Hand Warmers: Necessary and Lovely

So I should tell the story of getting started on handwarmers and show you some picks of my work. I know, and it is on to KIC swatches. Those cable needles should be here anytime now...



The handwarmer story begins with a pair (one of the first things I did with fingering weight yarn) I made for my mother out of Cascade Fixation. She keeps them at her computer desk at home and says the work really well without being overly warm.


Well, one day my dad complained that his hands were cold. So first they tried the Magic Gloves you can buy in WalMart, they are thin and very stretchy for good flexibility. He said that he still could not work in them because he could not feel what he was doing. So mom offered him the fingerless ones I had made her. She has not see them again except on his hands.


So one day I asked him how those were working for him. He said that they were okay however the end of them closest to his fingers rolled up and did not afford him any warmth on that part of his hand.


So I started looking around for a pattern for fingerless gloves. I found one that will should work, however wanted to knit something faster than all those little half fingers. So while we were visiting Colorful Yarns in Centennial we found a knit sample of the Fetching mitts made famous by Knitty.com. I also found they had the more manly version called Dashing. So I pondered those two choices, knowing I have yet to knit my first cable. Then we visited Purls of Wisdom and Jen shared with me a great spiral rib patterned version of handwrist warmers from CanadianLiving.com. Free pattern and all. I think the link will take you right to the pattern however you may have to sign up for their free newsletter.


I made my first pair just like the pattern called for and they turned out too big for dad, so I have them at work for me to wear. Then I downsized the pattern by using sz 5 needles and less stitches cast on. They are a perfect fit and I do not believe he has had them off since mom took them home to him. I have since made a pair for one of my co-workers and have another pair to finish for the other co-worker.


They are fairly fast to make once you get the hang of the pattern and they work up nicely in a wool blend like Lion Brand Wool Ease. So here is the debut of my other knitting assistants, these would be underlings to the Head Knit Inspector, Pedro, of course. Floxy joins us to show that the knitting has the stamp of approval from sheep and Sir Hops-Alot is keeping a close eye in case he is called upon to assist in the Frog Pond. So far, knock on wood, that has not been necessary and the worst I have had to do is TINK a needle or two for a row gone awry.

Hope you are living your dreams!

Happy 50 or Watching 40s in the Rear View Mirror

Hey, watch where you throw that confetti! Who brought the horns in here? Can't you see I am celebrating the Big 50? Oh, that's what all the hoopla is. Thank you.

I decided a long time ago that fearing a milestone birthday is just silly. You may as well embrace it and party til your butt falls off, besides the other alternative is just not as much fun.

So I started my long weekend of celebrating with a trip to the eye doctor. He assured me that my eyes are healthy. Good thing, because I have not been able to see out of them clearly since I was six. Then I was off for a shopping day with my mom. She exchanged some Christmas gifts for others that fit better (yay for mom) and I got a new work outfit and winter coat - thanks so much.

Dinner at Joe's Crab Shack was a hoot! Good food, fun drink with a shark in it, and they only made me look a little foolish in front of a room full of strangers. They say that is good for the soul occasionally. Overall, a fun place for a birthday dinner.

Then we were off to Denver to visit the Wings Over the Rockies Air Museum. It is located on the Lowry base and is a little tricky to find. Once you get there you realize that you could have seen the gynormous hangar from a ways off if you had known where to look. It is full of displays of historic pictures and memorabilia from Lowry's heyday which includes it's roll during the Eisenhower days when Denver was known as the Summer White House and the Glenn Miller Band played for the then president in the Hangar where the museum is now. During our visit that is the music that was piped through the building, definitely some good dance tunes.

Dad had the opportunity to look at a restored J3 Piper Cub, like the one he learned to fly in --- years ago. (He'd shoot me if I filled that number in)

And we had the chance to stand next to and under the Blackbird. It is huge.

Afterwards we visited a couple new knitting stores, both in Centennial, Colorful Yarns and Knitty Cat. Both had lots of fun things to look at.

We stayed overnight and headed home the next morning with a stop in Parker, CO, to visit the newly opened Purls of Wisdom. The shop owner, Jen, was very helpful explaining what she carries in the way of a large selection of traditional yarns selections. She has the largest selection of Rowan I have ever seen. She says it is her favorite yarn, especially the one called Calmer. Her shop has a very meditative feel to it, as her website says - Zen-like.

A great weekend all in all. The weather cooperated and the traffic was light, not much else you can hope for.

My theory: Celebrate every age because you only get to do it once in this linear fashion!

Colorful Yarns or Wow! What A Store.

I finally had the good weather/road opportunity to deliver the Cat Care Society donation box to Colorful Yarns in Centennial, Colorado yesterday. The donations were welcomed with oohs and aahs for the blankets and chuckles about the spider strings and flying spider toys.

The shop is run by a mother/daughter team. It is stacked with yarns from all over, floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with many knitting and crochet books, and more needle choices than I have ever seen.

I was especially excited to find the Kollage square needles. I purchased a pair, size 13, to make scarves on and three skeins of yarn for just that purpose. After Christmas some of you may recognize the colorway in a gift. Not telling who. From the Kollage website I discovered that there are only two shops currently carrying these particular needles, the other is Green Valley Weavers and Knitters in Colorado Springs.




The gals at Colorful Yarns said that they collect for the Cat Care Society throughout the year so if you have the time and washable acrylic yarn (like I do) you can do 2'x2' blankets to help keep the kitties warm and comfy.

Enjoy your holidays!

Mother Nature Wins Again

As you may have guessed from previous posts, not much gets in the way of a road trip in my life. With or without my traveling family members (The 3 Mouseketeers, as we like to call ourselves) I ususally go on mini-road trip adventures as scheduled.

However that is not the case today.

My plan for today was to deliver the kittyghan donations for the Cat Care Society to Colorful Yarns in Centennial (that is on the current outskirts of southern Denver) and visit Knitty Cat in the same area before I came home to finish my Xmas projects.

Mother Nature has other ideas this morning. Even though the snow is minimal, the ice on the roads makes it treacherous, as the newscaster on Channel 13 has just remarked.

As you can see below the kittyghans are ready to go, mostly crocheted ones donated from CK and the knit one I made, with crocheted kitty spider strings and some additional toy items. Then I prepared the box to put everything in with help from my assistant, Pedro. He sat in the box for counterweight while I taped the wrapping paper on it. He is so helpful.







As you can see the box is ready and I am monitoring the road reports carefully to see if I am going to attempt it. I have driven in adverse conditions with much deeper snow depths before, however, ICE makes me hesitate. Will post later with the outcome of the day.