Mitten Making

Lately I have been on a slight mitten kick. I live where it's cold, and mittens are a must. But until this year I didn't even own a pair. Setting about to remedy that was easy; there's always lone skeins of handspun waiting for the perfect project. I finished up the pair of Winter Sky Slipstich Mittens out of the Spin Off Summer 2009 issue. They are a quick project, but two year ago I knit like a house afire, finished one mitten, started the next and did not notice a glaring mistake in the colorwork pattern until almost at the end of said mitten. I ruthlessly tore the mitten out and then it sat in the drawer for almost two years, a lone snarled mess next to its mate. At Thanksgiving last (2014) I finally finished that poor mitten. Now I don't know how I managed without! With bone-chilling temps that have dropped as low as -27 this winter, these mittens have been a blessing. Just recently though I decided to give them a wash. Oh, were they ever grubby. As it often happens, as soon as I couldn't use them, then I really needed them. Being outdoors sledding with the niece and trying to take pictures with frozen fingers finally convinced me that a second pair of mittens was necessary. Enter the Waiting For Winter mittens by Susan Anderson. Quick, simple, and easy to adapt, they whip up in a day or two. While I miss the double layer offered by two-stranded knitting in my other pair, I love having another pair of mittens to grab as I run out the door. And they are so sparkly! 

I continue to want to make mittens. I've started one pair that I'll probably gift to family or a friend. And Spring is right around the corner so even if I make more mittens I will have to lay them aside until next winter. But for now I'll keep knitting, and perhaps get back to my designing and sock knitting another day....