Okay, so it is a glove. It fits my hand perfectly, so I’m sure it will fit my mother (for whom, if you remember, I am making a these for Christmas):

The stitch marker in the middle is where I’m considering a bit of embellishment. Originally I wanted to work an intarsia snowflake there, but when choosing between working in the round and working instarsia, dpn’s won out. So now I’m thinking about doing a little duplicate stitch (also called Swiss darning) to get the same effect.

Whatever I decide, I first need to finish paw number two, which should be easier now that there’s a bit of a chill in the air. There’s something a bit odd about knitting hats and mittens and gloves in summer.

I finally finished Anna’s legwarmers, just in time for ballet class to start again next month. She loves them. I had to make her take them off and put them in her ballet bag so she wouldn’t goober them. The picture shows them while they were still on the dpn’s. They didn’t take very long, once I made myself sit still and knit them, and they certainly weren’t difficult (it’s stockinette all the way with ribbing at the top and bottom).

As I was making the legwarmers, I was also working on knitting two socks on one 40″ circular needle as described in the book, 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. I certainly like the concept: no keeping track of rows to make sure each sock is identical, no single-sock syndrome. But while the method is not difficult to learn, it is awkward and time consuming. I don’t feel that I’ve gotten into the groove with this method, so that may be where the awkward feelings come into play. Still I can’t justify continuing to struggle with learning this method when I love working with double-pointed needles. I like the rhythm of the never-ending circle, the brief pause to switch needles again and again and again, the tube of yarn I’ve created focusing my thoughts…

So my next project, when I’m bored with fussing with the 2 sock deal, is gloves for my mother. (Shhh, don’t tell).

Last weekend I started (and finished) Lion Brand’s 4-Hour Bias Baby Blanket, again knit on ye olde Speed Stix. I think it took me about 6 hours due to a missed increase while watching one of the Bourne movies on TBS then frogging not quite half of the piece (pull hair here). It looks quite nice despite (because of?) the extra effort involved, and hopefully my niece-in-waiting will one day love having a hand-knit blankie from Aunt Beth. I skipped the tassels called for in the pattern, and chose a three-color purple scheme instead of four (doubling up on the Lavender Sachet and subbing Baroque for the Waterfall and Spring Green). I also overcame my dislike of Lion Brand’s Homespun yarn by placing each skein in a separate Ziploc baggie and cutting a hole in the end. The yarn did not break, shred, fuzz or tangle like it usually does for me.

Next up: finishing a pair of legwarmers for Anna’s ballet.

Between the time I took this picture and finally wrote this post, I have completed mitten number two, finished both mittens, and am now wearing them daily since the weather took a sudden turn toward cool. They turned out quite nice, I must say, although one has something funky going on at the cast-on edge. Of all the complicated things I can do with needles and yarn, I have to admit that it’s the basics that still stump me sometimes. Casting on (loosely). Weaving in ends. I once mentioned my lack of confidence in the basics in a yarn shop, and they thought I was joking. Surely, if you can work on dpn’s and wear the finished product without unraveling, then you must have mastered the basics. Alas, I shall never be a master knitter.

Normally I count the number of stitches in an inch to determine gauge. Last week I counted stitches per inch in my thumb. Yes, yes, it has come to pass, that which many a friend has predicted for years: I cut myself with a knife while making dinner. (Click here for a self-portrait, if you dare) Luckily Diver Dan came to my rescue or Jake would have been using his new 911 dialing skills. Having a zipper in my thumb has really hampered my knitting projects, although I did finish my mittens a few weeks ago (more on them later). I’ve started a throw on my size 50 Speed Stix. Once you get the hang of the massive needles, the project does seem to move quickly, and luckily for me, I can manage to avoid using my left thumb. I’m pretty sure smaller needles will be a challenge until it heals completely, but this throw should take awhile. Until then, I can brag that my thumb gauge is 8 stitches per inch!