MsDD asked me to make her some fingerless gloves so I used the Tweed Toastie pattern from Gloves by Susette Palmer

I’m not a hugely experienced knitter and, reading through the pattern, I hit some snags specifically about when to start the thumbgusset. Quickly asking @Beatrixhellcock and @CelloSuze on Twitter helped as they directed me to Ravelry, where it seemed that people had already had issues with errors in the pattern. I was reassured that it wasn’t just me being thick.

I knitted the gloves using my new Knitpro Karbonz Double Pointed Knitting Needles in 3mm and 4mm sets. I really like the Karbonz, as they strike the right snaggy/smooth balance; they’re warm to the touch and very light. I’ve dropped them a couple of times and they haven’t broken but I’m so far reluctant to try the Posterior Pressure Test just in case they’re not as strong as everyone makes out. Since they’re nickel-tipped, however, you won’t find me using them in the departure lounge of Dubai airport or anywhere like that. I liked them enough to buy some sets of interchangeables, which will be another new learning experience for me I think.

Unfortunately I used the 15cm sets of needles which were not really long enough for all the gusset stitches I had to make and the stitches kept falling off the exposed ends of the needles. Lesson for next time: use 20cm needles and always watch what’s happening to the stitches.

Knitpro needles are made in India so it’s quite funny to think that the needle I lost in Neral a couple of weeks ago (yet another thing that’s obviously sprouted legs and disappeared over the horizon,) has returned to its Motherland.

Now, the pattern specified Rowan Felted Tweed but, being a sybarite, I chose Rowan Baby Alpaca (Colour Jewel Shade 0144) for its warmth, softness and lack of bulk. This was probably a bad idea. When you get things wrong – and I get things wrong a lot – and you frog the work, the hairy fibre tangles in on itself and is impossible to rescue so I ended up throwing quite a lot of yarn away. Knowing my propensity to make mistakes, I had bought extra but it’s galling to see expensive yarn in the composting bin. Untangling yarn also makes it weaker and there were a couple of dismaying breaks, which can create holes. You should be able to make this pair with one 50g skein though.

Speaking of holes, I don’t understand why the first glove had a minimal hole in the thumb fourchette but the second glove had a huge one that had to be darned. Not a great start to a new garment. As others on Ravelry who used this pattern found, the gloves come out very large and stretchy. MsDD has wondered whether to boil them but, to me, that would just create very expensive 100% Alpaca felt. Ah well.