Category Archives: mittens

I mentioned on Wednesday that I had somehow been persuaded to knit some gloves. I have resisted glove knitting forever because I couldn’t see the point when a) gloves are cheap and warm from the shops and b) picking up the stitches for each individual finger is clearly some form of torture.

But Henry wanted some convertible gloves. The type with short fingers and a flap over the top. He also wanted them to be mainly black, with red and white stripes on the hand, a combination I completely failed to find in any shop because it was so absolutely specific!

Fortunately, I do have lots of oddments of yarn in the right colours, so I plumped for the Podster Gloves pattern by Glenna C, because it was the first one I came across that used the right weight of yarn, was free and cute.

Despite the 3½ inches of k1, p1 ribbing for the cuff, the rest of the first mitt went quite quickly and I finished it in a few days. Have cast on for the second mitt, so hopefully the pair will be done by the end of the week.

Henry approves, which is the main thing, although I can’t help feeling that the colour scheme looks a bit familiar…

Nope, can’t think why!

August, what has happened to you?! Yet again it is wet and miserable outside and my photos are drab and grey. Maybe it’s a good thing that I am knitting mittens as it seems like we’ll need them sooner rather than later.

So the first mitten is on the needles and gradually taking shape. With so many patterns and different colours of yarn to pick from, I just went for the easiest option which was to knit a pair in the same colours as the pattern photo.

This is the start of a pair of Heather’s Mittens by SpillyJane. It’s not quite the rhythmic standing I like best: the pattern isn’t symmetrical and needs close attention, but I adore the way the stems are curving and the leaves appearing after each few rows.

I’m magic looping this mitten. It’s a method that seems tailor made for them. Two needles – two sides of a mitt. It would be nice not having to use such titchy 2mm needles, but I am a loose woman.

There must be a term for the complete opposite of a mitten. An anti-mitten? Digging around in my stash produced these little pudgy cakes of fingering weight wool in a multitude of colours. Now I just need to work out which colours go together…

Today, dear readers, I want to talk about mittens because I think I am getting a bit obsessed and need to unburden myself.

To date, I have completed a single, solitary pair of mittens. The yarn I used for them, Rowan Classic Cashsoft 4ply, is totally unsuited to keeping your hands warm in the winter (not a 100% wool yarn, coupled with being knitted at a relatively loose tension, I think) so I don’t wear them when it’s actually cold (!), but they are damn gorgeous mittens and I am suitably chuffed with my knitting skills.

So having only knitted one pair of mitts, how come I have so many patterns?

I have mitten patterns from Russia. Patterns from Estonia. Patterns from Sweden. Top-down mittens. Mittens on kittens. If I catch the word “mitten” in the corner of my eye, I’m on it like a woman possessed. I think it’s the fact they are small (quick to knit!) but beautiful (impress people!). Some of the patterns I have are like little works of art, and who wouldn’t want to wear art on their hands?

However, I only have one pair of hands. It’s not like socks where you can reasonably wear a clean pair each day. So I hope everyone that knows me will understand this obsession and forgive me when they are all gifted mittens this year. And then I’ll have got it out of my system, I promise.