she's crafty

remember a few weeks ago when i decided to teach myself how to knit on double-pointed needles and knit cables?

well, i have been more or less successful.



the pattern, called fetching, is a fingerless mitten designed for those cold days when you need access to your fingers, but want to keep your hands from freezing off.

a few lessons learned:

a) yes, yes, i know... tension swatches are always a good idea, but i didn't make one. i could give you all kinds of excuses:
what's the point when i'm knitting a tube instead of a four-inch square?...
mittens don't really have to fit *that* well...
it's hard to knit a tension swatch on DPNs and i didn't have the same size straight needles...
but the long and short of it is, i simply didn't bother with a tension swatch.

b) tension swatches are particularly important when substituting a different weight yarn. i can't say i didn't know ahead of time.

c) cables are not that hard, but it is harder to make them on DPNs.

d) DPNs are every bit as slippery and unwieldy as people say they are. especially metal ones!

e) i need to add more rows to compensate for the fact that i'm using lighter weight yarn. you can't see it in the pictures, but the mitten only barely fits.



so for now, this is my training mitten. i will make the real pair next. but i am thinking of using two circular needles instead. circ's aren't my favorites for straightforward knitting, but i can definitely see their value for projects like this.

in other crafty news, i was inspired by whipup to make some button jewelry for m's birthday. i used ideas from here and here to make two rings, a bracelet, a necklace and some earrings.



the purple looks more blue in this picture, but the colors actually match m's purple and green glasses pretty well.

i am pleased to report that m likes them very much, and has posted some pictures on her blog. check them out!