Fixing the Fingers

Okay, I’ve been kinda quiet for the past few weeks – I do have a reason. The fam’ has been sick with some nasty stuff, and I just have either been nursing someone back to health, or getting nursed myself.

That excuse given, I wasn’t completely useless while I was sick. (Mostly, but not completely!) While I was laying in bed, moaning in misery, I was working on some things that have nothing to do with web design or needed a computer (save to obtain a pattern or two), but I still needed to unleash my creativity.

Back in the day, I was a chef. One major thing that carried over from my pro cooking days (aside from the ability to cook really awesome food!) was the nearly obsessive-compulsive handwashing techniques I used while I worked. When i was working in a kitchen, I washed my hands so many times throughout the day, I can’t even begin to tell you how often it happened. You had to wash your hands when you switched between the types of food you were preparing. if you wore gloves, you had to wash your hands before donning them, and then again after removing them. Bathroom? Wash your hands. Apply some lip balm? Wash your hands. Leave the room to do some paperwork? Wash your hands.

Needless to say, my hands were in really bad shape, especially in the wintertime.

I’m not as OCD as I was, but I’ve still retained the habit. I wash my hands more than your average Joe does. It’s not so bad, usually, but especially in these months, my hands remember what it used to be like, and emulate what they used to do. Red, chapped hands and fingers, sometimes so bad they will crack and bleed.

That issue (since they are now returning again to this state) prompted this series of knitting projects. I’m knitting up a series of pretty cotton gloves for myself. Cotton because it’s breathable, washable, and perfect for what I’m trying to do to “heal thyself.” Knitting (instead of buying a box) because I’d like to wear them out in public without getting weird “Who are you, Michael Jackson?” looks from people. The idea is to slather my hands in healing lotions and wear these gloves over them to retain the moisture and keep them from getting exposed to cold, dry air. This is the result of set #1.

What’s terrific about this? I’ve only been knitting since about the end of October. I made these without a pattern – these came straight out of my head and onto the needles. The only thing I didn’t come up with on my own is the Celtic knotwork in the center – that was a chart I found on Ravelry for another pattern. I just loved this knotwork, so I stole the chart and plugged it into these.

I plan to make 3 or 4 other sets of gloves for this series – different patterns though. The others I actually do have patterns that someone else wrote up, so I probably won’t post them here, since they are not my own designs. But this pair? Like 98% mine. I’ve impressed myself.