May I Present: Dashing

Dashing.

That's exactly what these will be doing in tomorrow's mail. Speeding away to their recipient on wings of hope that they'll arrive by Tuesday. Hub claims that all mail delivery services ramp up around this time to get as many gifts delivered by Christmas as possible. I, on the other hand, think that if most of the population is like me, even the great FedEx's of the world will struggle under the weight of tardy packages. But never mind that, it's the thought that counts, right? Right. And the thought behind these is that they are meant to warm the arms of someone I couldn't do without. I know this someone reads this blog, and (gasp!) has even seen me knitting these, but maybe - just maybe - they will still come as a surprise.

Pattern from Knitty, Spring 2007
Yarn is Webs house brand Valley Yarns Northampton in Dark Grey, 100% Wool

247yds/skein; both arm warmers were knit with less than 1 skein (207.5 yds)

Yes those are ends that are not weaved in, but this photo of my blurry li'l one trying to sneak in the picture was too cute not to share.

Knit Notes: What a fantastic pattern! Clear and easy to understand. It claims to be a bit more challenging than it's predecessor, Fetching, but I didn't find that at all. It fed my new found obsession for cables just enough without being overwhelming. The hardest mental exercise was remembering that the cables are meant to cross in opposite directions on opposite hands. I knit them two at a time and just used a stitch marker on one to remind me not to goof that up.

Modifications: Yep!
I wanted these to be much longer than called for, and I also knew going in that my gauge was not quite according to pattern. This yarn is called a worsted, but I think it's more like a "heavy DK" when knit up. The pattern row gauge was 18 rows/in and I was getting 25 rows/in on size 7's (4.5mm). Out came the measuring tape! I just marked where I wanted the cuffs to hit and knit to that measurement. Easy peasy.

I extended the initial ribbing from 4" to nearly 6", and I added length to the hand portion too. I made the thumbs 13 rows long instead of the 9 called for. Essentially, I wanted these long, lean and elegant to match the recipient.

Cast on Dec. 12; finished and blocking Dec. 20, 2007
Knit 2 at a time using Magic Loop method

I didn't intend to knit these as a gift. They were actually the do-over I mentioned in our last Round Table Discussion. As I went round and round though, I realized that these were the kind of gift I could feel good about giving. No fuss, flexible sizing, and useful for a good amount of fall, winter and spring time climates.

Oh - and through this project I also discovered that using my tripod and the self-timer on the camera are a match made in blog photo heaven (especially when you have to substitute a model to avoid showing them flat).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!