After years of experimenting other designers’ knitting patterns, Whitney Meagher took the next step – entering her own design in a recent knitting and crochet contest at the DC State Fair. The only requirement was to incorporate the District of Columbia flag. Whitney came up with a pair of fingerless gloves, which ended up taking the top prize!
The blue-ribbon winning DC State Fair Fingerless Mitts are a beautiful tribute to our nation’s capital, created through stranded colorwork and corrugated ribbing. The back of the hand features the DC flag, while the palm displays the outline of the city with a heart stitched around the Capitol Hill district. Whitney playfully chose to alternate the colors on each hand, but she also explains how make a matching pair in her pattern.
Get the pattern for free on Ravelry: DC State Fair Fingerless Mitts
What made you decide to share your pattern?
The Knitting Loft, one of the sponsors of the contest, asked me to write up the pattern. They are now selling it in their store as part of a kit using Berroco Ultra Alpaca.
What’s your favorite project you’ve ever made?
That is a hard question to answer because it often changes as soon as I make something new. Really, I like to make gifts that are unique and genuinely appreciated by the recipient. Some of my favorites include a baby sweater that was eventually passed on to a younger sibling, hats that pop up in my friends’ pictures and a scarf that’s still in use years after I gave it to someone.
Any funny knitting stories?
I was knitting on a plane once, in an aisle seat near the front, and just as the plane took off the ball of yarn fell out of my lap. I couldn’t undo my seatbelt to get it so I just kept knitting. As the plane tilted up a little bit, it got wedged under a seat across the aisle, a few rows back. And when a woman in that row tried to move it with her foot, she instead knocked it loose and it rolled all the way to the back of the plane. Before long, I realized that someone in the back of the plane had picked it up and passed it to the row in front of them. I watched, laughing, as passengers passed it back towards the front of the plane until it was returned to me.
What’s your favorite thing about knitting?
I like how it is such a practical hobby. I knit a lot when I am watching sports and TV, or on long conference calls at work, as a way to keep my mind focused. At the same time, I am doing something really creative, and will eventually have a useful objective for myself or someone else.
Do you have a cool design you want to share? Or did you recently finish a project with Berroco yarn? You can email Ashley: apalumbo@berroco.com or post it to the Berroco Lovers forum in Ravelry.