Yarn: STR Falcon's Eye** (the true color is somewhere between the two different light greens you see in my photos)
Pattern: Eric's Glovelets,** from Green Mountain Spinnery
Needles: Crystal Palace dpns, US#1**
I knit these for Ms. R while we were camping on the north shore of Lake Superior in late August, intending them to be her birthday gift if the scarf didn't work out. If it did they would be a Christmas gift and I would be ahead of the game. But now that #1 son and Ms. R are no longer together, the question arises of what to do with the gauntlets. Keeping them for myself is not an option; they are just tight enough on my hands to restrict blood flow -- sort of the opposite effect from what I was going for ;-) My husband suggested giving them as a Christmas gift to our newest renter, who like Ms. R has very slender hands and has trouble staying warm. (I had been discussing with him what to knit for our two renters.) The right side of my brain cries, "No, no! You knit those while thinking all the time of Ms. R! They have Ms. R vibes knit into them! It would be very, very wrong to give them to anyone else!" Meanwhile, the left brain is going, "Good grief. Clearly, knitting has made your head - at least the other half - go all soft and New-Age-gooey. They are made of yarn, not 'vibes,' and no one is going to feel anything weird about them. Give them to the renter and get on with your life."
In all those Myers-Briggs and other personality tests I am often on the cusp between whatever opposites the test is measuring. This episode is just the latest evidence. I will probably go with the left brain suggestion, if for no other reason than it is easier. Pragmatism and laziness win, once again.
* Technically, schizophrenia does not really imply split personality; the term just seemed to fit this post. My apologies to mental health professionals (you know who you are!) and schizophrenics everywhere.
** The pattern is written for a heavier yarn at a gauge of 5.5 st/in, but I knew I wanted to use the STR. To adapt the pattern I did what I do when I knit socks: figure out the circumference of the body part I want to cover (no sniggering!), swatch for gauge, and do the math (after subtracting 1/2" from the actual circumference to ensure a snug fit) to know how many stitches to cast on. Since I didn't want to ask Ms. R to measure her hand, I had #1 son hold MY hand (mine are also on the small side), and tell me if her hand was the same or smaller. The cable-knit pulls the fabric together like ribbing does, so I knew I had a lot of leeway.