FO: Kiehkuralapaset

Kiehkuralapaset/Swirly Mittens (chart)
Designer: AnneL
Origin: Kultalankaa/Golden Thread
Yarn: Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift in Old Rose and Black (1 skein each)
Needles: US2, dpns

The Technical
The charts for this were nice and clear; the rest of it is my own number crunching. I worked a row in Old Rose for the cast-on before switching to black for the ribbing, and switched again to Old Rose for the bind-off. For the thumb gussets, I worked m1 increases in alternating colors until they reached the height I wanted, then bound off and continued. It makes for a very sturdy gusset, a little like knit armor. I worked different segments of the chart on each glove, so the spirals are 100% different from each other.

The Fluff
My knitting is not always practical. I mean, sure, socks and sweaters are imminently useful things. Even gag gifts have a use... the expression I'm awarded after handing someone a bacon scarf can keep me coasting happily for days-- it's like therapy in a tiny knitted package.

Occasionally I want to do things that don't have uses; that's to say, I will love every moment of knitting them but never, ever wear them, and never, ever gift them, because I know no one who will wear them. This means these knits will lurk in my closet, which I'm rather afraid of because that will soon mean knitted items will lurk in the 250 or so square feet of the rest of my living space. Elaborate traditional raglans are one of them. Scratchy colorwork gloves in Latvian or Scandinavian traditions are another one... a major one. They're tiny, right? So knitting lots of them can't do anyone harm-- they weigh a lot less than a sweater!

Except that I live in a temperate climate. And even when it is ostensibly cold out, I stick to gloves.

These are my compromise. They fulfilled that colorwork itch (I try to imagine what kind of colorwork I'd wear on a regular basis and my horrible sense of color combos comes up with... grey on black?). I cut them off just at the knuckles instead of knitting up the entire chart for a traditional mitten shape, so they're perfect for drab but not harsh days, and for typing in on very cold days. The chart is awesome-- kind of punkish modern in these colors. Chic. And I tailored them so they fit my hands like, well, gloves.

I think they and I will get along well.