Urban Necessity gloves

Pattern: Urban Necessity Gloves by the Subway Knitter



Yarn: TLC Cotton Plus, medium blue (51% cotton, 49% acrylic).
Needles: 4.00mm nickel-plated circulars (KnitPicks Options)
Time: Five days, maybe a little less.
Modifications: Horizontal thumb hole added.
Skills Learned: Basic glove construction, thumb gusset.



Comments: Urban necessity indeed! For my first pair of gloves, this could not have gone any better. Any errors that occurred were easily cover up in finishing. As for this yarn, heaven help me, I love it. The softness of cotton, with an extra sheen—lovely. Durable, but nice against the skin. For an acrylic blend, it really is quite pleasant.

Were I to make these again, I'd add a little length to the palms, as I have rather large hands, and they feel a bit short. I would also like, at some point, to extend the length of the wrists a bit, as I was rather in a rush—but for now, they have been working well, and I wear them constantly.



—J

New England necessity

Lately I can't seem to keep my mind on a project for long, which might just be a sign that I'm sick of knitting socks. It's not that I don't love knitting socks—because I do. They're the perfect portable project, and I love the magic of the short-row heel. But clearly, I need to clear my head. I've knit the first few rows of a garter stitch dishcloth, trying to teach myself Continental. It's odd, and very slow-going at the moment, but if I ever hope to do any colorwork, I'm going to have to get used to it. I figure a dishcloth or three should do nicely to get my fingers adjusted.

Then it occurred to me yesterday—it's winter. Those of you in New England might not have believed me, a week ago; but winter it is. Winter in New England, and I can't seem to find a pair of gloves anywhere in my apartment. And, as I am currently poor and unemployed, I figure I'd just have to make do without them. No longer; I actually have enough yarn lying around to knit a pair! Fantastic. I'm going the combined fingerless glove/mitten route, and am just a thumb and some finishing shy of completing the fingerless glove portion of the first of the pair. I figure I'll knit both gloves first, and add the mitten flaps later—at least that way, I'll have a working pair of gloves within the next few days. (Pictures will emerge soon; I promise.)

Clearly, these gloves were exactly the project I needed to clear my head. Also, glove contruction is a lot easier than I'd expected—perhaps I'll be able to manage the Mermaid Gloves on my own, after all. That is, once I can afford the yarn.

—J