February is a month full of promise.
It gives us love and it gives us hope.
We inhale the glorious aroma of flowers everywhere we go.
Chocolates and hearts are arrayed in abundance.
Valentine's Day awakens new depths in us.
Much of Winter's cold dormancy is moving behind us and
we are once again able to look forward to the freshness of Spring.
Yet even in our dreamy days of hope,
we are still experiencing weeks of snow,
freezing rain and frigid temperatures.
We need to bundle up in warm layers for just a bit longer.
So I decided before I set my needles to more Springtime makes
like little bunnies and darling hats with bunny ears,
I would make this pair of fingerless mitts
I've been wanting to knit for quite some time.
I have to admit, about five minutes into knitting them,
I knew I wasn't going to be able to part with this exquisite creation.
The decision to keep something is a temptation I seldom succumb to.
However, this time I surrendered myself to the essence of February...
that mystical, age old, enticing allure of the month of romance.
The heady combination of heathered pink along with
the sublime softness of baby alpaca totally beguiled me.
It whispered sweet nothings as the fiber caressed my fingers
and I fell instantly and wholeheartedly in love.
Not only does my heart always skip a beat over lacework,
especially if it includes vining leaves,
but the extra unique details in this pattern are pure poetry to my soul.
The 1x1 ribbing along the edging adds a more delicate finish
than a 2x2 ribbing would,
mainly because it's worked up on tiny needles.
What a beautiful stitch definition this gives.
Well Done designer.
Speaking of which,
you can find the pattern for
Countess Mitts
here or on Ravelry.
Another detail that I find so lovely is the gentle curve that naturally occurs
across the top of the hand and then again below the wrist on the top of each mitt.
The palm side of the mitts is done in stockinette stitch
and ends up straight rather than curved in these two areas.
The pattern calls for 2 balls of Blue Sky Alpacas
Royal Petites but I used 2 skeins of
Knit Picks Andean Treasure in Dogwood Heather.
Although the suggested needle size is a 2 (2.75mm)
I knit my pair on US Size 1.5 (2.5mm)
double pointed needles in order to obtain the proper gauge.
Adding to their overwhelming appeal is the elegant length of them.
They come down a good 4 inches beyond my wrist,
making them a total of 8 sumptuous inches long.
How do I love them?
Let me count the ways...
They are super soft, extremely warm and lavishly feminine.
Let me just say I am so happy I let them seduce me
into having them to keep all for my very own.
As the months continue to dance their way in and out of our lives,
I suggest we grab hold of that quintessential perfect love
February brings to us before she waltz's away for another year.
We should hold it close and nurture it so the fragrance lingers.
Not only would we be more expansive in the ways we love those we love,
but we might begin to understand and learn to savor the essential beauty
of saying yes to things that fill us with wonder and delight.
For the essence of deep, abiding love
is a thing that must start within oneself
before it can fully bloom into a thing of beauty for others.
"When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier."
Diane Von Furstenberg
"Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners."
William Shakespeare