Yes, you read that right. I finished some knitting. Sort of. It's been a little cold at work (I wonder if they have heaters there...) and I decided that it might be a good idea to 
keep a pair of fingerless gloves there so I can put them on to keep my hands warm and still have the ability to type on the computer or write on the chalk board.
It's just a basic pattern with a 1x1 ribbed cuff. I also knit about eight rows before putting stitches on a holder for the thumb. Then I just did a simple stocking stitch and ended with about four or five rows of 1x1 ribbing.
It was a quick knit which I enjoyed. I only made one so far, but will work on the other one tonight and hopefully get it finished for tomorrow. I still need to do my lesson plan for this week though, so I might not get to the second wrist warmer tonight.
The yarn I used was the tealish coloured Wool Lux 5 ply yarn that I picked up a few weeks ago here in Yesan, South Korea. Unfortunately I needed size 4mm needles, which I only have in circulars and these wrist warmers were much too small to use with them. So, the closest size in DPNs I had was 4.5mm which I found a little too big for this size of yarn. When I finish the second wrist warmer, I will still have plenty of yarn left to make others so I will try to use smaller needles next time...maybe 3.5mm would look fine, as long as I adjusted for gauge. I also had a little difficuly around the thumb (not sure if you can see in the above photo) when I picked up to knit the thumb stitches. Part of the reason was the needles being a little too big, but anyway, I ended up with a little bit of a hole showing.
I think in the next pair I make, I'll also knit it a little further up my fingers to at least the knuckles. These ones are ok, but I think I would enjoy them a little better if they were just a shaving longer. I might also make the cuff three inches or even three and a half instead of the two and a half I did on this one. I should make notes of what to change and maybe just use this one as a sample and then make a pair based on the changes that I want to make on the pattern. I was going to attempt some kind of cable pattern on this, but I decided that I wanted to have a pair made for tomorrow at work so I ripped out what I had (which wasn't much and didn't look all that great anyway), and just did regular stocking stitch.
In other news, last week I bought a little oven for my apartment. Most Koreans don't use ovens, and many of them wouldn't know how to even if they did have one (well, I'm s
ure if they went over the instruction manual they would). Anyway, when I leave Korea I will probably sell it to another foreign English teacher or if one of my coworkers (who are all Korean) want it I'd sell to them. It's about the size of a large microwave in my opinion. If you look carefully, you can see the reflection of my kitchen counter/sink in the front of the oven.
This afternoon I decided that I wanted to make some cinnamon bread. I had gotten the ingredients yesterday and thought I'd make something today. I really wanted to make brownies, but haven't found any cocoa powder here yet. I'd probably have to go to one of the bigger cities to find that though. Anyway, I did what I could with what I had and put the batter in to cook. The recipe called for 45-50 minutes at 350F...my oven is only in celcius that I am aware of (everything is also in Korean). I set the timer (figured out how to do it) for 45 minutes and ended up having to take the cinnamon bread out at 40 minutes...and the top looks cooked a little too much. I haven't cut into it yet as it's still cooling, so I don't know if it's cooked all the way through. I presume it is because I poked a toothpick into it in several places and it came out fine.
keep a pair of fingerless gloves there so I can put them on to keep my hands warm and still have the ability to type on the computer or write on the chalk board.It's just a basic pattern with a 1x1 ribbed cuff. I also knit about eight rows before putting stitches on a holder for the thumb. Then I just did a simple stocking stitch and ended with about four or five rows of 1x1 ribbing.
It was a quick knit which I enjoyed. I only made one so far, but will work on the other one tonight and hopefully get it finished for tomorrow. I still need to do my lesson plan for this week though, so I might not get to the second wrist warmer tonight.
The yarn I used was the tealish coloured Wool Lux 5 ply yarn that I picked up a few weeks ago here in Yesan, South Korea. Unfortunately I needed size 4mm needles, which I only have in circulars and these wrist warmers were much too small to use with them. So, the closest size in DPNs I had was 4.5mm which I found a little too big for this size of yarn. When I finish the second wrist warmer, I will still have plenty of yarn left to make others so I will try to use smaller needles next time...maybe 3.5mm would look fine, as long as I adjusted for gauge. I also had a little difficuly around the thumb (not sure if you can see in the above photo) when I picked up to knit the thumb stitches. Part of the reason was the needles being a little too big, but anyway, I ended up with a little bit of a hole showing.
I think in the next pair I make, I'll also knit it a little further up my fingers to at least the knuckles. These ones are ok, but I think I would enjoy them a little better if they were just a shaving longer. I might also make the cuff three inches or even three and a half instead of the two and a half I did on this one. I should make notes of what to change and maybe just use this one as a sample and then make a pair based on the changes that I want to make on the pattern. I was going to attempt some kind of cable pattern on this, but I decided that I wanted to have a pair made for tomorrow at work so I ripped out what I had (which wasn't much and didn't look all that great anyway), and just did regular stocking stitch.
In other news, last week I bought a little oven for my apartment. Most Koreans don't use ovens, and many of them wouldn't know how to even if they did have one (well, I'm s
ure if they went over the instruction manual they would). Anyway, when I leave Korea I will probably sell it to another foreign English teacher or if one of my coworkers (who are all Korean) want it I'd sell to them. It's about the size of a large microwave in my opinion. If you look carefully, you can see the reflection of my kitchen counter/sink in the front of the oven.This afternoon I decided that I wanted to make some cinnamon bread. I had gotten the ingredients yesterday and thought I'd make something today. I really wanted to make brownies, but haven't found any cocoa powder here yet. I'd probably have to go to one of the bigger cities to find that though. Anyway, I did what I could with what I had and put the batter in to cook. The recipe called for 45-50 minutes at 350F...my oven is only in celcius that I am aware of (everything is also in Korean). I set the timer (figured out how to do it) for 45 minutes and ended up having to take the cinnamon bread out at 40 minutes...and the top looks cooked a little too much. I haven't cut into it yet as it's still cooling, so I don't know if it's cooked all the way through. I presume it is because I poked a toothpick into it in several places and it came out fine.
It's higher on one side than the other and I'm not sure if it's because there was more batter there (though I tried to smooth it out as best as I could by shaking the pan on the counter), or if it was because that side was closest to the center of the oven...I only noticed when it was nearly done that the pan wasn't in the center but closer to the door. Anyway, even if it is cooked a little too much on the top, and even if it is higher on one side, if it tastes good then I'll eat it and use this recipe again and maybe share it with the other foreign teachers in my building or take some into work and share with my coworkers. Really, this recipe was the "trial and error" where you make something for the first time (or test a new appliance) so you can know how it works.Well, I'd better get working on my lesson plan for this week so I can get back to the wrist warmers. Happy Knitting!
5 comments:
This may seem like a weird thing to comment on, but I love how clean your oven is! :)
Nice wrist warmer. I have some thrummed mittens that I should get done. What's the weather like this time of the year by you? Nothing like Canadian winter I bet!
Tara...the oven is brand spankin' new; I just got it this past Thursday, and today was the first time I used it.
Robyn, the weather is chilly, some days venturing near coldish. There isn't any snow though and I can never seem to get a straight answer as to when the snow usually starts. They keep saying, "Well, 20 years ago....but now it's changed because of global warming." and they never say anything to give an indication as to when it could start. I've been wearing my winter coat, but some days I think I could get by with a warm sweater and a fall jacket.
You'll enjoy your fingerless gloves. I made some and have been wearing them and they are great! Funny about the oven. Our home in Japan didn't have an oven either when we lived there. Seems strange, doesn't it? The things we take for granted....
Love your mitts! That color is so pretty. Goodluck with the baking.
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