With A Little Help...

Nona started Peaceful Palms and with winter approaching, and the title of the KAL, I just had to join. My first choice was Merkje's Gloves (as you see in this post), but then Norma wrote to tell me she had a fabulous ball of yarn that Anne jad spun with beads. She thought it would make a perfect cuff for my gloves. If you look at the picture in my previous post you'll see the glove doesn't really have a suitable cuff, but I HAD to use the yarn, especially after I saw it!  Anne does beautiful work and for Norma to offer it to me was a true gift of friendship.  A quest for the perfect yarn and pattern ensued and turned out to be successful. 

The pattern is Anu's Christmas Glove, stitch count only and no colorwork. You can barely see the beads on the cuff in the picture, but they are such an elegant adornment. The yarn for the rest of the glove is Jamieson's Shetland (290 Oyster) in a tweedy mix of soft orange, cream and green (which looks gray).  The gloves will be perfect with Brier. (Her sleeves are growing.)

It is so much fun to knit along with friends during our KALs, even more fun to have friends aid (or enable) the search for the perfect project.  I think of Norma and Anne with every stitch and can't wait to have the gloves on my hands (soon).

Make sure you check out Nona's technique of knitting I-cord fingers for gloves from the top down. Very cool.

Cassie and I were discussing whether she should buy Jaeger Matchmaker 4ply to make the Child’s French Socks, as she already had tons of sock yarn in her stash. I encouraged her to go ahead, regardless. If you really love the yarn and pattern, why  not?  It's only sock yarn.  You see, in my stash there is enough yarn to make 50+ pairs of socks. You would think I'd look there before starting a new pair of socks.  Before I started blogging I would have done just that. But, in Blogland, where so many beautiful socks and yarns are shown daily, it is hard to resist them all. The easy rationalization is that while the cost of a sweater project can be prohibitive at times, a ball or two of sock yarn is easily worked into the budget.  There is also a friend or two, who will do their best to enable inspire. What you see now, is what you want now. (Zen thinking is forgotten.) Take for instance Sweet Georgia's beautiful hand dyed yarns.  How could I resist purchasing this gorgeous color!?  It may never be seen again, it is unique and I love it.

Click for a bigger picture. You'll love it, too!

Digitmania continues!

Susan and I will be attending the  SOAR market next Thursday.  We'd love to meet up with anyone else who will be there, too. Just send one of us an email!

Comments

[Liz]

Look at all that snow already! It's the perfect backdrop for your pretty glove-in-progress.
Felicia has a fabulous eye for color...that's a beautiful skein.

[Carole]

You can just never have too much sock yarn. Never! Those gloves are gorgeous. I love the colors and they look so soft and warm.

[claudia]

I would look at the glove, but I am too distracted by the snow.

[Beth]

Oh man - spin the beads into the yarn. That's the way to do it! Clearly the all-time best way to have beads in your knitting.

[Kim]

What a wonderful gift that Norma has given you. Anne does such lovely work and it is perfect for your gloves!

[Laurie]

50 sock yarns? I'm humbled. And relieved.
Lovely gloves, including snazzy beads.

[Teresa C]

Oh sure! Do you know how many times I have fallen for the "it's only sock yarn" reasoning? I easily have 50+ potential socks in my stash, and more Socks That Rock winging their way to me as I type. But search my stash when a new pattern and yarn combination flits by? Heh.

[Miriam]

I would love to go, but I can't get down there during a weekday. I've got to save my annual leave for a trip in March. Too bad. I've been feeling the spinning bug again, but my spindle is too damn heavy! Like... 7 or 8 oz heavy! It's a freakin' club!

The sock yarn is really pretty! I can't wait to see it worked up! :)

[Elizabeth D]

Hey, Margene -- Toni (The Fold) is planning to pick up lots more Socks that Rock at SOAR. . .I'm hoping she'll still have some left when she gets home so I can call her and add to my [many more than] 50 pairs worth of sock yarn.

[Kim]

OHMYGOSH---I'm lovin the glove. What a beautiful color combination! Thanks for the link to the icord finger method--interesting!

[Cassie]

Too Much ________. (Fill in the blank.)

[Rachel H]

Those gloves are going to be so elegant! But snow?!? Wasn't it just a week or so ago you were still wearing sandals?

[Norma]

Oh, oh, OH! I am stunned. The beauty that you are creating! I must have me some of those, too. JUST.LIKE.THEM. Send back the scraps if there are any...or I'll have Anne spin me some more! Truly making me teary-eyed over here!

[Janine]

I'll be going to SOAR, arriving in SLC on Thursday morning and staying through Sunday. I'd love to meet you in person! But don't bring that gorgeous hank of color with you--it might just "disappear" accidentally.

[Patti]

How on earth does one spin beads into yarn? I've knitted with beads, and strung them on the yarn - I'm mystified. Those will be beautiful, and it looks like you need them already! Brrrr.

[Sneaksleep]

Love the mittens in the last post, and love love love the gloves! I was given a packet of beads that I have intended to knit into something, but I still haven't figured out what yet. Knitting them in will almost certainly make a pattern, though, which is OK, but I like the slight randomness of the beads in your cuff. I second the question, "how does one spin beads into yarn?" The snow makes a great photo backdrop.

[regina]

you can't have too much sock yarn. you just can't.

gloves? wow. thanks for the link to Nona's blog. How cool.

[Kathy]

I can see the beading - so subtle and lovely.

[Jody]

Have a great time at SOAR for those of us jealous ones out here. :)

The gloves look fantastic and the new sock yarn is very yummy. Must.resist.tempatation.

[Beth S.]

How do you manage to create these beautiful things so quickly? Yesterday it was an entire mitten, today it's most of a glove. Amazing.

[nona]

Your gloves are going to be absolutely beautiful! The subtley beaded yarn makes a perfect cuff, made even better by the fact that the yarn was a gift. I look forward to seeing the finished glove(s).

[Nanette]

I love the gloves! I'm so jealous of your snow. We still haven't even had a frost yet.

[Cara]

Dinner with Toni! YOU ROCK! (Can you buy me some yarn please? I'll give you the shopping list. Seriously. I'm NOT kidding!!)

That Norma man - she puts up a good front, but really, what a SWEETHEART! Loving the gloves, but I need a good mitten pattern. What's a good mitten pattern? Share please.

[Birdsong]

Wow, I am envious of you going to SOAR! I would love to take a little time off and spend it with fellow fiberholics... can't wait to see a photo of you modeling the finished gloves.

[Kathleen]

Love the beads...and I so need to get back to my pulsewarmers. Very cool