Wave

 

The pattern for these gloves is called Nalu, which apparently means 'wave' in Hawaiian. So I thought the blue/green yarn would be appropriate. The pattern is well written and the shape of the gloves ideal, so I thought I'd combine this pattern, by Sparrowhawk, with the Celtic Knot cable that I used last week. I unravelled the horrible gloves that I made using a pattern from Start Knitting and amalgamated the two patterns:

This is the first glove, a huge improvement on the original. I did have a false start when I placed the thumb too low, but I got there eventually.  I'm going to write out the new version now, so that I can test the pattern when I knit the second glove. I don't want to go through the whole thought process again when I want to make another pair. 

Colour

 

I dyed three different coulourways to knit into fingerless gloves. I dyed each one separately, in the microwave, then rinsed them all together once they were cool. I started knitting with the blue/green one:

 After my difficulties with the last pair of gloves, I thought I'd stick with a tried and tested pattern. It's Nalu, by Sparrowhawk, which I've knitted several times before. 

A Better Size

 

I had another go at Celtic Knot Fingerless Gloves from Start Knitting, adding 16 stitches to the original pattern. They do fit better. I like the cabled pattern, but there are other aspects of the design that I find less pleasing. The gloves are knitted downwards and the cast off ribbing doesn't hug the wrist well. And then there's the thumb. The pattern uses a waste thread method to make a place for the thumb. That's clever, but it leaves a loop of thread at the base of the thumb:

I sewed the loop down when I threaded in the yarn used for the thumb, but it doesn't seem satisfactory to me. I also prefer a thumb with a gusset. I might be able to reuse the cable pattern, but won't knit the pattern again as it is. 

A Bit Small

 

The wool is spun and I'm ready to knit fingerless gloves for next month's market. I wanted to try Celtic Knot Fingerless Gloves from Start Knitting website. I did think the number of stitches was a bit low, but since it's a complicated pattern, I thought I'd best knit it as written to begin with. Hmm. I have small hands and it's a very tight squeeze for me, so I don't think this would be good for the market stall. I worked out mentally how to make a bigger size, but when I came to knit, I realised that in order to get the ribbing to flow into the cable pattern, I would have to add 16 stitches. That's 56 stitches, which I think should be alright, given that cabling pulls the work in a bit. So I'm going around again:

Of course, I could have just knitted on bigger needles, but I didn't want it to look too loose. I hope this will work. 

More Socks

 

I've finished knitting the blue/grey socks and started on another pair. I'm also spinning more wool, which I intend to make into fingerless gloves. 

There seems to be a lot of turmoil on the Just Tatting facebook page. I'm wondering whether to ignore it or leave the group. Sure, copyright is important, but it's possible to take the concept to absurdity!

Tea With Miss Caroline

 

It didn't take me as long to sew the tatting to net as I expected. I put on a podcast and sewed with half a brain. The food net is ready for May's monthly market. To recap, the crinolene ladies are Martha Ess's pattern, the magnolia pattern is Nancy Tracy's and the butterfly is Jane Eborall's. The flowers are daisy picot flowers made to empty shuttles. 

Pinned

 

I've finished tatting all the elements for my food net and started putting it together. I've sewn the beaded edging and pinned everything to the net. I have long, fine pins that will hopefully keep everything in place. I won't have much time for sewing over the next couple of days, but I'm happy to have got this far.