Lizzardie Knits

Charity Knitting?

One of the things I've been wanting to do for awhile is charity knitting - nothing too fancy, of course, but nice things made with decent yarn to give to people who need warm things. I just haven't really gotten around to it yet.

BUT! At my new job, they have this big United Way campaign every December. In addition to donating some time, participating in the charity poker tournament, and giving a monetary donation, I donated a custom knitted object to the silent auction.

My knitting only brought in $35, but hey, that's something, right? I had said I would knit either: a hat and a scarf, mittens or socks. Laura, who won the auction, chose mittens. When I asked her what she wanted with her mittens, she said she just wanted cream. *sigh* BUT, we did put a fancy cuff on them (though also in cream), and I do love how they came out. Plus, they were FAST! I'm now itching to make my own mittens in lots of pretty colors. :-)



Pattern: Knitty
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare - Superwash Worsted Weight, 1 skein, and Knit Picks Twirl, Cream, 1 skein
Needles: US 10.5 (I think), with Bare doubled, Twirl single
Project Timeline: 1/28/07 - 2/10/07

One thing I changed from the basic mitten instructions is that the cuffs are knit with the purl side showing - I really wanted you to be able to see the texture of the Twirl. I'd say I knit them in reverse stockinette stitch, but that would be a lie - I picked up the stitches (be forewarned: do this loosely, otherwise it takes away from the elasticity of the mitten) in a way that allowed me to knit the whole way. And I LOVED how the join between the edge of the inside cuff and the outside cuff turned out - I wish I had gotten a picture.

I've been trying to make an effort to package my gift knitting to increase the quality of the product - presentation tends to make a big difference with food and objects, it seems. At some point, I want to get a lizard stamp and stickers, but for now I've been making pretty handwritten cards with care instructions on them, and tying everything up with ribbon:



It's still not exactly what I want, but I do get to customize colors with ribbon and handmade cards, and hopefully it's appreciated.

posted by Lizzardie @ 10:12:00 AM