FO — Cabled Armwarmers

I knit some cabled arm-warmers for my friend Anna. These were long overdue, and I'm very happy to have them done. We're going to consider them an early birthday present, even though her birthday is in November. The pattern is pretty much my own, and the cable pattern is borrowed from a book even if it is a really simple one. I intentionally off-set the cables and I think they look pretty cool.

Cabled Fingerless Armwarmers (personal pattern) (ravelry) by Elizabeth Martin
Source: Harmony Guide: Cables and Arans
Recipient: Anna
Occasion: Belated birthday
Completed: April 16, 2008

Yarn: 1.25 skeins of Knit Picks Essential in Grass
Needles: US 2

A Different Kind of Fingerless Glove... :(

Most UNfortunately, I have a new fingerless glove I need to wear - and it's not knitted! I have been having intermittent pain and numbness in my left arm, from fingertips to neck and shoulder blade. It seems after an orthopedic exam and x-rays that I have both carpal tunnel (in the left wrist) and a pinched nerve due to arthritis in the neck. :( I have known about both problems and had issues in the past, but with restarting my knitting in earnest again, they are resurfacing unpleasantly. I am going to be having physical therapy, and also probably an MRI (to see the extent of the problem in the neck). I am hoping that it will not impact my knitting too much - I love it so! I guess it's not the best time to want to take up spinning, either, but what's a fiber-loving knitter to do?? I'm hoping I can learn to do these things without damaging my arm and neck any further. (At least, I'm determined to try!)

I'd love to hear from anyone who has dealt with similar issues... especially if there are tricks to dealing with them and still knitting regularly!

WIP: cabled armwarmers

Cabled Fingerless Arm-warmers Progress update
Recipient: Anna
Occasion: Christmas
Deadline: December 2008

I started these mittens at the beginning of April. They've been on my year long gift along list since the beginning of the year and I'm finally making progress on them. I think part of what helps is that I've decided to knit them both at the same time. I'd say they're about 30 % done. I'm using the Big Braid cable from Interweave's cables stitchonary and I'm very happy with how it's going.

Navy Handwarmers

There's still a chill in the air here in the Windy City.

Pattern: Cherry Red Handwarmers, by Creativeyarn

Yarn: Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK (sadly discontinued)
Needles: US 5 Lantern Moon rosewood straights

Notes:

DK-weight is the way to go with this pattern. The pattern's yarn specifications are slightly cryptic, because Creativeyarn is Italian and yarn is categorized differently there. The mesh pattern is slightly looser than the ribbing. The ribbing itself is slightly tight on my arms, so I would go up one needle size for the arm ribbing, then stick with the smaller needles for the lace pattern and hand ribbing. I'm a big fan of this yarn; it's too bad that it has been discontinued. It's very springy and soft.