01 October 2013

Guest Post: Entangled Stitches Gloves from ellelittleblog

This week, I'm bringing you a guest post. This is a friend of mine from the knit-o-sphere, and she's done a lovely project to share with you. I'll be featuring a few more guest posts in the next few months, so enjoy! 


Hi YarnExploder peeps!  My name is Letitia.  I will also answer to Elle, blond chick, and hey you.  I am poly-craftual, as most crafty people tend to be.  I consider myself mostly a sewer these days, but I have also been knitting since December 2008.  I taught myself how to knit by looking up stitches online and making preemie baby caps.  “Hey!  Bobbles look fun.  I’ll put some of those in a hat!  February Lady Sweater?  I’m not sure what lace is, but I can turn that into a hat. Etc.”  I love knitting, but unfortunately/fortunately I live in Florida and there isn’t much use for knit beanies or giant Aran sweaters or gloves.  Yeah.  So about those gloves…

I fell in love with the entangled stitches pattern by Julia Mueller sometime in 2010.  Someone posted in Remnants about how her brand-new gloves in a beeyoutiful silk blend yarn were stolen off the train.  She was understandably heartbroken.  Anyway, awesome ravelers are awesome and someone was able to get the dyer of that yarn to dye more (she wasn’t dyeing anymore from what I remember) to gift to this chick.  That’s how I remember it happening anyway.  Fast-forward to August 2012 and I see an ad on LSG for sheepytime knit’s colorway of the month, South Pacific, and I HAD to have the entangled gloves in THAT color.  Never mind the fact that I was going nowhere close to cold anytime soon.
My first order of business was to find my colored pencils and color in each different symbol on the pattern.  There are so many different kinds of twisted stitches in this pattern and the symbols look similar enough that coloring in the squares was very necessary for me.  That took somewhere in the neighborhood of three hours to complete.  That should have been my first clue as to how intense this project was going to be.  There are seven (7!) pages of charts after all.  I’m not one to look at something complicated and think I can’t do it, so onward I cast on with my tiny size 0 DPNs.



I note on my Ravelry project page (very light on the notes, btw) that I was 15 hours into my first glove and I wasn’t done with the first chart yet—that’s not even 40 rounds in 15 hours.  My hands are like normal people hands with the pinky spread thing (not sure what to call that exactly, but you know what I mean right?) starting earlier than the other fingers.  I moved my pinky stitches onto waste yarn on after round 88 and continued working the other three fingers according to the chart.  That’s the only modification I made that I can think of apart from using a smaller needle size.  I tried to make the crosses on the fingers line up with my knuckles because I thought that would look cool.  I wish I had a picture of that!  Sorry, not sorry.



From start to finish, these gloves took just short of 6 months.  I was zipping along on them all through September and was almost done with glove 2 when I stalled for all of October.  I picked the gloves back up to finish chart 2 on the second glove and was almost done knitting the fingers by mid-November.  Then I stalled again, spent a month in Central America, and went back to work in January busy as hell.  My biggest challenge was WEAVING IN THE DING DONG DURN ENDS!!!  Mugglefrackin ends.  Ends are my kryptonite.  Well, ends and buttons.  I was so not wanting to weave in those ends.  I made a deal with myself to just weave in 2 a day.  Just 2.  Per day.  That’s it.  It still took me forever, but here, look at my pretty finished gloves!  Glorious gloves really.


My original idea was to take these pictures at the beach.  I’m glad I didn’t because the reflection from the sand would have been horrible for showing the detail on the gloves.  The backyard wearing a $2 dress from the Nicaraguan version of Goodwill was way better.

This photo is really blue.  I was trying to get all the cabling to show and overadjusted the colors in the process.  Oops.

For the record, we had a really cold March and I was wearing my gloves regularly in the mornings.  Steering wheels get cold!  Enough about my gloves.  You can find me as ellelittle on Ravelry and/or read my blog about sewing, what I’m cooking, and where I’m going, as well as other random things over at ellelittleblog.blogspot.com. 

And since I’m feeling really generous, I’ll sponsor a giveaway too.  Up for grabs is a digital copy of Entangled Stitches (gifted through Rav so you gotta be on there) and a skein of Knitpicks Stroll Tonal in Pearlescent that’s been languishing in the stash forever.  And because I’m really freaking awesome, I’ll make you a sweet project bag to go along with it all.


You want this?  You know you do.  Leave a comment 1) confirming that I am, in fact, awesome and 2) what the hardest thing you’ve made so far was and why.  Bonus internet points for linkys.

That’s it!  Thanks to Yarnexploder and readers for having me today!

65 comments:

  1. Of course you are awesome! Was there ever any doubt?

    I'm not sure what the hardest thing I've ever made was. I tend to take on challenging projects all the time. I guess I'll have to go with my very first sweater, a self-designed Irish Fisherman's sweater.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A fisherman's sweater you designed yourself? You are my hero!

      Delete
  2. How can you not be awesome when you make gloves like that?

    I've found Haruni to be one of the more challenging projects I've ever done. I started over on it at least 3 times and still ended up frogging it because it just wouldn't turn out nicely enough for me. I've made other successful lace projects since then so I don't know what it is about this particular project.that defeated me so. Hopefully the yarn will become the wonderful Orchid Cowl (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/orchid-cowl).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That crochet bind off on the Haruni was a giant pain! There are so many fabulous lace patterns out there, don't waste your time on one that isn't making you happy. And good point: some people won't make those gloves at all, and that isn't really the point of the giveaway. The winner can PM me if they would prefer a different pattern. Thanks for entering and good luck!

      Delete
  3. You are awesome and your gloves are awesome and your dresses are awesome too. I've enjoyed watching you show off all of your things in the Ravelry monthly threads. I know all about the teensy cables since I'm knitting Bex. Perhaps winning would be a curse more than a gift ;)

    Belinda aka beedragon on Ravelry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you win anyway! Thanks for keeping up with the threads!

      Delete
  4. It takes an awesome person to know an awesome person, and I can DEFINITELY confirm your awesomeness. :)

    Your gloves are really pretty! They sure look complicated! The hardest thing I've knit to date is the Knotty Gloves. I've only knit one (I'm suffering from second glove syndrome), but I'll be knitting the second soon. The cables coupled with tiny black yarn and needles has proven to be quite challenging in action. My glove looks downright simple compared to yours, though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The knotty gloves are really pretty too and same designer, right? I have something against the knotty cable since I knit that knotty hat for my now ex-boyfriend. Oops.

      Delete
    2. Yup! Same designer! In my case, the gloves are for my cousin. I don't think we'll be breaking up...ever. :P

      Delete
  5. You are an awesome yarn overachiever. I am a lazy knitter...lots of stockinette in the round. I have, however, in that vein, spun and knit a large man sweater on size 2 needles. It was more of an endurance feat than anything.
    tktl on Ravelry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spinning is impressive to me. I couldn't quite get the hang of the drafting part. That's love--spending so much of your crafting time on the man's sweater.

      Delete
  6. You are indeed awesome. The most complicated thing I've ever knitted has to be either Sylvie (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/CraftyLittleRat/sylvi) which is a fully cabled cardigan

    or

    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/CraftyLittleRat/rams-and-yowes

    My Rams and Yowes. My plan is to re-knit this one next year. I want to double the amount of sheep and have 7 rows instead of 4 so I can do rainbow colours on a neutral background.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Rams and Yowes is really nice. I'm sure your Grandmother loves it!

      Delete
  7. You're awesomeness overwhelms us all ;)

    The hardest thing I have probably ever knit was probably Tiny Owl Knits's Woodland Hoodlet : http://www.ravelry.com/projects/AmandaVondrasek/woodland-hoodlet
    The pattern was easy to follow but it was my first time dealing with that super bulky yarn and in a large scale! But it did turn out to be my best and favorite project too :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. You are wonderfully, fabulously awesome! Hardest thing to date is probably the )@;$(&$ feather and fan variation on my current baby blanket. Not because it's particularly difficult, but because F&F makes my brain stupid.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are very awesome, as are those gloves. My daughter was the girl you mentioned who lost her Entangled Gloves, and yes she was very heartbroken, but also very thrilled with the help from Ravelers to help her replace them. Ravellers are always awesome. My hardest knitting project so far has been the Fatty Lumpkin crocheted horse. Not because the pattern is hard in itself, but I keep putting the blocks in the wrong spots, so it did not resemble a horse at all. I am making two of them for my grandsons for holiday gifts. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fatty-lumpkin-the-brave-african-flower-pony-crochet-pattern

    ReplyDelete
  10. You are very awesome, as are those gloves. My daughter was the girl you mentioned who lost her Entangled Gloves, and yes she was very heartbroken, but also very thrilled with the help from Ravelers to help her replace them. Ravellers are always awesome. My hardest knitting project so far has been the Fatty Lumpkin crocheted horse. Not because the pattern is hard in itself, but I keep putting the blocks in the wrong spots, so it did not resemble a horse at all. I am making two of them for my grandsons for holiday gifts. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fatty-lumpkin-the-brave-african-flower-pony-crochet-pattern

    ReplyDelete
  11. You and those gloves are awesome!

    The most impressive thing I have ever knit was the Apirka socks (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KatieW04/apirka) from a Knitpicks kit. However, I don't really classify anything in knitting as hard. Some things just require more thought or determination (or google-fu) than others.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Super awesome-you and the gloves!

    The hardest thing I've ever made was my first lace project ever, Charlotte's Web. I clearly had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I wouldn't recommend it as a beginner's lace project. I had to tink back rows so many times; I had never heard of lifelines, this was pre-Rav, and even with the tinking it's full of mistakes (luckily it was for my Nana and she doesn't care and can't tell). But it is also the project where I finally learned how to read my knitting, which is probably the most valuable skill a knitter can have. I would love to make another one now that I know what I'm doing!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am wildly impressed with the super-labor-intensive gloves. And you can really rock that $2 dress!
    I think my hardest project has been my Pamuya shawl, mostly because I knit it in front of the tv and had to rip out lots of mistakes.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes you are crazy awesome. I'm in Florida too and love wool to knit with. I need to find some plant fiber love! The hardest knit for me so far has been my Golden West Tsocks. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Hippo/golden-west

    ReplyDelete
  15. I whipped out my awesometer and can confirm that the awesomeness is overhelmingly present. IT'S OVER 9000.

    My personal awesomest was a self-designed sweater with a Very Complex lace panel from Hitomi Shida's 250 down the front. Once I had it up and running it was fine, but the sheer amount of mathification and swatching beforehand was impressive. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/CarmineZuigiber/curiouser--curiouser

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gorgeous gloves by an awesome knitter! That would take me YEARS!

    I'm a relative knitting newbie. The most complicated thing I have made is Anneal gloves Actually glove, I'm still on the second one - but I finished one glove so that counts, right? I think this is an awesome pattern because I have a major geeky side, so the idea of DNA on gloves, especially DNA that denatures and re-anneals around the thumb, is amazing.

    http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/anneal

    My biggest project by far is Celestarium. More geeky stuff.

    http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/celestarium

    Most of it wasn't hard, just needed to learn to bead, but I added on a lace edging that was a major learning experience (from http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/leaves-of-grass-2). Between the enormous number of stitches and the complicated (to me) lace edging, this would probably be my most challenging knit.

    I ended up with this. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/tikidoc/celestarium

    ReplyDelete
  17. That is a serious level of awesomeness!

    The hardest thing I've made was quite some time ago and it is the Flore hat by Tina Whitmore.
    http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flore

    It was difficult because it was a small scale with multiple layers in the works at one time. At one point I had three sets of circular needles layered on top of each other. There were also many many ends to weave in. I also had to sew down all the layers as I didn't want them to curl.

    It was totally worth it, she has loved that hat so much!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I can't begin to say how awesome you are!
    The hardest things I have knitted so far are my knee socks with a celtic knot on each one. I hate ribbing and these were k2p2 almost completely. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/clarbineds/emma

    ReplyDelete
  19. This looks so awesome, and so are you! The most difficult thing I've nit was the Gloucester coat. It was my first cable project and oh so lovely! Please ignore the frowny pics, my son was being a jerk about taking pictures lol
    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/TK10/gloucester-coat

    ReplyDelete
  20. You are very awesome, and awesomely generous as well to sponsor such a giveaway!

    The hardest things I've actually finished are probably the sweaters I've knit for myself most recently, which I custom fit to my body with a lot of math and trial and error, so maybe my Gavotte:
    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rebekafish/gavotte

    The hardest thing I've got on the needles right now is my Leav, which involves beaded lace worked over short rows -- and then I also I taught myself to knit *and purl* backwards (slowly) so I don't have to turn the work for the shortest of the short rows. But it's been languishing unfinished for a while because it takes so much concentration and I've been reaching for more soothing knits lately:
    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rebekafish/leav

    ReplyDelete
  21. You are not only awesome, you are awesome sauce. My most difficult thing so far has to be Vivian or Hanami.
    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/cindylouvt/vivian
    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/cindylouvt/hanami-stole

    ReplyDelete
  22. You are very awesome, and awesomely generous as well to sponsor such a giveaway!

    The hardest things I've actually finished are probably the sweaters I've knit for myself most recently, which I custom fit to my body with a lot of math and trial and error, so maybe my Gavotte:
    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rebekafish/gavotte

    The hardest thing I've got on the needles right now is my Leav, which involves beaded lace worked over short rows -- and then I also I taught myself to knit *and purl* backwards (slowly) so I don't have to turn the work for the shortest of the short rows. But it's been languishing unfinished for a while because it takes so much concentration and I've been reaching for more soothing knits lately:
    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rebekafish/leav

    ReplyDelete
  23. You are truly awesome and those gloves are awesome indeed.

    The hardest thing I've ever knit is probably my Traveling Rib hat (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/shakeyourbooties/traveling-rib-hat-3). It took all kinds of concentration, even though it was the second one I knit.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Yes, you are awesome!

    The hardest thing I ever knit was the "Hooray for Me Gloves" by Marnie MacLean. Those fingers were so fiddly. They turned out good, though.

    lmecoll on Ravelry

    ReplyDelete
  25. You are so totally awesome! The hardest thing I've ever knit is actually a baby blanket that I've never finished that included cables and lace and it was knit from a chart which I had never ever done before. Needless to say the blanket is still in my closet, unfinished, on the needles, and I have five skeins of yarn left that I think will make five fantastic hats :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. You are in fact 'AWESOME". What a great giveaway.
    The hardest thing I have ever made is a sweater for myself. I had to take the sleeves off and redo the underarms because they were too large. I also had to buy additional yarn and it didn't match so I had to switch out yarn every so often to ensure it looked okay.
    sherryglover1 on RAV

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wow you are awesome and SO talented.

    I think the hardest thing I ever made was my first pair of socks. I couldn't read patterns and it was really hard to make them symmetrical.

    Needless to say I've grown in the last 10 years :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wow you are awesome and SO talented.

    I think the hardest thing I ever made was my first pair of socks. I couldn't read patterns and it was really hard to make them symmetrical.

    Needless to say I've grown in the last 10 years :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I still can't get the hang of socks. I just can't make them fit right. One day. . .

      Delete
  29. You are most definitely awesome!

    The hardest thing I've made depends on how you define 'hard' - I've knit the Knotty gloves, and while they're pretty easy during the knitting part finding the motivation to weave in that many ends is always difficult. The pattern that challenged me most at the time, though, was probably Interlocking Leaves (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/interlocking-leaves) because they were my first successful toe-up socks. I still prefer cuff-down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I swear those ends are terrible! Ugh. You have at least 24 ends to weave into such a small knitted area.

      Those are some pretty socks!

      Delete
  30. Naturally, you are awesome.

    The hardest thing I've made: My very first "big" lace project, in actual laceweight, was knit with black silk. I didn't realize how terrible an idea this was. After it was finished, but before it was blocked, it accidentally got put through the wash and felted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can commiserate with the accidental felting. I never got FO pics of this http://www.ravelry.com/projects/ellelittle/cap-sleeved-eyelet-top before it went through the wash. :(

      Delete
  31. Dude, you are totally awesome! I'm currently working on a sock design, and I'm stuck at the end of the leg/cuff. I just can't visualize how to proceed on the foot, which will have ramifications for the heel. So that's my current difficult project. Anneh (rav name)

    ReplyDelete
  32. 1. Completely AWESOME! Gloves actually intimidate me. I don't know why, I have knit quite a few pairs of mittens now, but all the individual fingers plus the super cute, but complicated, cabling seems really hard!

    2. The hardest thing I started was a lace weight leafy pretty shawl. I frogged it, held the yarn double and made an equally nice but less lacey shawl. The hardest thing I have completed is a pair of celtic cabled longies. The 10 inch inseam seemed to never end! And then when I went to wash the yarn all the color was coming out so I I had to set the color. I really like the finished product, but I vowed to never knit that complicated of a cable pattern again.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Letitia, how can you not be completely awesome when you do all this AND tells us about it on the DR Ravelry forum?
    I think the hardest thing I ever knit was the never ending stole (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MissPeaches/lace-top) not so much because of the lace pattern but because it was eh how do I put this delicately... never ending! And the mohair was so sticky and eck. It now lives with my mum who adores it and I have proof that I do in fact have some patience.

    ReplyDelete
  34. You are AWESOME and you know it!
    I don't remember the hardest thing but I remember a very difficult yarn to handle that was completely tangled and then I threw the big tangled thing away.
    Giulia
    pigreco2662@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  35. You are awesome! SO AWESOME.

    My hardest projects are always the ones in which I have to learn to do something new, shockingly enough. So I'm going to say the hardest was my Springtime Bandit, in which I learned not only to knot shawls at all, but to manage a whole lot of lace and to persevere in the face of 500-stitch rows. Yay! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The 500 stitch rows are why I like Kitman's patterns. You start with a billionty stitches and decrease down to 3. No real binding off and you gain momentum at just the right time!

      Delete
  36. Of course you're awesome. Love the dress and the gloves. The hardest thing I've ever made was a cabled sweater for my husband. It took me months!
    http://www.ravelry.com/projects/adoptionmsw/daron

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Man sweaters are very intimidating! There is so much extra knitting. I hope your husband appreciated the sweater.

      Delete
  37. You are so totally awesome! Hardest project? Hmmm. Pair of socks that would match your gloves very well. Make that ONE sock as the second never got done since it was too hard!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The seconds of anything are hard! You should make the second sock now--you have more experience and it shouldn't be so bad!

      Delete
  38. You are so awesome - how many does that make? My hardest project was probably a "true" lace scarf I made - lace patterning on both sides of work.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Rock on with your bad self! You are brilliant and awesome! Also those gloves are going to look awesome in that KP colorway.

    I'm still working on my Steelcity, which is definitely the hardest thing I've tackled yet.
    http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/steelcity

    I'm on the second of eight charts. It'll be awhile - not a transit-friendly project.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's an interest design. I haven't seen that one before.

      Delete
  40. You are awesome!!! Those gloves are amazing.

    I am not very experienced, but the hardest thing I have knit so far is probably the Knotty But Nice hat from knitty: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knotty-but-nice

    (SkullTherapy on ravelry)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Forgot to add:
    Shared on FB
    Shared on g+
    Pinned on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sherryglover1/pins/

    sherryglover1 on RAV

    ReplyDelete
  42. Those are gorgeous, and a very striking color!

    My hardest project is currently in timeout. It is the Dragon of Happiness shawl, and I'm doing it in a red cobweb weight cashmere from Colormart. But I have to rip it back to the same lifeline for the fourth time so I'm taking a break and doing a One Ring scarf in the meantime.

    --recordersmith on Ravelry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cobweb. I am amazed. That shawl will be gorgeous when you finish it.

      Delete
  43. You are awesome because you keep up a great and inspiring blog! I think the hardest thing I made is my first sock ever! I worked very hard on it but I made t and know I can't stop knitting socks! Thank you for the chance to win! Sylviemom on Rav

    ReplyDelete
  44. Those are amazing gloves! So awesome!

    My hardest project would probably be my lace weight Hex shawl (which is on hold). First, it's 3 skeins of lace! Second, it's not a super difficult pattern, but was tough for my first lace project. And third, I don't even wear shawls so why the heck was I spending all these hours on this project?! I do plan to finish it and give it to my mom, probably for Christmas 2014 ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  45. Those are amazing gloves! So awesome!

    My hardest project would probably be my lace weight Hex shawl (which is on hold). First, it's 3 skeins of lace! Second, it's not a super difficult pattern, but was tough for my first lace project. And third, I don't even wear shawls so why the heck was I spending all these hours on this project?! I do plan to finish it and give it to my mom, probably for Christmas 2014 ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  46. You are made of awesome! Those gloves are amazing.

    The hardest project I've done has got to be my Percy in Silk shawl (it's on Ravelry). It was the first time I'd done lace patterning on both sides, it's 100% silk laceweight, and I went and added beads to the pattern. It took 6 months to finish.

    ReplyDelete
  47. You are made of awesome! Those gloves are amazing.

    The hardest project I've done has got to be my Percy in Silk shawl (it's on Ravelry). It was the first time I'd done lace patterning on both sides, it's 100% silk laceweight, and I went and added beads to the pattern. It took 6 months to finish.

    ReplyDelete
  48. You are SOOO awesome! The gloves are amazing and the bag is ADORABLE.

    I'm not sure what the hardest thing I've ever done was. I've done a lot of COMPLICATED things that took some thinking, or took being able to concentrate, but they weren't hard if you break them down to one stitch at a time. I turned a tank top pattern into a full sweater, which meant that I had to design the sleeves myself (and that was before I'd heard of short-row sleeves). That was probably the most difficult thing I've done.

    ReplyDelete
  49. You are great. My hardest knitting project was teaching my kids how to knit! So worth it, though, since they grew up to be fabulous knitters.

    ReplyDelete