Old Mittens
I knit these mittens in about 1988. I'd ordered Robin Hansen's book, Fox and Geese and Fences: A Collection of Traditional Maine Mittens. This was before the internet was part of my knitting world. I think I ordered the book from Patternworks, over the phone. The OLD Patternworks. The pink yarn came from a baby sweater knit for a friend's baby. The baby is grown, married, a teacher. The teal yarn is from the gansey-ish sweater I started knitting for my husband when we were engaged, and I finished the first year we were married. The magenta yarn is some Maratona yarn from the first really good sweater I knit myself. From Vogue Knitting, Fall/Winter 1987.
These are old mittens. Meant as a kind of test run. I've always meant to knit another pair.
In the meantime, the palms have felted (to a better shape, and even warmer). And over all these years, I've worn these mittens to push snow off the driveway, to ski across the golf course, to sled with my kids, to walk the dog. I've knit other mittens, prettier mittens. But these mittens are the ones I wear when I want warm hands. When I don't want to worry about taking care of my mittens.
Along the way, I lost my book, got in touch with the author, and replaced my copy. I knit baby mittens for my kids from this book. And knit teenage snowball fight mittens. And finally, I've knit myself another pair.
And the day I finished them, my daughter came home for a brief visit (on a business trip, she was).
And she claimed the mittens. Swore she needed them more than I do (probably true). And, they're gone.
This second pair was knit, once again, with leftovers. Some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride of ancient vintage, in cream. Some sport-knit yarn from Imperial Yarn (Tracie Too) held double, which is really too heavy. And that gray-blue strand is Scrumptious Aran, from a cowl I knit my sister. It's not quite heavy enough. I think I used US 4 needles (that means they're knit tightly).
These are the Fox and Geese Mittens (also in Favorite Mittens).
The next time I knit these mittens, I think I'll try a new cast on. They are cast on with the Maine method, as described in the book. I can't seem to make this edge NOT roll. So next time, a new edge. But I'll be knitting some old mittens. These. (On Ravelry.)
Beautiful! (I have that old book in my library, btw.) I love Mittens-That-Work!
ReplyDeletethose are beautiful mittens, I'm not surprised your daughter has claimed them! Guess you'll just have to knit another pair. ;)
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