) Thanks for sharing all these great patterns. Knitting is a bit like chopping wood, you can cover up with a blankie and stay warm while knitting, then wear what you make to further warm you (hee, hee).

[Birdsong]

oops, that was a very tired me above... stay warm.