My Bionic Hands

At last, the final part of my Winter 2013 accessories is finished, hopefully with plenty of time left in the season to wear them all! This was my first time knitting full gloves, rather than just little fingerless mitts. Not too hard, really. This pattern is also from Knit Picks, and it's called In Touch Gloves. They've got a circuit board motif in pink (hence my name, Bionic Hand Gloves), and if you look closely on the tip of the thumb and forefinger there is a bit of electro-contuctive thread sewn in, which allows you to keep your gloves on when using a touch screen for a smartphone or something. And it works! Huzzah! I finally have the sort-of bionic hands I've wanted ever since I watched The Terminator and T2 (not to mention Star Trek TNG) oh-so-many years ago, forever associating android with awesome. 

Candy Skull Cap

I was worried that this winter might be too short or mild for me to make some new accessories, but boy, was I wrong! This weekend we were visited by winter storm Nemo, also known as Snowpocalypse 2013! All roads in Connecticut were closed, and with good reason! You can't go very far in 2 ft of snow. Luckily I just finished knitting a fun new toque, the Candy Skull Cap. I used the same yarns I used in the previous brioche scarf. Now I'm just about ready for anything!

The aftermath of Snowpocalypse 2013!

Colorful Keyhole Scarf

I needed a quick yet satisfying project to follow the Christmas sweater, and boy was this it! It's a little keyhole scarf done in brioche stitch, which was a new technique for me. I loved learning it! As you can see, it is a reversible stitch, with the colorful yarn prominent on one side, and the black yarn prominent on the other.

A Trio of Sweaters

It's been quite a while since I last posted, and for good reason! I've been hard at work knitting sweaters since the fall. My plan was to make a sweater for Jeet for Christmas, but then I was commissioned by my dad to knit a sweater for a family friend who had recently had a baby. On the side, I also knit a teensy weensy sweater from a Christmas ornament pattern, just because it was cute.

I ordered the yarn for the big Christmas sweater, and while I waited for it to arrive I knit up a sweet little cardigan for our friend Julie's baby boy Timothy. I bought the pattern here on Ravelry.com and purchased the yarn and buttons at JoAnn Fabric. I made a baby version of a classic men's sweater, complete with little pockets and faux leather buttons. It took less than a week to finish. By then, the yarn for the Christmas sweater had arrived, and it was time to get started!

The Christmas sweater, a colorful, cabled zip-up cardigan, had a few challenges. From having to rip and re-knit several sections, to having to do minor surgery to take apart and then graft back together a piece that was accidentally too long in the middle, to having to special order a zipper long enough because the length recommended in the pattern was too short... Well let's just say I'm really glad it is finally finished! :-) Phew!

And now, a much deserved break from knitting sweaters. My next few projects are small, quick winter accessories. I need some near-instant gratification now! Oh, and that tiny sweater? Maybe a gift card can fit in it someday? I'll just file it away under "cute but not very useful".

The tiny sweater, next to a quarter to show scale

The baby cardigan

The Christmas Sweater

Owl Sweater

The latest of my knits was a fun challenge I made for myself: I rewrote the pattern to better suit my own tastes. The original sweater pattern has a cute owl motif done in a simple openwork style, but the sweater itself was less appealing to me. It had these 80s drop sleeves that I just was not crazy about. It was also knit flat, in pieces, to be sewn together at the end. I decided to rewrite the pattern to be not only knit in the round, but to have raglan sleeves instead of the drop sleeves. I must say, I'm pretty pleased with my results! I used DK Swish yarn from knitpicks.com, and it's machine washable and so soft and comfy!