Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Fingerless Gloves for Marodi

Marodi is one of Ellie's dance teachers. She is one of those lovely, petite women who have a hard time finding things to fit.

Earlier in the year I had been knitting fingerless gloves for Ellie. When Marodi noticed what I was making she struck up a conversation that began with how she simply could not learn to knit, but would make some fingerless gloves if she could. I was nearing the end of my project and thinking about what would be my next endeavor. That conversation solved that problem. It is wonderful for a knitter to have someone who would love to have something that they would love to make.

So the quest was on to find something fitting for Marodi who is both graceful, intense, commanding and fun - all at once. Her style is also very classic. After a long search I elected to do the Shi bui pattern. I had to do a good bit of math and needle swatching to figure how to downsize the pattern so that it would fit her. I also had to change the yarn size. I wanted something classic, durable and super soft. In the end I elected to use double strands of lace yarn that is alpaca, cashmere and silk. Oh what a joy it was to work with. I fretted over possibly having enough, but in the end it was okay. I have a tiny bit left of each color.

Making the gloves match was an entirely different story. The first one went well once I got the gauge down correctly. Knitting the second one was a bit of a trick I got it 2/3rds done twice only to find that it was not right and frogged (ripped or undid) it twice. Third time was close enough to what I wanted and I was tired of starting over. Luckily Marodi didn't seem to notice. She was simply thrilled to receive the gift.

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