So Fetching

I had  decided to finally to take a picture of one of the gloves I had made made for my friend for the pay-it-forward #3.   I had made this glove first, but decided to modifiy it , so luckily I kept it and was able to take this picture.   I had not received a picture from my friend with her gloves, and I should no better to take my own pictures.   I also wanted to complete these posts on these 4 gifts

I did not catch a mistake on my cables around the wrist area.till I had completed them.  Then I also did a modification..so I decided to start all over, but did not undo the gloves.  I started a whole new one. I knew I would have plenty of yarn.     This fetching pattern is such a pretty pattern and the robin egg blue is probably one of my favourite colours.

I do believe you can still wear these gloves if you go out for a walk in the evening..it's been that cool still around here this spring.   Now I have one glove with no partner, will need to make the other, maybe in the Fall.

Alice xox

Artist

I had been reflecting on why I  enjoyed the pay-it-forward  gift idea so much .  Why it resonated so much with me.   Here are some things I came up with:

Some people are gift givers by nature.  They love people , or they respect their art, and so they give.  Not for an ulteriour motive, but because it gives them joy.  Other people might need to consider the economic benefits first.  People want to know what's in it for them.  People who believe there" ain't no such thing as a free lunch and "every man for himself".    They are unable to give a true gift. .  They want something in return.  They want security or cash or both.  They haven't found the artist in themselves.

An artist knows that he is the source of his own inspiration, even if someone copies or takes his ideas, he is fine, becuase he will find another idea.   I believe true art is scarce , and in turn creates value.   

Some people think that you can't be generous until after you become a success.  They argue that they have to have theirs and then they can go ahead and give back.  An interesting fact is that the most successful people in the world are those who don't do it for money.  

Knitting for me is a way that a share my "art" . I have used other mediums over the years.  I know there are many other ways that I share myself, and that is an art in itself,  because I can   and want to, it is a selfish motive and but in this one everyone wins. 

Of course you can give someone a gift  and not have them react in a way you expect.   But when you give someone a gift   purely for them with no agenda it takes the pressure off in receiving and and there is great excitement and joy.

Now for a great master piece that's hard to duplicate.

Alice xox

Fetching

I have  now completed with all my pay-it-forward gifts.   I thought I would find myself relieved in a way, but instead found myself feeling sad about it.   It was a wonderful project to be involved with, to do something for the purpose of someone else to be surprised and enjoy their unexpected gift.  Unexpected in a way that they knew they were receiving it , but never when.  I have now mailed them all.   The last two friends have received them.  But I did not get a picture of gloves #3 before sending them off, so I will have to wait to receive the pictures.  Gloves #4 I did take pictures and received a picture with my friend modeling them, them looked so pretty on her.

The #3 glove I did was the Fetching by Cheryl Niamath  in Debbie Bliss Aran Rialto .   I have done this pattern probably the most of any gloves. 

My friend's name is Marlee, who I made these for.   She lives a town that gets a lot of snow and cold for most of its winter, so I wanted something warm..  I probably should have made her the first glove pattern as that was even more wintry,  ( Axel Gloves)  but I  wanted everyone to get something individual.     I had this yarn in hand as I was going to make a beret with it, so I knew I had plenty of it, so no chances  of running out.    It's a robin egg blue, and that is one of Marlee's favourite colours.  Oh, another reason I did that gloves is that she did not own a pair of fingerless gloves.

I did do a modification of the pattern.  I made the first pair for me and found them to be a bit short.  So to extend the length,  .I did  25 rows instead of 18 for the hand length before starting the thumb. per the pattern, but next time I will just do more cable repeats at the cuff .   I think the gloves look more proportionate with more cable repeats on the cuff, than a increase length in the hand itself.

I first came across this pattern in my local yarn store as a sample.  I had not knit mitts in the past, so this a great first project.  It's also a very popular free down load on Ravelry.   This is the picture from the original pattern.

I will post  a picture of Marlee's gloves when I receive them. 

Alice xox

Cherry Beret

Combine a gorgeous yarn and a beautifuly  written pattern and this is what you get:

Pattern:  Autumn Vines Beret by Alana Dacos
Yarn: Madelinetosh Pashmina

 

Modelling her new beret is Lillian, my mother-in-law.    She had requested for a new toque, so this was what we choose.  She was very pleased and  it looks great on her.

 Alana Dacos has great patterns and I wanted to try the Madelinetosh Pashmina, so this was a perfect match.    The yarn is hand dyed, this colour is called "cherry" but it's not anywhere near being red.   Somewhere between dark rose, burgundy tones..there is a touch of lavender through out as well. 

Makes for a very feminine, soft  beret than you can wear through out the year.

Alice xox

Spring is Here

This picture was not even taken in our yard, I found these flowers in our neighbours yard.      We do have lots of daffodils coming up but none in full bloom except for this little stray that I found next door.    I did talk to my neighbour and found out that she had planted these little bulbs in herself from a gift basket she had received.  Never know where something is going to show up !! 

This cluster of crocuses I found out in the front yard and YES again in the other neighbours yard.  I did take a picture of our own crocuses, but this one was my favourite.  Love the contrast of the orange center against the purple of the flower.   

Last but not least is our very own bundle of beauties.  These are beautiful in their way, they look like a bouquet of tulips, but they are crocuses.    They are planted under an apple tree and they have been there for so many years I can't even remember, but they come back every year.     Crocuses don't like to be picked or at least not for me, don't last long at all indoors, so you just to appreciate them outdoors, where they belong. 

Happy Spring everyone !!

Alice

xox

Kathy's Irish Mist Gloves

Here is the pay-it-forward gift #2.   I hand delivered Kathy's gloves personally to her .    Kathy  was gracious enough to model these and just sent the pictures to  me.  They turned out great !!  They look so lovely on Kathy too !!!

So now I can tell you about them. 

Kathy has been a good friend of mine for many years so I know alot more about her tastes.   Kathy is an Irish  girl at heart.  She likes all things Irish...the country, beer..St. Patricks day , music, clothes..she even  owns and plays   the irish drum.   Wasn't sure how was going to tie in the Irish theme, but I knew I wanted to make her a pair of fingerless gloves.   Something simple and not too warm that you could only wear them in our winter months.  More versatile.

Thus, I found the yarn first which was green.   Forgot to say that Kathy's favourite colour is green !  Even THAT, sounds a bit Irish to me.   Anyways, I had worked with Madelinetosh DK, 100% Super Merino,  before and love it, and their hand-dyed colours are so fabulous.  This particular colour is called terrarium, it's in shades of olive greens.  Very striking !!

The pattern that  I used  AGAIN is the  Welted Fingerless Gloves     This must be my 3rd glove I've done in this pattern.  It has enough challenge and interesting knitting features to not get boring and it showcases the beautiful colourways of the yarn. 

You have an option of adding  buttons on the cuff part of the gloves.  This is something I do like to do as it adds a beautiful finishing touch. 

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Did I mention that Kathy also likes vintage things.   So I found 10 vintage buttons at my local yarn store.  They are tiny and have an olive green sparkle to them.  Perfect choice.   Probably sewing the buttons is the challenging part,  I sew 5 buttons on each  cuff.  Lining them up perfectly is tricky.  I have resewed them several times. 

Now, I want to introduce you to little Edison.  Well he's not so little, but he is cute.  This is Kathy's doggie and one of her reasons for enjoying her new gloves.   The gloves keep her hands warm as Kathy's hands give her pain once in awhile.  But when taking little Edison out for his daily stroll, not in Ireland , but at least in her Irish Mist Gloves, she feels pretty lucky.  Maybe that is the only way I could tie in her love for the irish is in the colour and name and that she is lucky !!



Mr. Edison ready for his walk

 Alice xox

Allison's Happy Dance Gloves

This is my first finished gift for one of my pay-it-forward friends.  I talked about this in my previous post..Secret Knitting.   I can now show it to you and she has already received them.

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I had decided to make a glove for Allison as I knew she liked to be outdoors and had dogs as well for daily walks   Everyone has a pair of mitt of sorts, but not fingerless gloves. I also had to mail the gift so this was great   Something chunky, not lacy and very warm for long outdoor walks.   I knew she liked home knit slippers, so I thought this came pretty close to one.     

I had worked with 2 other fingerless glove patterns, but I wanted to do something new.  After browsing through Ravelry I found this pattern I really liked  Axel Fingerless Gloves , it had cables, which I really like and it was chunky weight, which I thought was more in line for what Allison needed, no lacy weight.  The interesting part that I really liked of this pattern, was that you could wear the glove fully extended to almost your finger tips or rolled up, very versatile.

I did not have the yarn at home, so I went shopping at my local yarn storm. I purchased  Malabrigo Chunky , it's 100% merino wool, hand dyed in a reddy tone, which was one of  Allisons favourite colours   I had worked with Malabrigo Lace before and really liked the yarn, so I knew this was going to be a perfect choice.    The pattern was easy to follow , it knit up quickly with  larger size double pointed needles.   The colour and yarn were so perfect, it was such a great shade of red, not too bright, more like a warm tone.  The yarn was so springy , soft, and very warm.    

The best part of knitting this was that Allison, was very happy with her gloves.   The perfect pattern and yarn to make both the recipient and the knitter happy.    A picture does speak better than words :

Allison's Happy Gloves

Sometimes words are just as good at conveying a feeling, this is an email from Allison -Lucy is her dog:

" I took Lucy to the park to frolic in the snow she loves it. I throw snowballs, and Lucy tries to catch    them, her favorite game, the gloves once again were perfect. :) My hand were warm, but I had my fingers free to handle her leash, of course I give in and take her off leash, I'm a softie..sigh.. It's so great to have warm hands, but the freedom to use my fingers for zippers, texting, whatever I need to do, AND my bad hand doesn't seize up from being cold...priceless :)"

Alice xox