It's Cold: The Case for Fingerless Gloves (or Mittens)

Why wear gloves without fingers when it's cold outside?  

This was my thought when I first came across this concept of fingerless gloves a few years ago.  (And as an aside, I'm not sure why they are considered gloves, rather than mittens; since they are fingerless, how do you know which they are?  Something to think about over coffee.)  It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but since I found a pretty easy pattern for a pair and I could use some practice in making things in the round, I gave it a try.  And now, as it's getting cold, I'm making another pair (probably my 3rd or 4th.)

As for the yarn - don't you just love this natural color?  It's the actual color of the sheep that is was shorn from.  I bought these skeins last year in a little needlepoint shop in Middleburg, Virginia when I went out there for dinner at Salamander Inn (oh, you didn't know I can find a yarn shop anywhere, anytime?)  Gum Tree Farm is located nearby.

So, back to the gloves - why fingerless?

Because gloves with fingers are great, but sometimes they get in the way of doing stuff.  You have to stop, pull them off to push buttons on the ATM, sign the little credit card screen, count on your money, dial the phone.

When you go inside somewhere - the store, the school, the library - you look like a bank robber if you keep your gloves on, as if you are being careful not to leave fingerprints.  But with fingerless gloves, nobody cares.

Sometimes it's cold inside, too.  I was at school all last week and my hands were freezing. I don't know how the teachers and kids can stand it.  I wanted to put on another layer of socks and cursed the days I forgot my gloves.  But I was working the book fair, so I did need access to my fingers to write, ring up books, count money.  In my own home office space, sometimes its cold, too, 'til the heat kicks in.

There's a theory that you only need to keep your wrists warm to keep your whole hands warm.  Something about keeping that pulse point in your wrist covered, keeps the blood going to your fingers warm.  I'm not sure I agree with that yet, but I'll throw it on the list for now, in case it works for someone.

And most important for a crocheter or knitter - they are quick and easy to make!  There's gazillion patterns out there and you can make them as simple or as fancy as you want.  Simply - it's a long tube with a hole for your thumb.  If you are an experienced crocheter/knitter, you might be able to figure this out on your own.  If you need help, of course you can check Ravelry and Pinterest for ideas.

(Note, I also have a pair of toeless socks for the primary purpose of getting a pedicure in the winter, not messing up my nail polish, but keeping the rest of my feet warm.)

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My freezer is full of … yarn

A few times, I’ve pulled out a new skein of yarn for a project and merrily stitching along, all the sudden I’m out of yarn. Mid-skein. I look and there’s the rest of the skein sitting there, with a break in the yarn.

“Those kids!” I’ve mumbled, sure that my kids took a pair of scissors to my yarn. But it slowly dawned on me.  If anything, my kids would take the whole ball for a craft project, not cut into it.  And I’m way in the middle of the skein, how would they reach this section anyway?  So I realized it was probably an even smaller culprit.

Moths.  Clue – it was mainly the wool yarns that were broken. My kids really wouldn’t differentiate which yarn to ruin.

Back in the recesses of my brain, I remembered hints to freeze yarn to get rid of moths. I took all my wool and wool-content yarns from the cute, open, plastic bins with a basket-weave design and put them in plastic bags and bins.  All my yarn would not fit in the freezer, given that there is, you know, food in there.  The bags went into the freezer and, since it’s been quite cold around here, I decided to take advantage of Mother Nature. The bins are out in the garage.  It may not be consistently cold enough out there to kill the moths and larvae, but I figure it might slow them down until those bags' rotation into the freezer.

The articles I read recommend a week in the cold freeze to get rid of the little yarn munchers.  With a weekly rotation, we should be moth free by spring.  After that, I’m switching bins.

My new moth-proof yarn storage bins

I picked up these close-top bins, the “sweater boxes” from Container Store.  They work well because they're clear so I can see what's in them.  Any kind of closed, can't see into containers are terrible for my forgetful self.  I also read that lavender is a natural deterrent. Maybe I’ll put some sachets in the bins.

Here's to being moth-free.  How do you store your yarn?  Do you have any other yarn-saving tips?

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