Finished: Pop's Birdwatching Gloves
This is my Dad. He's a bit obsessed with birding.
The Specs:
-Pattern: a hybrid of Knucks, by Pamela Grossman, and Bird's Eye Mittens, by Martin Storey, from Knitting For Him.
-Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed; less than one ball of shade 133 (blue), and a bit of 156 (natural).
-Needles: size 4 dpns, and size 3 (3mm) dpns for the ribbing.
-Start to finish: mid-June to early July.
-For: Pop. A rather belated Father's Day gift.
I inherited many good qualities from Pop, not the least of which are a) fair skin and b) my ability to completely immerse myself in a hobby.
Notes:
The idea for these gloves was hatched last Christmas when my Dad tried on my brown Knucks (which fit him nicely) and also pointed out that he liked the Bird's-Eye Mitten pattern. Since those mitts don't have individual fingers, I though it would be nice to combine the look of the Bird's-Eyes with the excellent design of the Knucks. To cap it off, the fact that both patterns use Felted Tweed was just too good a coincidence to ignore.
Combining the patterns couldn't have been simpler. I was planning on having to modify the Knucks a bit to accommodate the colorwork, but the men's size has the exact same number of stitches in the hand portion as the Bird's-Eyes. So I just knitted up a pair of Knucks that incorporated the simple colorwork. Easy peasy!
My camera is not this large.
The Pattern: This is the third time I've knitted a pair of Knucks and I stand my my original opinion of the pattern: top down fingerless gloves = brilliant.
Final Verdict: Pop likes them. I am a happy knitter.
Ready to track down something feathery
Comments
They look great!
Did he spot any loons?
Posted by: Thunk | July 29, 2008 10:57 PM
Beautiful gloves. They look warm and comfy!
Nice colours too.
Posted by: Anya | July 29, 2008 11:24 PM
I can see the resemblance! Very nice gloves.
Posted by: Meghan | July 29, 2008 11:25 PM
Your family looks sooooo much like you...
Posted by: Nicole | July 29, 2008 11:57 PM
Beautiful! Love the gloves, and the happy look on the recipient.
Posted by: desiknitter | July 30, 2008 12:32 AM
So great. He looks so happy with his gloves and birdies. Well...and massive camera lens.
Posted by: Christy / Not Hip | July 30, 2008 12:56 AM
Nice job on the knitting, as usual. Dad is handsome and happy. I'm trying to finish a knitting project, so I come here for inspiration.
Posted by: Organizing Mommy | July 30, 2008 10:15 AM
Such a thoughtful and considerate gift for your Dad. You obviously love him very much, as he does you, judging by the pics.
Posted by: WPGGAL | July 30, 2008 10:19 AM
Those look great! What a thoughtful and obviously well-appreciated Father's Day gift!
Posted by: Kristen | July 30, 2008 1:06 PM
Very nice! And they look quite warm, too!
Posted by: Nonnahs | July 30, 2008 2:42 PM
They look great, I may have to show my Dad (a fellow birder!) as he has never wanted anything knitted but they might persuade him!
Posted by: Lin | July 31, 2008 2:58 AM
How satisfying to make something that looks so great but that was customized to suit an appreciative recipient!
Posted by: Marie | July 31, 2008 10:01 PM
So cute! I like your Dad-in-the-wild pics. I know about the Heather Ross...the prints reminded me a ton of your dishes and the Crabtree soap you used to have. I love how she used so many cute motifs and colors.
Birthday idea?
Posted by: Rae | July 31, 2008 10:14 PM
omg rotfl. is dad wearing his binoculars on a TORSO HARNESS?
i love him.
Posted by: krickie | August 1, 2008 9:32 AM
your dad was very eager to wear his new gloves. they look great!
Posted by: lynete | August 1, 2008 11:49 AM
Although that harness resembles a bit the one we used to put Elli in to keep her from straying, it is indeed for binoculars, to prevent the viewer from getting the terribly incapacitating (although rarely fatal) "birder's neck", somewhat like tennis elbow but not really.
Posted by: Mum | August 1, 2008 3:42 PM
What a great post about your Dad's knucks -- he sounds like a wonderful man!
Posted by: Rebecca | August 7, 2008 10:57 PM
dad is a looker. and so are the gloves and you.
Posted by: merete | August 9, 2008 3:12 PM