When I was working on the Pine Tree and Cones Fingerless Gloves, my husband said he would love a men's pair as it would allow for warmth in the hands but dexterity and feel in the fingers. I thought, "Why not. That should be relatively simple." If I had only known, I am not sure I would have started this project.
I love knitted lace but that wouldn't be something my husband would be interested in. So I thought maybe some sort of cable design. That seemed like more of a male design that I could get into.
I started looking through patterns to see if I could find something. What I found is that just about every cable stitch I would come up with has already been done in fingerless gloves. So then I thought I will just have to come up with a new cable design. Silly me.
Also, he can wear his clothes pretty hard so I needed to find some yarn that would wear hard and be much thicker so that he would not snag the glove and break the threads. So I went to our local yarn shop to look at what I could find that would wash easily and wear well. (I love doing this part of the design process. I usually have to stop myself from buying out the store) I thought worsted weight should be heavy enough to handle his hard use. I found a light worsted weight in tan that should wash easily but was really soft next to the skin. I also found some rust cotton that would work. Both colors are good for him.
With the yarn colors and the cable design I set down to draw out different ideas. I love trees of all seasons and I thought of the gnarly hedge rows around the wheat fields in our area. In the winter with no leaves, these Osage-orange trees are really fantastic to see. We appreciate their wood for burning in our fireplace as it burns hot for a long time.
With this in mind I set out to design a cable that would twist and divide into the branches that these trees do. I have been working on this design for 2 + months and have been tempted to give up on it. However, I hate to admit defeat and have had to take it out, try something else, take that out, try something else, etc. I am excited because I think I have finally figured this design out. I will be introducing this pattern for others to make in 2 or three weeks.
Have you ever had a project that you just refused to give up on?
