Meanwhile, Back at the Wristies

I concentrated on display props and spring blooms for my recent market. These frilly wristies lingered on my needles. Today I've finished them off.

My earlier versions of these have all been in my handspun wool. These ones are a Bendigo 8-ply, hand-dyed by me. I'm particularly keen on how the colour has distributed to form little stripes in the finished result. That gets broken up in the ruffle to add to the playfulness of the overall result. It's going to be a wrench to put these on the "for sale" stack, but I do have plenty of happy wristies for myself.

Defying the Elements

It's still grey and rainy here in Melbourne, but I have to head out to run some errands. I've been trying to avoid it for hours, knowing that the weather isn't going to improve any time soon. If I leave it any longer it will start to get darker and colder as the afternoon wears on. While I've been procrastinating, at least I've completed some drizzle-defying accessories.

I think these are more than wristies--these are gauntlets. Instead of stopping at the wrist there's a garter stitch section to cover my hand. I've done the top edge and around the thumb hold in double crochet for added strength. Gauntlets speak to me of being armed against adversity. And I have the matching hat which I made earlier this week. Ready, set, here I go! 

Better Already

I've added a few rows of crochet to one of the black bunny wristies. And I'm definitely happier with it. Not only does it add the bit of colour I wanted, it also controls the rolling edge that is inevitable with stocking stitch and adds a bit of length to boot.

It didn't take much. Now to do the other-- and stitch in the loose ends that are hiding away from the camera.

Around and Around

Some jobs in life just come around and around. Clearing my big table is one of those. It seems that every weekend when I think through my "to do" list there it is: clear the big table. Having just about achieved that task this morning, I have room to take a pic of these little black wristies.

I bought the yarn from the wonderful Charly a month or so ago and knitted them up right away. Unusually for me--and for Charly too--they're just plain black. I thought they'd be versatile and I guess they are, but I've realised after wearing them a few times that I can't get excited enough about wearing plain black accessories. They're wonderfully warm, though and having knit up a three-ply yarn I'm not about to waste them. There's a coloured trim coming soon. I just need to choose a colour, pull out the crochet hook and stitch around and around a few times and I think I'll be happy with them. Meanwhile I'd better really finish clearing the big table and decide how to celebrate my achievement.

Shades of Grey

I'm still on the wristies project . . .

I'd made my peace with the mid-grey and was quite excited about the darker grey, but I had an irresistable feeling that there was a lighter grey just waiting to be discovered. There it is in a skein on the right of the pic. I spun up a natural white and put just a crumb of currawong dye in the pot. It's hardly there, but that's what I wanted. The other skein is a real black--commercially dyed--I just can't get a thoroughly black black in my stove-top dye pot.

Another Grey

After making my peace with the light grey ruffled wristies, I cast on one in a darker grey.

This is more to my taste.

I've left a strand of the lighter grey in the pic for comparison.

Nearly Happy

Last week I asked for feedback on the pale grey ruffled wristie. I wasn't sure about the combination of a dull colour with the exuberance of the ruffle. Since then I've finished the pair.

Somehow having two of them makes the story more convincing. I'm going to leave them as they are. I do love knitspingirl's suggestion of a dip-dye. I'd probably need to dye the wool before knitting it up, though. Another idea I've had is to add a bit of bling to the last row of the ruffle. I might try that on a black pair.

Oxymoron?

I've been working through a list of requests for my ruffled wristies. I have to admit I've been putting off knitting the first on the list. The thought of a pair of pale grey ruffled wristies just didn't sit well in my mind. Well, I've made one of the pair. The second is on my needles.

What do you think?

I'm still not convinced. I'm going to try to dye a paler shade of grey. And the good news is that I can always overdye the finished pair in a completely different colour.

Another Happy Gift

These knitpicks double-pointed needles were also happily received on Christmas morning. This is their first outing and I'm loving them. I'm making a pair of wristies to match the coral scarf.

This is the biggest set (at 3.25 mm). The smallest is 2.00 mm. And they come in sets of six! That's enough for the five dpns I like use when knitting in the round plus an extra to use as a cable needle. They're smooth and strong and I'm not having any difficulty with laddering at the join between needles. That makes me a very happy knitter.

Ruffles

I've featured mostly beading here in these summer days. It seems to be the perfect type of craft for hot weather, since it's easy to do no matter how warm my hands get. But we have had some milder days and I've been knitting away at some of the ruffled wristies I have requests for. The question with ruffles is "how much is enough?".

I make the ruffles by doubling the number of stitches in each of the final rows. There's one row difference between these two. I decided that either might appeal, though my personal preference is for as much ruffle as I can get. So there's a pair made with a little less and a little more. I'll see how they go.

Today is going to be hot. I need to do some more spinning before I can tackle the other wristies on the list. I need grey and black. I'll wait for a really cool day before I sit down to that task.

Next Please

I'm ready for a new yarn in for the wristies I'm making. Here's what I chose:

It's similar to the purple yarn I've been using recently, but there's more colour variation and a strand of silk in there. I don't think I'm going to get tired of knitting this any time soon!

More Wristies

I'm still enjoying knitting wristies.

A variety of yarns keeps the task interesting for me. I can make them with or without ruffles and other embellishments. This isn't one of the colours on the list, but when I came across it the other day I couldn't resist. It's one I spun and dyed for another project and I'd nearly forgotten about it. Melbourne hasn't managed much in the way of summer weather so far, but even when things warm up, these are small enough that they're not much trouble at all.

Purple

I'm happy with the colour variation in this purple hand-dyed yarn, but capturing it on the camera is still a challenge. Today I've decided to try editing the photo itself. I've got a lot to learn, but this is closer to the real thing than what I had originally.

It's another pair of wristies. I have plenty of time to work through my list of requests, so I'm having fun exploring various possibilities rather than than trying to find just one right version. That should give me a nice little collection by the time the cooler weather comes around again. 

Word of Mouth

I sold a pair of purple wristies a while ago. I'm guessing the new owner wore them to her class. Now I have this list.

I'm working on the assumption that there's no great hurry--we're just getting into real summer weather--but it's nice to have some clear guidance about what people like. I'll probably make several pairs in most of these colours. People can then choose what they really want. And the rest can go on a market stall for next winter.

Dancing

I finished this pair of wristies yesterday.

I'm thinking of them as "pink tutu wristies"--an easy knit with a bit of fun with the ruffles at the end.

Defiant

I had to go into the city on the train yesterday. It's not a long trip, but by the time you add a few minutes waiting at the station and the possibility of delays, it's certainly too long a trip to go without a knitting project. I didn't have anything suitable on my needles. I did have enough time for a quick rummage through my odd balls box. There was a wool-silk blend from several years ago that I'd forgotten about. Now it looks like this:

These wristies are so solid that they stand alone! Yet the merino and silk fibre is kind on sensitive skin as well as being warm. And I defy any winter wind to cut its way through this fabric!

Bits and Pieces

I've made a several pairs of wristies this year. This one was lying neglected in the bottom of a knitting bag and came to light when I was looking for something else this morning.

Its pair is nearly done--just the ruffle to finish--so that should be my first task for this morning. Oh, and I may as well confess that my hand in the pic is carefully hiding the loose ends that still need to be woven in.

Another Reward

My epic struggle with the weeds continues. Yesterday was one of those days when I felt as though I was making some progress. I celebrated by trimming back the Lorraine Lee rosebush. She's such a generous rose and gives me flowers all year round. It's always hard to find a good time for pruning. This trim was prompted by my need to reach under the bush in pursuit of the never-ending Kikuyu grass.

 

So I went back to my knitting in the afternoon with the sight and sweet smell of a vase of roses in front of me. I finished the pretty pink wristies before it was time to get ready for my quilting class.

Reward

By the time I'd completed the dreaded paperwork which I'd set myself to tackle yesterday I'd used up half the day and most of my available energy. I have yet to unpack the car after the market, and somehow my knitting bag got mixed up with that stuff on Monday so my "easy and blue" shawl wasn't available. I know it's crazy but opening the front door and walking maybe twenty metres to get it just seemed like too much effort! So I cast on something else.

It's another little wristie. This is some hand-dyed baby wool that I wound off the skein to use in some of the open-textured scarves I made for the market. So it was sitting in the basket next to my armchair. I noticed at the market that I could do with some more wristies, so they're on their way. Not that there's likely to be much demand for them in the warmer months, but I don't enjoy making the same thing over and over, so maybe this way I can slowly build up enough to have a good range for next year.

This Goes with That

Remember this scarf from a month or so ago? I made myself a pair of little wristies to match.

Obviously I still need to weave in the loose ends. And just as obviously these are not heavy duty items of warmth. They're just for a bit of fun--a tiny scrap of woolly comfort and colour.

I've got a couple of interviews at TAFE today to wrap up the semester's work and I'm planning to go on the train, so the moebius will be finished today. If it works out as well as I hope, I'll be casting on another one straight away. As for doing extra homework in the holidays, so far I just haven't been up for it. I'll see how I feel after the weekend.