Friday 7 October 2016

Give us a wave!

I've long admired fingerless mitten patterns, they have been on my to do list for more months than I can count on two hands!!
Having bought some beautifully hand-dyed wool over the year I thought I'd try my hand! 


 This silky soft BFL DK, entitled From Deep Sea to Coral Reef is from Stitch Solihull. 
It was wound as the Olympic cyclists were whizzing round and round the velodrome, 
and as I went round in circles with the ball in my hand, the remaining wool rippled like waves beneath. 
That experience inspired my pattern choice.....it had to be wavy!
I used a soft wave from Tracey's fabulous book, adding a row of trs between each row and hooking in back loops gave extra texture.





I LoVe the colours - they reminded me of summer seaside days, the sand mingling with the sea!



They were given to my coast loving friend for her summer birthday, sounds strange, woolly gloves in the height of the hot season, but I know they will have lots of use in the autumn on the touchline at footie practice!

A friend's granddaughter is raising money to fill some bags of care for homeless people. Each is going to contain a pair of gloves, a perfect chance to use some of my gifted acrylic and try out some patterns.


These camo mitts are a htr version of Tracey's any gauge mittens 
and the pink ones below made from a chunky rectangle of 'Silt' from Sarah Hazell's 200 crochet stitches



Hooking the wavy mitts made me realise how much a yarn influences your mood!
I was eager to finish the acrylic items, and they grew quickly due to the big stitch pattern and chunky yarn. On the other hand I took my time with the hand-dyed, watching the colour changes, and the ripples, feeling the wool on the tips of my fingers, a very mindful activity!

The good news is there's plenty left for more peaceful rippling, and more hanks of hand-dyed!