As in ‘Unexpectedly Finished Object’ – I thought I would never be done with this Adrienne glove! I frogged the whole thing twice: first when I was about halfway through and again when I was nearly done. Both times I had messed up with the row count and it simply looked wrong.
The third time I gave myself a firm shake and, on a wing and a prayer, put the stitches back on the needle after frogging a couple of rows because I had mysteriously ended up with several more stitches than I actually needed. It worked out all right, quite miraculously so.
If I were still the perfectionist I once was (which was about two babies back, if I remember correctly), I would probably never have completed my first Adrienne and it is still far from perfect. Several knitters on Ravelry commented that the glove was rather tight at the top and it looked tight while I was knitting it, so I added four stitches one at a time through the upper half. My technique being as it is (something like ‘just past beginner’s level’ seems about right) I ended up with four holes, which I then had to ‘fix’ when I mattress-stitched the sides together. The top ribbed edge looks sloppy – again because I was afraid it would be too tight and therefore knitted really loosely. Some creative souls (again on Ravelry) ‘added a couple of rows of double crochet’ at the thumb opening for a neat finish and I just might try to figure out how that is done, too.
And of course, it is just the one glove. I still have the entire left glove to go. I might have a lot of other important knits to cast on and complete before that, I’m afraid, because right now I just feel like heaving a relieved sigh and not even thinking about the second glove.
Of course I then found out how hard it is to photograph your newly and fashionably gloved right hand and still make it look… well… not as cramped and uncomfortable as it actually feels. I have developed a newfound respect for contortionists, I can tell you. Still, I am fairly satisfied with the result. I mean, you can see my hand wearing the glove, my nail polish is still fairly fresh and unchipped, there is part of my much beloved Liberty London clutch in the background.
And what might that pinkish knitted thing in the background be? I thought you’d never ask! That is Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze being knitted into a rose’s airy breath. A beaded rose’s airy breath, no less. I’m rather proud of that, actually. I’m not sure yet what its final shape will be but it is certainly going to be pretty.
Just a few more last words on Adrienne. It’s a design by Nancy Ricci at Getting Purly With It and it is not nearly as difficult, of course, as I have made it seem. I decided to knit the pattern in a lovely Manos del Uruguay silk blend. The little ribbed scarf cum belt next to the glove in the first picture may have to sacrifice some of its length for the second glove because I am not sure I can manage with the yarn I have left. Another beginner’s mistake, naturally. I started the scarf without a pattern, just because I loved the yarn and thought it would look pretty like this (and it does!). Of course I then decided to use the yarn for the gloves so for the time being Scarfling is languishing on a bit of scrap yarn. Perhaps I’ll do the second glove soon and finish up Scarfling so I have a first pattern to publish. What do you think, should I?
Adrienne is a fun and fairly quick knit and I would definitely recommend it for just-past-beginners like me. I looked up the stitches making up the curved pattern on the web – there are countless excellent free tutorials out there that will help you master the ‘knit two togethers’, ‘slip slip stitches’ and ‘knit front and backs’ that have such beautiful results when lined up in a certain way. It still seems like magic to me. Happy knitting!
A gilded yarn 