Fetching bind-off??

so, i'm at the bind off stage of my first Fetching fingerless mitt, and i gather that many have not liked how the picot bind off works on these. does anyone here like the picot bind off in this pattern, and also, i wonder why the designer chose that bind off in the first place? if i understood the reasoning, it might help me decide.

anyone have experience with Fetching and got an opinion to share?

Here are the first pair of fingerless mitts I've finished after formally joining the KAL:

I didn't set up this shot, this is just what my daughter, 'the Gothlet', decided to do after I gave her the finished fingerless gloves.

These are based on the fingerless gloves from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" by Joelle Hooverson.

I modified them by using fingering weight yarn

Merino/Tencel blend, colorway "Goth", from etsy seller Ashabee05

with 48 stitches on size 1 needles.

This is basically a tube in spiral rib stitch, with a slit for the thumbs. The spiral rib has so much elasticity that these fit me as well as my nine-year-old. (I also made them long on purpose to keep her skinny little fingers warmer.) I started these on the walk for breast cancer research last weekend and finished within a couple days.

This in plain 2x2 rib is my 'go-to' pattern for fingerless gloves (like these below I finished a week ago), except usually I make the whole thing in 2x2 ribbing for hand-hugging; however, these are guitar-playing gloves for my husband, so I wanted to keep the palm smooth. They are made in elann.com Esprit, which is like Cascade Fixation, a (supposedly) fingering weight cotton/Lycra type yarn.

I am designing a pair of soft, warm, light fingerless mitts designed for indoor wear, with the prototype being made for my daughter's piano teacher, who has circulation and arthritis problems. These will have a thumb gusset to keep the base of the thumb (frequent place for arthritis) warm. I'm excited about the first one because it fits everyone in my family, so it may be a good universal pattern to do something with!

Also on my to-do list are Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang; I have some yarn that I think is going to look fantastic with this. Or really awful. We'll see.

Such a long post! Sorry, I love these fingerless mitts!

Cathy

http://hitherandyarn.wordpress.com

New Girl On The Block

I was thrilled to find this KAL, `cause I love fingerless mitts and use them allmost year round.
I`ve been using lacy sock patterns for decor on my wristwarmers this summer and that worked well for 2,5 and 3mm needles, but I now see a whole new world unweil before me with cables and thicker yarns for more whintery creations... Harr harr.

I have mostly used alpakka yarns and baby style yarns untill now. I allmost cannot wait to come home from work and dive into my stash and try some of the patterns to the right.

The pics aren`t all that, but the left one is embossed leaves and the right one is a modified pattern from web;April/May(I think it was Blue Moon fibers?) I`ll find the link later.

Second Mitt Syndrome??

I've heard of second sock syndrome and gosh I hope I don't fall prey to second mitt syndrome. I finished my first "Diamond Handwarmer" - not in the yarn as originally intended, but in this pretty grey alpaca (oh so soft) which made the pattern stand out better.

So, already, I'm "cheating" on my diamond mitts and eyeing other patterns and thinking about other yarns in my stash.

I'd better dash off now and cast on that second mitt before I fall prey to the syndrome.

Whats on my Fall Knit list?

So happy to have joined this group! Here is one of the projects I have lined up for this KAL:)

Wanna see the yarn? Major Drool... Blue Sky Alpacas in all of these luscious colors:)

Newbie

Hi All--I just joined this KAL and am excited about seeing everyone's projects and finding new patterns! I have plans for at least 3 sets of fingerless gloves to make between now and Thanksgiving so hopefully this KAL will give me the motivation to get them done! 2 of those are gifts so I really need to get crackin'.

I thought I would post a pic of the first set of fingerless gloves that I finished (and this pattern is what I am using for the gifted ones). It's the Lace-Up Fingerless Gloves from AlterKnits. Nothing fancy or patterned but just sturdy, warm, practical gloves with a bit of ribbon to make them more 'stylish'. It's a quick knit and the great thing is that since they are lace-up, the first 2/3 can be knit on straight (or circular) needles rather than double pointed ones! I love this pattern!

Thanks for letting me join and hopefully I'll be back with some WIP's soon!

My first KAL!

yippee! i am very excited to be participating in my first KAL, and such great timing. i just yesterday bought some balls of Debbie Bliss cashermino aran (at one of my favorite LYSs) in order to make a couple pairs of Fetching for holiday gifts. i've never knit this pattern so it'll be nice to post my progress here, especially since as of yet, i am blogless and number 8 million or something on the Ravelry antsy list. poor late-to-the-party me, i know.

anyways, thanks for having lil' blogless me. :)

-nanda

September Giveaway - And the winner is.....

Almost forgot to announce the winner of our September Giveaway - they will win two skeins of koigu and lantern moon sox stix in ebony - yummy!

And the winner is......
.........Jan L!

Jan L doesn't have a blog for me to link to but she's already started talking about her first fingerless mitts project here. Jan I'll be emailing you for your address!

Also I've had some people ask if the knitalong is still open and I wanted to answer with a resounding YES! =) We're still happy to have you join us at anytime during the knitalong.

And if you didn't win the giveaway this time, don't worry, there will be another giveaway in October for members of the group. As we get closer I'll announce details.

Have a great day!
Your friendly knitalong hostess-
Keri

new member

Hello,
My name is Victoria and I've just joined the KAL. I'm in the middle of making my sister a pair of opera length fingerless mits in Lorna's Laces shephard sport, colour Periwinkle. This is one of my favourite yarns, so soft and lovely. I bought the pattern from the lovely blog 'my life in stitches' kept by Lisa S. Mason, the author of YarnPlay. I'm also making myself a pair using the same pattern but with the new Rowan Kid Silk Aura which is a really gorgeous! Will post photos soon.

Yeah they are done!!

Well I finally finished the second mitt. My notes seem to be right on. (of course I am reading my own notes so it is a little easier to do)









Hubby was working so I could not get a good shot of both of them on.

Now I have to write the pattern out so when someone else reads it, it will make sense =)
and of course think up another pair!

Bulky & Super-Quick

Here is my first mitten.



The seed stitch cuff is worked with one strand for extra stretchability to go over a shirt sleeve. This only had 27 stitches around, so you can imagine how fast it knit up.



Now I just have to get started on the next one before I forget what I did.

Happy to be here

So now I got myself signed up with another KAL.... wonderful ;-) I really look forward to knitting so many mitts that I might drown in them!

Orchid Gauntlett

Here is the first Orchid Mitt....hot off the needles. I used much heavier yarn, Socks that Rock medium wieght - Foo Foo. I knit the cuff on 3s and switched to 2s for the lace pattern so it would flare out a bit. I also moved the thumb back over so I could see the lace when it was on my hand....I think I'll move it a few stitches more on the next glove. I also cut out a few rows of the top motif and out of the thumb to make up for the heavier yarn. I'm pretty happy with it so far. I'll probably crochet around the bottom...maybe the top too. I sell my soap at Farmer's Markets and winter is pretty brutal...even in California. Fingerless gloves are just the thing, as I can still count money....Oh yeah....this is my first ever blog post too!

Diane

Happy to join

Good morning all.
I was delighted when I found this KAL last night and wanted to join in on the fun. Of course, living here in New Hampshire, the thought has often crossed my mind of the practicality of fingerless mitts. Someone suggested that the school marching bands could probably use them as it can be quite chilly here even before the big Thanksgiving games, etc. I think they're cool and did make some last year.

So, after perusing patterns on the internet, I've settled on the Diamond Mits I found at Knitting Pattern Central. http://knittingbloggyblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/diamond-handwarmers-pattern.html. I like the diamond shape on the top and am thinking of incorporating some beads into it. (Of course, I haven't even read through the pattern completely yet). That's me - just go ahead and dive right into the deep end of the pool.

Next decision to be made was yarn. I wanted to use some handspun and dug in my small stash. I'm a new spinner and usually only spin up about 2 ounces at a time. Yea, perfect amount for fingerless mits.

Here's the yarn I plan to use on my first pair.

Glad to join in on the fun!

I am looking forward to some fingerless mittens this fall and winter:) I'm already reving up for the composed mitts from Interweave!

Welcome to New Members!

Hi There!

We've had a lot of new members join us in the past week so I just wanted to take a second and say hello and we're so glad you're joining us!

There is a button for the group you can add to your blog if you'd like, it's on the sidebar.


We have a group on flickr as well if you're interested in adding your photos to the pool.

Looking for ideas??? There are links to pattern ideas in the sidebar, if you'd like one added please send me an email or leave a comment and I'll put it up there. Thanks so much for those who have sent me links so far!

Our September contest closes tonight (if you're new and you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about, click here) The koigu and lantern moon sox sticks will be finding a new home tomorrow, and I'll announce the winner here. You can still be eligible to win if you join the knitalong anytime between now and tomorrow morning when I check my email (around 7am EST), so good luck!

I'll be announcing the October contest as we get closer to it.

Happy knitting!
Your hostess, Keri

Orchid Mitts + Spinning for more mitts!

This past weekend I started my first pair of fingerless mittens - Orchid Mitts! There was some progress being made, I did do some initial swatching on 2.5mm and 3.0mm because I don't have 2.75's in my collection for magic loop. I was a little wishy-washy on which needle size to use because gauge-wise they were both pretty close on. But after I washed it and blocked it I decided to go with the 2.5's.

If you read my blog you know I had a bit of a fiber saga last week - I had some gorgeous fiber I'm spinning up to design a fingerless mitt pattern that my dogs ate. Well I'm happy to report all turned out well, I finished the first bobbin last night!

As always, more info on my blog -
Happy Knitting
Keri

Hello!

Hi everyone! I was so happy to stumble across this knitalong! I have a pair of Eric's Glovelets being knit with Sylvan Spirit yarn that had been sitting in my knitting basket since June needing me to spend some time with them.


I'm hoping to not only finish these but also complete 2 more pairs of fingerless mitts before the holidays. Wish me luck!

I finished one.

Well it has been eventful here, but I finally finished one mitt. Since I am using bulky yarn, I figure these will be good to use outside (like when waiting for the kiddie's bus). I am hoping to CO the second during football today (Go Bears!!) and find out how good my note taking is = ).



I will have more pictures soon on my blog .

First design by....me!

So, I've been wanting to take a try at designing myself, and what is easier than fingerless mitts to start?! These are in no way perfect, and I plan to improve on them. For starts, the thumb could start a little higher, and the top could be a little shorter, but overall, I'm happy. It's almost like a sampler fingerless mitt pattern. There are so many little techniques that went into it. I did a simple cable ribbing for the cuff, afterthought thumb (not ambidextrous-it starts on the palm side), slanted cable, seed stitch, and regular 2x2 rib, AND I used two circulars (a first for me). Go me!