Paw Prints

Once upon at time, about January 12 2009, i had found a fingerless glove pattern CrochetMe via Ravelry [Membership req]. I had a number of lovely purple yarns in my stash from when i was keeping good track and i chose the smooth, gently variegated bamboo. The gloves worked up in just a few days. I remember how exciting it was to see them take shape under my hook. The first one i did according to the pattern, adjusting due to the difference in gauge: it was symmetric and would fit either hand. The second i tried shaping some so that the palm side was a little tighter than the knuckle side. They weren’t symmetric, but they were mine! And in a wonderful color! And really, lovely.

With the bamboo yarn remaining and the Bernat Boa in purple (“Parrot”) from the trim, so i made a little capelet.
I used the Shoulder Snuggle by Lion Brand Yarn [Membership Req] pattern on Ravelry [Membership req] as a guide, skipping stitches in the motif, trusting the eyelash of the novelty yarn to fill in. Then i trimmed out the cape with fun motifs in the bamboo — and this was all flying off my hook, zip, zap, here’s a lovely fun set to keep the chill off. I was done sometime in early February

We don’t need protection from cold that often in our home in California, but there can be a chill in the winter, a draft off the windows above my desk and the office 65° F or a little cooler. Christine liked the gloveletts, so we went and picked out a lovely blue yarn for her, and i had beads that went well with the yarn. I started on a beaded pair for her, a pair that would have a distinct back and front. (The beads went on with a backwards stitch so they would face me, one bead per row.)

All this in about a month, and then i left for a trip in Oregon. I pinned a silver pin of a horse to the back of one of my gloves, the easier to see it and use it as a meditation focus. And thend i went for a hike up a hill in the verdant rainforest. I slipped at one point, getting pants and gloves muddy, and i tucked the gloves in my back pocket. When we reached the camp, the gloves were gone, somewhere up the hill.

I was very disappointed.

I kept working on Christine’s gloves, but i slowed down. I finished my hassock cosy. I got distracted by dyes, by my Mohop shoe uppers. I still worked on the gloves. I’d work on them on flights and find i’d made the glove too tight or too loose for Christine. Rip and repeat. Between the right and the left i forgot what hook i was using, so the gauge is different glove to glove. I’d take them to craft and game night and forget to do a bead on a row and have to rip out and redo. I found i split for the thumb too early, and one is slightly shorter than the other. I finally finished them last night. They’re unique and not half bad.

The most important lesson i’ve learned is that the beading on the back should wrap around to the palm side opposite the thumb — the area for the palm is smaller than the area needed for the back. Other than that, though, Christine seems delighted.

Maybe i’ve put my grief of the purple gloves (done in two days!) behind me, and i can make myself a pair again.

Bamboo Yarn Notes: Y8: Bamboo, Purple/Lavender, 100 grams, 250 yards, $13.50 USD $61.29/lb 1135 yds/lb