Inspired by Brooke

I have done nothing but think about those bum gloves Brooke made for her daughter. It has driven me crazy. OK, for those of you who know me... crazier. I wanted a pair of my own! But first I wanted to make sure I had an idea of what I was doing before I tackled something like beads. I hunted around the web and found a really, really, really simple pattern of nothing but rib which is knit in a long rectangle. I have small hands. The pattern called for 38 stitches and to reduce or increase in multiples of 4. Last night I cast on 34 stitches and knit a few rows. Yup, gonna be too loose. I ripped it all out, cast on 30 and knit away. I finished the first one this morning and the second tonight. They were a quick knit but to be honest, knitting rib hurts my hands. But I really, really wanted these! For those of the KC who were kind enough to brave my house in the spring, you *know* it gets cold here. I had such a hard time this past winter trying to knit underneath a fleece blanket that I was determined to find a way to make it better this winter. Now I can be under the fleece blanket, have my hands outside and knit and still have warm hands.

These handwarmers were made with 100% merino wool in "petal" color purchased at KnitPiks in one of my buying frenzies several months ago. Y'all know I'm a pink girl. :) I used two strands throughout and as you can see from the picture they go up long enough to keep the warmth in. The pattern says you can go as far as elbow length but I thought that might be too restrictive. I was also afraid since I was making them tight (but not constrictive) that because I'm a larger person with thicker forearms than wrists, I couldn't get it the right size to go all the way up. They would be too loose at the bottom to accommodate a the larger forearms or the good fit at the bottom would constrict and not be able to go all the way and "slouch". I am very happy with the length. Here's a hint - I knit the first then the second. I stitched up to the thumb on one, put it down and did the other to match to the exact row. Same with the bottom. Now I can use either side on either hand but I found a way to mark the left by leaving a bit of a tail I can tuck in at the bottom and then the right one I tied a small piece of the pretty colored cotton yarn Kaylee sent (see previous post) so I will know that it's the hand warmer that goes on the right hand and that's the BOTTOM of the hand warmer. Yes, there is more sewing from the bottom of the thumb to the bottom of the warmer but it's hard to tell. Now there's no problem. And since it's me wearing them, who cares??

So, forgive the poor photography but the first picture is my hand in the left hand warmer and then a picture of it off the hand . The pattern is simple (CO 38, increase/decrease in multiples of 4), Row 1: K2, P2, repeat ending w K2. Row 2: P2, K2, repeat ending w P2. Do this to desired length (mine was just short of 7"). Make 2. Sew from top down to inside of thumb. Sew bottom up to outside of thumb. You'll have an opening for the thumb. The ribbing makes them easy to fit and don't worry if they seem tight... I am sure that they will loosen up over time. Better a bit tight than loose. You can always loosen them but tightening requires more sewing. :)