Fall Wrister Frenzy Continues

Three wristers doesn't constitute much of a frenzy, does it? I got sidetracked by a little bit of real life, and finished the first of many wristers intended for my sons. My only drama was when I couldn't find the yarn needle to darn in my ends. I searched the living room carpet, inside my sofa and chairs (yuck) before I finally found it sitting on the end table, right where I left it. I had neglected to leave a strand of yarn through it, and overlooked it the first time through.

I posed my wrister next to the guy's wrister so you could see how much I upsized the pattern. My son's hand measures 5 1/2" from the wristbone to the middle of his index finger, as does this wrister. The cuff is 3 1/2" long, and I also added 2 stitches to the thumb gusset. That gave me 26 sts for the thumb, and I had to do k1p1 rib, rather than the k2p2 I did on mine.

I used Opal Magic 1234, and the first wrister weighs in at 18 grams. I had hoped to get 3 pairs of wristers from one ball of sock yarn, this may be closer than I had intended.

Here's the alterations I made to the Wrister pattern on Soxie's page. Cast on 56 sts, and k2p2 rib for 35 rounds (3.5"). k3p1 rib for 10 rounds, then increase the thumb gusset to 21 sts, keeping the thumb in stockinette, and the palm in k3p1 rib. Move 21 thumb stitches to waste yarn, and cast on 3 stitches over the gap. Continue in k3p1 rib 10 rounds, change to k2p2 rib 15 rounds. Put the thumb stitches on the needles, pick up 5 over the gap, 26 sts on the needles. Knit stockinette stitch for 2 rounds, then 10 rounds k1p1 rib, bind off. Finish ends.

Wristers

I finally found an advantage to having small feet. I made a matching pair of wristers from the leftovers of my turquoise socks! I have made many wristers from Joan Hamer's Wristers pattern but it is written for worsted weight yarn. I found a pattern for wristers on Soxie's page written for sock yarn and knitted a pair this weekend.

I used #2 dpns and for the most part, followed the pattern. I made an intentional change to the thumb gusset. I prefer to increase by knitting in the front and back of the stitch, rather than picking up from below. I made an unintentional change when I knit the top ribbing, and knitted 16 rounds of k2p2 rib instead of 8. That's okay, the gloves cover the first knuckle of my first finger and will be much warmer. This pattern has a warm thumb, too. You put the stitches on a holder and knit more rounds, ending in k2p2 rib which hugs my thumb nicely.

All my kids like wristers, and my next task is to enlarge the pattern to fit the guys. I may make the palm of the hand in k3p1 ribbing, it won't conflict with the patterned yarn, and add a bit of stretch. I measured my son's hand earlier, telling him my son-in-law needed new gloves. I'm not so tricksy, I'm sure I didn't fool him. But I'm sure he doesn't check my blog, unlike my daughter. Diametrag, I started your birthday socks last night, but you won't see any pictures here! (love you, kiddo)

SamplerM - Part 11 and 12

I got behind in knitting for SamplerM, and took the entire evening to catch up. Pattern 11 is named Two Leaves, and Pattern 12 is Drops. Now I am ready for Pattern 13.

These patterns are more complex, and I had to read the instructions carefully. My tension is also a bit uneven. Knitting with crochet thread is a challenge for me. Sometimes I wish I had bought sock yarn for SamplerM, but most of the time I appreciate the experience of knitting with thread.

Vacation Knitting - Lake Huron Socks

I consider our vacation a success in spite of cold, rainy weather. Fortified with chocolate chip cookies and paperback novels, we stayed dry and comfortable in the screened tent during the day. We had a little electric heater to keep the chill out of the camper at night and we were glad for our sleeping bags. The campground was almost deserted, with no smoky campfires, no loud children; it was as close to heaven as we could get!

I spent a lot of my time knitting, and finished a pair of socks for myself. I knit them toe-up with Opal yarn, Magic 1051, size #0 dpns, and k3p2 ribbing. The socks are wonderful shades of turquoise, the same colors of Lake Huron the day we arrived. The black and white bands remind me of white caps on the surf, and I will always think of them as my Lake Huron Socks.

I'm starting my annual frenzy of Christmas knitting, I plan to knit at least 2 more pairs of socks, a hat and at least 3 pairs of fingerless gloves. Some items will be bloggable, but with Diametrag checking in periodically, I'd better hold off on detailing her gifts until she actually opens the package. I'll just show my knitting for the men in my life!

Sunset over Lake Huron

I'm back, but I'd rather be watching the sun set over Lake Huron. It was a nice vacation, the campgrounds were quiet and I had a lot of time to knit and read. I nearly finished a pair of socks, and enjoyed Vanish, by Tess Gerritsen. The socks are knit from Opal yarn and for me this time. Turquoise shades change into deep blue and it looks just the way the lake did on our first day.

SamplerM - Part 10 - Wickerwork

I just finished Part 10 of SamperM this morning. It was another quick knit. What can I say? This is Labor Day weekend, and most people are at the beach or a barbeque. I'm at home, knitting my SamplerM and getting ready for my vacation. We intentionally waited until after the start of the school year. We enjoy cool weather and quiet campgrounds.