Wishlist: Berroco Handeze Glove

Has anyone tried out the Berroco Handeze Gloves?

I notice when I'm knitting a lot, then typing at work all day, I get some aches in my hands. It's not in my wrists so I don't think it's carpal tunnel. I think (hope) I'm too young for arthritis (although, makes me worry a bit that knitting could lead to arthritic pain down the road, eek!) It's mostly on the back of my hands up to my fingers.  I think it's more of an overuse injury.  Has anyone else experienced this?

I'm not entirely sure it's from knitting, could be the typing, but I think it's a combination of both.

Is there an ergonomic way to knit? Apparently there is...and Wild Thyme Knits has blog post with a nice summary! The Berroco website also provides some stretches and exercises.

Yarn - In Croatia!

I'm in Croatia for a month and it was just my luck that there was a yarn shop just around the corner from where I'm staying.  I couldn't resist.  The shopkeeper didn't speak much English but between her little English and my limited Croatian, we got by.

I picked out some of my favorite yarns.  I tried to think of what I would want to make for myself...all I could think of was a scarf, lol.  I know, a bit boring.  So, I brought her a few balls of yarn and said, in Croatian, "I would like to make a scarf, is this enough?".  She answered back, "more".  So I went and got more, and she said "enough".

The yarn is cheap here.  I got a wool and cashmere blend and it was $1.50 - $3.00 Canadian per ball!  Good thing I have a limited amount of room in my suitcase.

After, I went to the market to buy something for myself - I ended up getting a pretty table cloth.  When the lady went to put it in my bag, she saw the yarn and got all excited and asked me if I knit.  I told her, in Croatian, that I was learning and we had a little conversation about knitting and she showed me some afghans she had knit. 

Anyways, here's a picture of my new yarn (more beautiful in person, of course)!  Can't wait to figure out exactly what I will make with it all :)

What's Currently on My Needles

Despite me telling myself "no more yarn!", I gave in.

I went to Urban Yarns last week hoping to purchase this adorable Spud and Chloe baby bunting pattern. They were out, and I was put on the waiting list for when they come in.  I called today and they just came in so I will head there after work to pick it up.  I have enough yarn to make two of these (I think).  My "sister-in-law" is expecting baby number two next February or March so one will be for her new one.

Since I was already at Urban Yarns, I decided to spend some time and check out their new store (which is awesome, by the way) and ended up finding a sweet little bolero pattern by Sirdar that would look good on my niece Lucy! It has a great border on it and I'll definitely learn something new when knitting it (always a bonus, sometimes a challenge). I picked up some of my favorite yarn (Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK) in purple (she looks great in purple) and couldn't wait to cast on! I like Sirdar's patterns - I find them easy to follow and they normally have instructions for sizes ranging from baby to 6 or 7 years old.

Here is the back portion. Going to work on the front pieces, the sleeves, and then attempt the border!

I'm leaving on a trip soon and was considering taking this with me but I'm a bit worried about getting the needles confiscated - and, long straight needles aren't the easiest to knit with on a cramped airplane.

Instead, I think I will take the shawl I am starting to knit.  It's on smaller circular needles - easier to knit with in cramped spaces and more likely to cause less alarm on the airlines.  Knitting needles are technically allowed, but I've read stories about grumpy airline employees taking them away.  I'm thinking about taking the yarn and needles to make one of the baby buntings in my checked luggage - not sure how much time I will have to knit on my trip though.

My First Project - Baby Leg Warmers!

Here is where it all began.  My sister-in-law (ok, not sister-in-law yet but hopefully in the near future!) was pregnant and I wanted to learn to knit so that I could create something for my future niece or nephew.  I needed to find a project! Mizz Rizz had a copy of the Expectant Knitter on loan so I browsed through and found a pattern for some adorable baby leg warmers! Looked like a great first project (not everyone agreed and suggested beginning with a scarf or something simple.  Pfft! ;) ).

I went to Michael’s and found some yarn – Patons Kroy Socks Jacquards in Denim and some plain black wool yarn. The original pattern called for six different colors but I figured using just two would be good enough – especially since the sock yarn would naturally create stripes for me (bonus!). I also picked myself up some small double-pointed needles.

I really wanted these to be ‘perfect’, especially the tension. I thought I could accomplish that by making sure my stitches were tight…so tight that sometimes my yarn barely slid across the needles (my poor fingers)! They ended up looking good, but since then I’ve definitely been able to loosen up my knitting and let the needles and yarn do the work of making my project look uniform and tight.  Mizz Rizz and Coco would constantly comment on how tight my stitches were and that I needed to learn to not knit so tight…at that time I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do that.  I did try.  It didn't work.

I learned a lot during this project, in addition to the basic stitches, including how to knit ribbing and how to knit in the round using double-pointed needles.  I learned about recognizing stitches, and that dropped stitches could be fixed (mistakes - I make plenty - are a great way to learn new things!).  One thing I love about knitting is that in almost every project so far I’ve learned something new.

In May 2009, a beautiful little girl - Lucy - was born! While I have no problem with girls wearing boy colors, I decided I wanted to give her something more girly so I bought some beautiful pink and brown yarns (I think it was Sirdar Baby Bamboo, which I LOVE!) and whipped up another pair.

When another friend of mine was pregnant (baby was to be my future godchild), I told her that she could have the original leg warmers if she had a boy. She ended up having a boy…but I just could not bring myself to give them away! Looks like my first-born will be the lucky recipient of this (sentimental) project!

If I were to make these again, I'd use Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off to be sure that chunky baby legs would be comfortable in these!

My Little God-monster

My godson is a good eater, and it shows in his size. At two months old, he is in the 100th percentile for his length and is 13 pounds.

I made these for him just after he was born (April 2010).

I LOVE the yarn I used - Fleece Artist, Peter Rabbit - it's so soft and beautiful! 70% angora, 20% nylon, and 10% wool. I purchased it at Urban Yarns in Vancouver. It's a bit more pricey than some yarns but you can get at least 3 pairs of booties out of it (probably more!). I had it wound into two balls and held it double to achieve the correct gauge (US 7 - 4.5mm needles).

It seemed like they would be easy for a baby to kick off so I added a crocheted chain as a tie (I don't know how to crochet but it's easy to do, just search youtube for directions). Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off was perfect for this pattern (I would definitely recommend this bind off for any bootie, sweater, or project that might need some extra stretch at the edge).

I wanted them to come up slightly higher on the baby's leg than the pattern called for so I added some extra rows of ribbing (I did 10 instead of 6 rows).

Youtube was definitely helpful when it came time to make the french knot toes! Check out this video if you are looking for instructions. This video was also helpful. The french knots were my least favorite part of this project (but totally necessary!) - it took me a few times to get them looking half-decent and to not pull them through to the wrong side of my knitting! Weaving the ends in was another story...so many ends, so little room to weave them in. I ended up mostly tying tight knots in the yarn of the french knots on the wrong side of the project. I wonder what an experienced knitter would have done? Oh well, it was NOT pretty but it worked!

I was so excited to make these monster booties for him, they are too cute! Unfortunately, they barely fit him. The pattern is for a newborn but his feet were too big even though he was only 3 weeks old when I gave them to him! Good thing they are planning on having more children :) I think they would fit a 'normal-size' newborn. I may end up making him another pair and adding a bit to the length (which would mean adjusting the pattern slightly - another new adventure!).

Here they are on his feet, since they were too small, it was easy for him to kick them off. They are stretched to the max lengthwise.

I ended up making another pair for a friend who was expecting. These make great gifts and I will definitely be making more!

This was a free pattern I found on Ravelry by Shana Kreikemeier - here is the link to the pattern on needyl.com: Monster Booties.

Just What I Needed, Another Hobby!

I began knitting in September 2008 when I found out someone very close to me was pregnant. I can’t remember why, but I decided I should learn to knit! With all my spare time, another hobby is JUST what I needed! (note: sarcasm; I barely had time to shower and sleep with my schedule). I was lucky enough to have two coworkers who were very talented knitters and great teachers! They gracefully spent one lunch hour per week teaching me to knit. I knew I was gaining a new hobby, but had no idea I was slipping into an addiction.

My first project was a pair of baby legwarmers knit on 4 double-pointed needles. One of my friends suggested it was not a good project for a beginner (the small dpns, the fine yarn, etc.) and that I should probably start out with a scarf. Ha! She apparently didn’t know me THAT well as I don’t like to take the time to learn and start slow…I find something I want to create and jump right in! Too bad it didn’t work as well with painting as it did with knitting for me. Plus, I only had 9 months to knit a box of beautiful things for this special baby and surely he or she would not put a scarf to good use, especially being due in May! (I would like to point out that I have since knit a scarf, for an adult, which I will post in a later blog.)

With the success of my legwarmers (which I knit in anticipation of a boy), I continued on to a pair of replica suede “Ugg” booties and a hat and just kept going from there! My niece Lucy (I had to knit another pair of leg warmers in pink and brown after her arrival!) has been the recipient of many of my ‘first knits’.

People have said to me “why don’t you knit something for yourself”? Really, at this point, I have no interest. First of all, part of the pleasure in knitting for me is that I’m knitting a special gift for someone else. Secondly, other people aren’t as likely to notice a mistake (and, there are bound to be a few!) where that mistake would probably really bug me on anything I knit for myself!

I choose to stick mostly to baby knits for the following reasons:

1. They tend to be quick knits - great for my lack of patience (as shown by my tendency to 'just jump in') and my satisfaction of actually finishing something I start.
2. Fit does not matter as much with babies - if my knitting is anything like my sewing, after hours of concentration, the finished product will not fit the variable bodies of adults.
3. Babies aren't critical of my work so they are more likely to wear my creations! (Ok, I guess what a baby wears is mostly (fully) up to the parents so maybe this isn't such a great point.)
4. Baby knits are adorable and there is no lack of people in my life that are having kids!

So, that is how it all started. I will start to post all of my finished projects and then begin to blog my works in progress!