Mittens

Meridith and Eben both got mittens for Christmas. Meridith's gift I actually picked up last April as a kit from Fleece Artist when we were at the Yarnover event in Minneapolis. She has a raspberry colored vest, and the colors in the yarn and fleece made me think of that. The kit came with the materials needed to make a pair of thrummed mittens, which is a fun process for the knitter with warm results for the recipient.The little nubs of color you see in the mitten are the thrums, which is just fleece on the other side. So, the idea is that the inside layer of fleece will eventually mat together and form another layer of warmth. Here's a shot of the mitten guts:I then had the brilliant idea of making a similar style hat for Eben, but couldn't find a thrummed hat pattern. So, I decided to embark on my own knitted design adventure. I was about done on it, when I gave the hat for Juan to try on. Do you remember Super Mario Brothers, the Nintendo game or Saturday morning cartoon? With those little mushrooms with red or green caps with white polka dots? Well... let's just say the hat was green with white thrums and I had made it way too big. The fleece on the inside made it stiffly keep the mushroom-cap shape. I would have taken a picture, but I was laughing too hard. So on to plan B. Flip-top mittens from Handknit Holidays.I added a snap so they wouldn't flop when flipped. So, it's warm hands for everyone this winter!