theraineysisters knitting and so much more

December 28, 2008

From The Rainey Sisters — Wrapping Up Another Year of Knitting

Filed under: Completed Projects,Sweetheart Glovelets — Both Sisters @ 2:35 pm

From Both
It’s been a great year, but too short — where did 2008 go?  The holidays have been crazy busy, but have afforded a bit of knitting time as well.  Here are some updates…

From Sally
Susan has had a more productive holiday knitting season than I have.  My ambitious plans to knit many many pairs of gloves were dashed when my de Quervain’s started to act up again.  I think it was knitting a pair of gloves for my son out of some sock yarn that is 50% cotton and 50% wool.  My hands have never liked knitting with cotton, which is why I rarely use cotton yarn.  Knitting on tiny needles with a deadline was just.not.good.  His were the only gloves I was able to finish before Christmas.  I’m back to sleeping in my splints.  The good news is that knitting with wool yarn doesn’t seem to be bothering me.  To be on the safe side, though, I’m limiting the amount of time I spend knitting.  I don’t want to have to give it up entirely for several months as I had to earlier this year.

As for the gloves I knit for my son — he likes them!  He wanted something colorful and a bit wild.  He picked the yarn out himself (from my vast stash).  (I’m giving you multiple photos to make up for only having one project. Pathetic, n’est-ce pas?).  Without further ado:

 

Is it just me or do his gloves look like they belong to a sock monkey?  Susan says, yes!

Here’s one shot of the gloves I’m making for my daughter. I’m using Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Chocolate. It’s a deep, lovely brown but difficult to photograph. The pattern is Knotty Gloves by Julia Mueller. In a rare act of conformity, I only made one change to the pattern.

As written, when you get to the top of the hand you’re supposed to start with the index finger and then work your way to the little finger. Because the little finger typically sits slightly lower on the hand than the other fingers, I did the little finger first. Then I knit three plain rounds before doing the other fingers. I just find gloves fit better if I account for little finger’s position.

From Susan
I did some gift knitting and am happy to report modest success.  Remember the Fetching Glovelets for lil daughter in school colors?

She LOVED them — I mean loved them big time!  Woo Hoo!  A home run with these.  She said they are the best thing I ever made for her!  And she wants a pair of Fetching Glovelets for her best friend.  Feels pretty good.  I also gave my SIL and niece a pair and they loved them, too.

Jena picked out yarn — cheap yarn from my stash, so I whipped up the pair for her little friend last evening (these are such a quick knit!):


Bernat Denim Style and US 7 needles

I made a pair of glovelets for my older daughter, also.  Her reaction was difficult to gauge — I think she liked them (?).  They are a hybrid of the Sweetheart Glovelets from The Rainey Sisters and the Plum Blossom Gloves from Joanna Ryan.  They are knit from one skein of Misti Alpaca Worsted (!?!!) on size 2.25 mm needles.  They are soft as butter.


Black is impossible to see!

Here are the original gloves, which I plan on making some time in the New Year:


Plum Blossom Gloves by Joanna Ryan

I also have been working on another “Ripple Me This” bag from Fall 2008 Knitters as a class sample.  I love the colors for this bag.  I used Ella Rae Toast and Ecru (2 skeins each).  The yarn is that natural sheep color that reminds me of the sweaters from Peru.

I made the rippled handles this time and thought they turned out pretty cute:

Ella Rae felts with a boucle appearance which I find attractive.  When this lil sucker dries, I’ll sew on the handles.  I had absolutely no yarn leftover! 

Another pic with handles!

PS from Susan — one of the most unusual gifts I received this year was a copy of the 1978 movie, Halloween with Jamie Lee Curtis.  Notable for the KNIT-tastic scene where she stabs Mike Myers with a knitting needle in the neck!  My kind of heroine!

That’s it from us.  We hope to get in a lot more knitting before the New Year!

14 Comments »

  1. It must be exciting for you both to be such talented knitters. My mom used to crochet years ago, and I have been trying to get her to pick it back up again–that or learn to knit. It must be so wonderful to share this together. You guys are amazing!

    Sally: I love the gloves! although I do have a question: Did you break the yarn or carry it all the way through? I can’t imagine that you left knots in there.

    Susan: The glovelets are darling. Of course, I have always loved that rippled bag!

    Comment by Eryka Jackson — December 28, 2008 @ 4:05 pm

  2. Oh my, they are all so beautiful. I would like to make some gloves. Happy Holidays!!!

    Comment by cici — December 28, 2008 @ 7:26 pm

  3. Sally, your comments re the little finger on the gloves are very inspiring. This is one of the perks of knitting — to be able to compensate for all the little anomalies that the human body presents to us and that so many patterns ignore. Hope your hands hold up to all your projects. I know that my vision problems have begun to limit me and I can no longer knit anything in black. Very frustrating when that’s exactly what my niece wants! So,I compromised with brown and she loved it! There’s always a way. Happy New Year to both of you!

    Comment by Ursula — December 28, 2008 @ 8:15 pm

  4. …I will never again grouse about no knitting needles on airplanes! vbg

    Comment by Kate/Massachusetts — December 28, 2008 @ 9:25 pm

  5. Agree 100% on little finger placement. Nicely done!

    And so glad that daughter loved the mitts. They are all lovely.

    Happy New Year!

    Comment by twinsetellen — December 28, 2008 @ 10:25 pm

  6. All gorgeous! Happy New Year to you. 🙂

    Comment by Romi — December 29, 2008 @ 1:23 am

  7. The Sock Monkey gloves for your son are really wonderful. I made some gloves from patterned sock yarn but they looked weird. Yours look great. I will have to give it another go. Joanna

    Comment by Joanna Ryn — December 29, 2008 @ 1:30 am

  8. A well made collection lovely and neat. My fave, had to be the glovelets They really are cute I have some myself. I think all ages like them. Julie.C

    Comment by Julie.C — December 29, 2008 @ 5:01 am

  9. Sorry, I wanted to say Happy New Year to both of you. best wishes Julie.C

    Comment by Julie.C — December 29, 2008 @ 5:03 am

  10. Gorgeous gloves — being a new knitter, haven’t tried gloves yet — only a pair of mittens for a grandchild so far. DPN’s scare me ;).
    Thanks so much for responding to my question about the jeans you’re wearing in your banner picture. Must say I feel like a real goober for not realizing your picture was 30 years old — you look so ‘current’! I saw a very cute girl in the airport the other day looking very stylish in jeans just like yours. Anyhoo, I did find some similar on J. Crew’s website and ordered them — love them.
    GA

    Comment by Georganna — December 29, 2008 @ 12:10 pm

  11. Sally,
    I *love* those gloves, especially the ones for your son! How fun! I hope to remember your trick for the little finger on my next pair. Sounds great. I hope your hands hold up to as much knitting as you’d like to do.

    Comment by Amy — December 29, 2008 @ 11:24 pm

  12. Just wanted to thank you for the Tam and Scarf pattern. Love your blog. Beautiful work.

    Comment by Juanita — December 31, 2008 @ 12:47 pm

  13. I am a faithful reader of your blog and find both of you so talented! How wonderful to be able to share a passion with one’s sister… Sally, I’m awfully sorry about the de Quervain acting up. I so know what your going through, having done my stint from April to November. Your blogs and seeing all the beautiful FOs kept my morale up during that time. Can’t seem to keep away from tiny needles! Fortunately, physiotherapy and finally a cortisone injection did wonders. Life without knitting is sad indeed. Nobody understands that better than another knitter! Have a healthy New Year both of you, with fabulous yarns and lots of time to kint!

    Comment by Rosemarie — January 1, 2009 @ 11:27 pm

  14. Recently found your wonderful blog and loved the striped gloves you knit for your son and was wondering which pattern you used. Would love to knit them for myself.

    Comment by Lindarose — January 19, 2009 @ 8:59 am

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