Gauntlets Are Cool

This is Link, he is a brave and clever hero but most importantly he wears gauntlets.

Riley wanted a pair of Gauntlets like Link's in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, so for him I knitted a little guy version of Eowyn from Rowan Magazine #38.



I made several adjustments on this pattern:

• No! Frilly! Lace!
• No! Wool! Substitute Jo Sharp Desert Garden Aran Cotton in Cinnamon, used just about every yard of 2x50g balls
• 25% smaller in circumference, smaller cable too
  
• Made 4-stitch button holes for thumbs :)
• Opposite cables mirror each other instead of both twisting in the same direction
  
• Knitted in the round, as it should be
  

Laundry, Laundry, Laundry, Laundry, Laundry...

Holy Cow, I washed a lot of laundry today trying to felt Kaden's slippers! There aren't anymore towels or jeans to wash, we will have to wait until there's more dirty laundry before I try to felt these further.
These were agitated in the washer for over 3hrs, went in the dryer for 3 cycles, yet they are still too big. Kaden's feet are 8 inches from heel to toe, so the slipper soles must felt down another 2 inches. Which means at this point, they are halfway done. They are the most beautiful, most frustrating slippers I have ever met.

More Felted Slippers!

Tonight Kaden's felted slippers will be knitted and loose ends darned. These behemoths are ready for the washing machine. I used Peace Fleece double stranded, in Baltic Blue and Baku Black [70% wool 30% mohair, this yarn is chez beautiful].
For a couple years, I was totally into felting, I felted mostly bags and purses, but also made cat toys, cat beds, rugs, bowls, slippers, coasters, ice cream pint cosies, tea tumbler cosies, potholders and hotmitts. After trying different brands and weights for felting, I had decided against using Peace Fleece and Bartlett yarns, or any yarn that has high lanolin content. Lanolin coats and protects each wool fiber keeping the wool from felting until it is stripped. This was a sad and ambivalent decision since Peace Fleece is such a beautiful yarn, I adore their huge spectrum of vibrant colors. During washing and blocking, the mohair blooms and the yarn relaxes into a sultry glowing fabric, with felted fabrics taking on a soft fuzzy halo.

Achieving fully felted/ fulled fabric with Peace Fleece takes several hot/ cold cycles, after which felting happens suddenly sometime around wash #5-6-7. Our top-loading washing machine has a 12 minute heavy duty cycle, which I try to re-set a few times each load, allowing 45-60 minutes of agitation per wash. That's re-setting the washer least 20 times!!!

Also I am preparing to mail a baby blanket to Liz, whom I used to see at work on Mondays. Liz has been on bed rest for a couple months, and Olivia Rose was born on Thursday January 25, one week ahead of schedule. Way to hang in there until fully cooked, and Welcome to Earth :)