I finished the gloves

and all I want to say is this: if you are on a time-sensitive mission to make a pair of men's size medium gloves with a lovely sock yarn that knits at eight stitches per inch on size 0 needles, talk yourself out of it. Go get some bulky weight and do mittens instead. ERB's gloves came out beautifully and have been admired by all who have seen them, but they were a week late for his birthday.

Now, for the technical stuff: the yarn, in SY-03 "Brilliant Bouquet," which he picked out himself; and the pattern. Ann Budd's book is great for fiddly knitters like me who want to use yarns with different gauges on basic patterns in several different versions; it's written well enough that adding details like textured patterns, color designs or finishing embroidery seem easy and special. I love a book that massages my creative urges.

And you know what? Gloves ARE like socks, but I'm not making any of either for a while. Flowergirl dresses are the next project. Another little girl has been added, this one bigger than the rest (she's nine, while the others are five, almost five, almost three and two). MFB & I decided that she would get a slightly different style of dress, in a nod to her, um, maturity. This means I have to get more yarn for her bolero and possibly more champagne-colored fabric for her dress. I should have plenty of the burnt orange. --I have until the end of September.

Oh, but there're an interim project: speaker covers. ERB is the sound designer for a big corporate event, sponsored in part by the shipping company UPS. I've been asked to make brown lycra slipcovers for eight three-foot-tall speakers. I did a similar project for him earlier this year (twelve in white, slightly smaller). It will take a long afternoon, I think, mainly for cutting time. The covers go together quickly on the merrow machine. They need to be finished before Monday. The time-consuming part will be making and fitting a test version; ERB will have one of the speakers delivered to the sound shop near the theatre where I work. To know how much smaller then the actual box dimensions to cut the lycra, I have to work out the percentage of stretch. Math. Math makes me feel accomplished and efficient.

Remember the turquoise string bag?

Well, it's history. I decided to frog it and start over with a crochet pattern, which is what I really wanted in the first place. (Still learning to listen to my intuition....) I found Erika Knight's "Simple Crochet" today at Coliseum Books, and there are good instructions for the bag I've been imagining (photo is third in the lineup; red, with pears inside). There are also some lovely ideas for baskets and other containers, and nicely illustrated directions for the craft's basics.

I was at Coliseum Books (42nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, closer to 5th, across from Bryant Park) looking for a knit bolero pattern sized for little girls. My friend MFB has taken on the responsibility of organizing the outfits of the four flower girls in her friend's French wedding. She asked me to make the little champagne-colored dresses with burnt orange sashes and matching sweaters. I'll have to enlist the help of friendly co-workers WG & RO, the two male knitters I know. (WG is also a fantastic seamster with the couturier's gifts.) I found something very close to MFB's request in Debbie Bliss' book "Junior Knits." It's a sweet little thing called Molly, worked in aran weight and knitted all in one.

Two years ago, RO coached me through my first sweaters (one for a toddler, one for a dog) and instilled in me the tendency to avoid seaming at almost any cost. I prefer circular needles and circular knitting where possible, picking up stitches along edges instead of making separate pieces, etc.... Some think this is "lazy." I just worship Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Yesterday I finished the first of the Elvis wigs. Fashioned from Plymouth Yarn's Encore Worsted (basic black, 2 strands held together to approximate "bulky" weight) and Glitterlash (color "01"), from Knitting Addiction, it still needs to be stuffed, but already appears promisingly absurd. It'll be an xmas gift for one of my delightful parents; the anniversary passed. I wasn't in the right frame of mind to knit hard while I was on vacation last month! (P.S. to Yelahneb: the vacation is one reason for the pause in postings; the new job is the other.) The other wig's materials have been purchased; again, Plymouth's Encore in black, and this.

Of course, the flower girls, the second wig and the string bag will have to wait until I finish boyfriend ERB's birthday gift. He turns 30 on the 22nd. That means I have eight days to knit a pair of gloves, which I've never attempted. I've made socks (2 at once on the same long circular!). Gloves are just tubes with fingers, right? --I promised him these gloves back during the winter. Remember winter?