Kiss My Knits!

Okay, my Dragonrealms Secret Santa never mentioned that she got her gift, but I’m going to assume that she got it and that it’s safe to post, since it was sent Priority Mail on Jan 3rd. The bulk of this post is copied from the knitting community, where I posted earlier.

(No, I’m not making shadow puppets, the side light shows the pattern and a flash doesn’t.)*

Pattern: Hand/Wrist Warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha in colorway 22, lot Y.
Needles: #6 (4mm) DPNs
Gauge: approx 4.5 stitches per inch, pattern calls for 5.

Note: I have a first edition of the book. There are corrections online for this pattern for those of us using the first edition.

The color is pretty true on these. It’s a brick red, with just enough orange overtone to nudge it over to that end of the spectrum and away from the purple side. My giftee says she likes “earth tones” and “native palettes” so hopefully even though these have a little sheen from the silk (the yarn is silk, lamb’s wool, cashmere, and a little nylon), they’ll go over all right.

The pattern emphatically calls for two 8″ circular size 6 needles, but I went with DPNs instead, opting not to purchase new needles. In spite of what the pattern says, I doubt I would have been able to tell a difference between the DPNs and circs. And c’mon – who’s got an assortment of 8″ circs laying around?

Although the pattern only calls for the ribbing to swirl in one direction, I decided to make it travel in the opposite direction on each piece for symmetry’s sake. Also, it suggests binding off in pattern, but it was 1am when I finished wristwarmer one (never start a project late at night) so I just did a suspended bind-off, since I can do that in my sleep – which wasn’t far from the truth of how it went. I used a cable cast-on, too, since that’s my fave and it gives me a looser edge than the longtail.

My gauge was 4.5 stitches per inch, and the pattern calls for 5. It was supposed to size to a women’s large, and it does fit me pretty closely but not uncomfortably.

I didn’t count rows on wristwarmer two, so there is the occasional rib repeat that goes for one row longer or one row shorter than it should. You can’t tell unless you’re counting. Also, while it may be off on total length by a row, I’m considering this a jumping off point for future wristwarmers done freeform with different ribbing patterns – so I’m in an “eh, close enough” place. If you’ve got a stitch library, or the 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Perpetual Calendar (note: be sure to check the voluminous errata if you have an early edition) you could modify these pretty easily.

The recommended yarn, Noro’s Cash Iroha, was slubbier than I thought. It has a nice sheen, though, and I have enough left over for another wristwarmer, should my giftee suddenly grow a third arm. I’d definitely use the yarn again for something, depending on how my giftee says it wears as time goes on.

*(Okay, there might have been some shadow puppets.)

All in all, it was a moderately quick knit – probably six to eight hours since I was knitting tired and distracted – and I’d do it again.