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multi-tasking and warm hands

how do people read and knit at the same time? I mean, I totally understand knitting and watching tv, listening to the radio or a cd, talking on speakerphone, drinking something through a straw (does anyone else ever wish they had a beerhat for knitting? just me? ok...). but reading? aren't there pages to be held open and turned? ok, I admit, I don't read nearly as much as I used to these days. I've never actually even tried to read and knit at the same time until this weekend. my typical "I wish I could ___ while I knit" dilemma is eat ice cream. or beer. but I digress.

so I tried to knit the gloves and read a (paperback) book wendy lent me. at first, I kind of just leaned on the book with my elbow, which held the pages open pretty well and still allowed my hands enough freedom that I could knit somewhat comfortably. I was kind of hunched over, tho, so I suppose if I kept that up, it would have become uncomfortable eventually. (so, does anyone else ever find that when you read a book that takes place in another country, that you find yourself trying to read the book in the accent that the characters are supposed to have? my british accent is pretty awful, yet whenever I read sophie kinsella books, I find myself attempting to imagine all the text in a british accent as I read. and whenever I find my brain slipping back into american, I actually go back and reread in the british accent. it makes for kind of slow reading. please tell me you do that too...) anyway, all was well until I actually got to the part that my elbow was covering, which I had to move out of the way so I could actually read the words. but when I did that, the pages just snapped closed and I ended up dropping my knitting and just holding the book with my hands. so, really, I was successful for all of about 30 seconds. luckily, the chapter ended a page later so I could get back to the glove.

but, seriously! how do people do it? hold the book with your feet? have a special book stand that holds the book open and turns the pages for you? is the name of your book stand "husband"? because that would be awesome... if I ever get married, I'm going to write that into the vows. next to "never question the knitting and/or stash" and "feed me ice cream while I knit" is going to be "hold open and turn pages of books while I knit so I can read." actually, maybe I should just have him read it outloud and hope that his british accent is better than mine. hm. I hope no future husbands are actually reading this... these are the kinds of things that are revealed on the wedding day, when it's kind of too late.

anyway! so, I quickly gave up on that reading and glove knitting thing, because I had set a deadline of mailing those bad boys out today. as in today. and... (drumroll, please!) heeeere they are! (well, actually, they're in the mail, on their way to frosty new jersey!)

I can barely contain my excitement! these started out as these (but shorter), but after realizing that there is virtually no gusset of which to speak, I had to go to serious measures. I basically only followed the pattern for how many stitches around to make each finger. otherwise, these guys are actually all my own creation. how about that? go me! I really should write the pattern down somewhere, because I would really love to make these again - for someone really deserving. like me. heehee.

pattern: mine!
yarn: colourmart uk 100% cashmere dk, color b523, ~1.5oz
needles: blue sky dpns, us3
finished: december 10, 2006
notes: these were for my aunt's christmas present. my first gloves ever! not as difficult as they might seem at first glance, but keeping the spaces between the fingers from getting too holey is definitely a challenge. I still haven't gotten that figured out yet... I ended up just going back later and closing them up with leftover yarn. speaking of leftover yarn, good LORD were there a lot of ends to weave in! but, I must say, I am quite pleased with how these came out. they fit great (me, at least... I don't know how they fit my aunt just yet), they're super warm, and they're cashmere soft! this yarn comes still oiled on the cone, so they softened up big time after two good soaks in some eucalan. the water was so nasty after the first soak, I had to do a second, during which the water was much less nasty. so yay! gloves!

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  • Blogger aija says so:
    3:38 PM  

    Those look great! I have been eyeing that colourmart cashmere for forever but held off thinking it would be good for socks.. but GLOVES?! Brillig.

    I bought a little folding stand to hold books when I read, I think it was $5 at barnes & noble. I have even managed to balance it on my lap and read, though its usually on the chair or couch arms. They look like music stands, sorta.

    Good luck & great job! :) (PS, I got the boxes @ IKEA, 3.99/2! Need to go back for one more pack, I think...) top

  • Anonymous Anonymous says so:
    5:35 PM  

    OMG, those gloves are terrific!!! =D
    as for reading and knitting, i can't do it either. i have a friend who actually STUDIES and knits at the same time. she props her textbook on one of those book stand thingies, which seems to work for her. the only time she has to put her knitting down is to either 1) turn the page or 2) highlight something. top