Speaking of 1930s-inspired tunic sweaters...

Well, we were.  You'll have to pay attention next time.  No, not really: speaking of 1930s-inspired tunic sweaters, none were actually harmed in the making of this post.  Or, you know, completed.  Long stretches of plot, trial, error, rip, and re-trial in front of the TV ('cause, come on, it's not like I can get off the couch while tangled in yard upon yard of heavy laceweight), and one begins to long for the polar opposite of endless Estonian lace and stockinette and shaping.  Like textured stitches.  Dpns.  Multiples of twos and threes.  Fast cast-on and cast-off.  Minimal blocking.  Preferably somewhat unisex.

 Enter McGee.  NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee, to be exact.  Cute, brainy, generous.  Able to hack into any secure government server at the drop of a hat.  Mystery writer on the down-low.  It was love at first sight.  Did I mention beautiful hands and a predilection for vertical stripes?  Eureka, a pattern was born!  Fingerless gloves, naturally.  K1p2 rib and an elongated version of moss stitch that I jokingly dubbed "lichen" (plant kingdom jokes FTW!) play on the vertical stripes theme.  Sizing is mathematical but does not require an Ivy League degree or several to achieve--just pick your multiples of 2, 3, and 6, and run with it.  In the lightly shimmery blue sportweight it makes you wonder what you ever really needed that finicky old lace for.  In gray worsted-weight it suggests the linkiness of chain mail while leaving the fingertips free for keyboards and tablets yet providing a bit of warmth for midwinter crime scene investigations.  Or more likely all-night MMO-RPG sessions.  Here's looking at you, Elflord.

 Without further ado, my first "real" pattern: McGee/Dear Abby

 Lichen stitch:
Rounds 1-3: k1p1 to end
Rounds 4-6: p1k1 to end
Repeat in multiples of 3 rounds ad infinitum

Cuff:
Using dpns or circulars, co 36 sts (or multiple of 6 for gauge).  Join and work in round.
k1p2 to end of round.  Repeat for total of 12 rounds or until desired length.

Body:
Work 6 rounds in lichen stitch, then shape thumb gusset.

Thumb gusset:
Round 1: work lichen stitch for 18 sts, pm, m1, p1, m1, pm, work lichen stitch to end of round.
Round 2-3: work lichen stitch 18 sts, sl marker, k1, p1, k1, sl marker, work lichen stitch to end of round.
Round 4: work lichen stitch 18 sts, sl marker, m1, work lichen stitch to next marker, m1, sl marker, work lichen stitch to end of round.
Round 5-6: work lichen stitch 18 sts, sl marker, work lichen stitch to marker, sl marker, work lichen stitch to end of round.
Note: after every other increase round, you will be working a knit stitch on either side of the marker.  This is intentional, so, to quote Ford Prefect in the Hitchhiker's Guide series, "Don't panic."
Repeat rounds 4-6 until you have 15 sts between the markers.
Next round: work lichen stitch to marker, transfer stitches between markers to waste yarn, co 1 stitch across the gap, work lichen stitch to end of round.
Work lichen stitch 6 more rounds or until glove body covers MCP joints--I mean 1st knuckles!

Little finger:
Round 1: work 1st 4 sts in lichen stitch, transfer subsequent sts to waste yarn until last 4 sts, co 2 sts across gap, work last 4 sts in lichen stitch. 10 sts total.
Work in lichen stitch for 8 more rounds (9 total) or until desired length.
Bind off.

Ring finger:
Round 1: transfer next 4 sts adjacent to little finger on front and back of glove to needles.  Work 1st 4 sts in lichen stitch, co 2 sts across gap, work last 4 sts in lichen stitch, pick up and knit 2 sts along co edge of little finger.  12 sts total.
Work in lichen stitch for 11 more rounds (12 rounds total) or until desired length.
Bind off.

Middle finger:
Round 1: transfer next 5 sts on front and back of glove to needles.  Work 1st 5 sts in lichen st, co 2 sts, work last 5 sts in lichen st, pick up and knit 2 sts along co edge of ring finger.  14 sts total.
Work in lichen stitch 11 more rounds or until desired length.
Bind off.

Index finger:
Round 1: transfer remaining 10 sts to needles.  Work in lichen st, pick up and knit 2 sts along co edge of middle finger.  12 sts total.
Work in lichen stitch 8 more rounds or until desired length.
Bind off.

Thumb:
Round 1: transfer the 15 held sts to needles.  Work in lichen st, pick up and knit 3 sts along co edge of body.  18 sts total.
Round 2: Work in lichen st to last 3 sts, sk2p (slip 1, k2tog, psso).  16 sts total.
Work in lichen st 4 more rounds or until desired length.
Bind off.

Repeat everything for second glove (hey, ambidextrous pattern!  Told you it was simple!).

Weave in ends to finish, and enjoy!

fruity custardy tarty things!

 

And other distractions from knitting, I should say.  Well, there's only so much time one can spend stuck on the couch with laceweight merino before the stir-craziness hits.  Or the hand cramps.  Or the Charlie horses.  Besides, it's nice being able to work in a medium where the worst case scenario involves eating the screw-ups.  So, um, behold my attempt to combine pastry crust, fruit, and custard into something vaguely edible (above).  One day they might even turn out pretty.  Though I'll settle for not being impossible to pry out of their tinfoil casings.  Then maybe the recipe would be worth disseminating.

In other news, apparently plastic to-go dishes can double as decor.  Just add water, knockout roses too short to go in a vase, and tea-lights, and voila instant elegance.  And I'd been wondering what to do with my living room to make it look more me and less previous occupants.  Fun with flowers and fire, apparently.  Yeah, wut?

Oh, and I promise I'm actually making progress on lace sleeve.  Pictures to follow.  Meanwhile, have some soothing music or something...
I kid, but I did manage to snap some decent photos at the Bellagio in Vegas the other weekend, so at least you might enjoy the view.