I promised a pair of fingerless gloves to #1 Son last spring. Then the weather got warm (read: I got distracted by other projects) and he didn’t really need them. But here they are, just in time for autumn.

I asked #1 Son to try these on in-progress to make sure I was guessing his size correctly. At that point both of the main gloves and two of the fingers on each were finished (I do things two at a time whenever possible) and I was about to start on the next finger. I handed him a glove.

#1 Son said: “They look great! They’re going to be perfect when you finish these two fingers and do the rest of them.”

Me: urp “Finish those two fingers?”

#1 Son: “Yeah. You know. Add the other 1-1/2 inches. And then make the other fingers.”

Did I say these gloves are alpaca? Fuzzy alpaca. Fuzzy, slick, slidey, alpaca. The fingers in question had been bound off and the ends woven in and hidden. To “finish” the fingers of these fingerless gloves, I would have to find the hidden ends, unweave them from stitches that begin to felt if you so much as breath on them, undo the bind-off, pick up the stitches on multiple DPNs without dropping any, reattach the yarn and keep going.

Me: in strangled voice“You said you wanted fingerless gloves.”

#1 Son: “I did? Are you sure?”

Me: beginning to babble“Yes, I’m sure. I’d made those fingerless gloves for myself and you liked them and wanted some. Those were inexpensive, unfuzzy sock yarn. These are alpaca.”

#1 Son: (most likely noting the look of panic on my face) “These will be fine, Mom. They’re great.”

You can see from this picture that they do, indeed, appear to be acceptable to their new owner who has only briefly removed them since receiving them.

#1 Son: “Can I wash these?”

Mom: briefly considering explaining hand-washing and drying flat “NO.”

The particulars:

Yarn: Frog Tree 100% Alpaca yarn (sports weight, 130 yds/1.75 oz skein) in colors #0012 (natural, undyed dark gray) and #15 (orange). Knit with size US#3 Inox gray needles.

Frog Tree yarn is produced by a non-profit cooperative in Bolivia whose mission is to supply meaningful and continuous work to artisans to enable them to support their families. Artisans are paid a fair wage for their work. Any excess funds from the sale of products are used to provide education to those who would not otherwise be able to afford it.