FO: Mom's wrist warmers

So far I have nothing but good things to say about the Last Minute Knitted Gifts book. I have a recent edition in which most of the errors have been fixed, and I've been thoroughly enjoying the patterns. I even love just looking at the pictures in the book.

So one weekend I brought the book up to my parents' house and had Mom look through it to see if there was anything she liked. Although she had once declared that she wasn't interested in wearing any hand-knit items, when she got to the wrist warmers, she said "ooh!" Her hands get cold when she drives, especially since she's been parking the car outside all winter (the garage has no room for cars for the duration of major home improvements that are taking much longer than planned). She has gloves, but she doesn't like to wear them because they interfere with her grip on the steering wheel.

I couldn't find the Noro Cash Iroha that the pattern suggests, but I came across the loveliest skein of Classic Elite Inca Alpaca at School Products. I believe the color is called "Island of the Sun," and it's a heathered blend of royal blue and teal blue, two of Mom's favorite colors. The yarn is the right weight, and very soft.

The pattern calls for two 8-inch circular needles. I have no circs that short, and the Denise set doesn't even allow you to make circs that short (though I tried!) After reading the pattern I decided there was no reason I couldn't use double-pointeds instead, which I happened to have on hand in the right size. They worked out very well, especially for the thumb opening.

It seemed important for the second wrist warmer to be a mirror image, as opposed to a duplicate, of the first, but the pattern didn't mention how to achieve this. I briefly considered altering the pattern so the twisted ribs would go in the opposite direction for the second one. Then I realized I could knit the second wrist warmer according to the pattern, and just turn it inside out when it was done. It worked out splendidly. No blocking was necessary either.

I gave the wrist warmers to Mom for her birthday, and she loves them. She wore them yesterday and they kept her hands warm while allowing a solid grip on the steering wheel. Yay!

Mom's wrist warmers
Started: March 11
Finished: March 12
Pattern: From Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Classic Elite Inca Alpaca, 1 skein, Island of the Sun (1146)
Needles: US 6 bamboo dpns