299. Mitten Deliciousness

We'll be having big drawings of multiple prizes on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday of this coming week. Get your donations in and email us at redscarffund@gmail.com to be entered.  There are some really great things left to come, including loads of wonderful sock yarns, cashmere, shop gift certificates, quilts and scarves, books, and a sweater's worth of Rowan Magpie.  It'll all be gone as of this Saturday, so if you want in, get your donations in and let us know!
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There's been frost on the pumpkins in the mornings of late. 

Good timing for having completed my Dimorphous mittens. 

Inside are the soft, smooth, lightweight Trekking (Colorway 110) liner mitts, which can be worn on their own when it's cool enough for a little something-something on the hands, but not super-cold.

Then when it gets colder, put on the second layer, made of beautiful Manos del Uruguay silk-wool blend (mine is Color 3055, a dark moss green), accented with a button that is not only functional, but it also gives it class and panache.

I dreamed of these mittens.  I made the liner, and I knew what I wanted the outer mitt to look like, but I didn't know how to execute it.  I consulted Miriam, who wrote the pattern and brought the idea to fruition.  All this happened -- from my original idea, to the writing and publishing of the pattern, and me finishing my mittens -- in only a few weeks' time.  MimBrilliant!

I can't stop gushing over these mittens.  If you are looking for a wonderful holiday gift item to knit, may I suggest these are it?! They are elegant and yet a little bit funky and playful, practical, fun to knit and fun to wear.  Dave Daniels said they are like Mary-Janes for the hands.  I think he's right! 

They are sure to be a hit with your gift recipients. (Don't worry -- the button does not need to be done and undone every time you put on or take off the mittens.  It is there to help the outer mitt stay on and give it some stability and style, but it is not tight -- the entire two-piece unit slips on and off the hand after the first time you put them on.)  One thing I have also noticed:  The silk in the Manos silk blend gives the mittens more "grab" than an all-wool mitten does.  You know, one reason I don't wear my handknit mittens as much as my purchased leather ones is because woolen mittens can't grab onto door handles or, more importantly, the steering wheel of my car.  These silky mittens have more grab.  I think they're a hit.

I will admit I had a few "gulp" moments in the pattern:  There is a provisional cast-on for the outer mitts, which I had to be reminded how to do (funnily enough, that was the very thing that originally brought me to blogs all those years ago -- and the rest, as they say, is history) and -- gasp -- there is GRAFTING of the bottom of the keyhole opening.  It's a bit fiddly, but it's only three stitches, and it turned out to be easy and good once I pulled up my trusty old Kitchener stitch (also known as grafting) video on the web.  The first grafting I did as a new knitter was the Rogue hood.  Talk about jumping into the deep end. That probably scarred me for life on grafting. And then I had a little trouble with the i-cord bind-off.  My favorite practical resource manual, Nancie Wiseman's Book of Finishing Techniques helped me to remember how to do that.

And I love these mittens.  Did I mention?

Accessorized to the Hilt

Thank you again, Mim!  And thank you also to Jill of Kaleidoscope Yarns.  I originally went into the shop to buy another favorite yarn, Lamb's Pride, but Jill guided me to the Manos silk blend. I wouldn't have even know about that yarn were it not for that encounter. I'm so very happy to have made its acquaintance, and it is absolutely perfect for these mittens.

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Specs

Pattern:  Dimorphous Mittens, by Miriam Felton

Yarns:  1 skein Trekking XXL (color 110), 1 skein Manos Silk Blend (color 3055)

Needles:  US 3 for inner mittens, US 5 for outer mittens

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What's come over me?  All this knitting, and I even Ravelry-documented here.

Comments

[margene]

That is one cute mitten. I can't wait to knit my own!

[Nora]

Really, really gorgeous Norma. A fabulous idea, executed beautifully by both you and Miriam.

[marianne]

Oh yeah, loving those mittens, thanks again to your brilliant idea and to Miriam for her brilliant pattern. Look at those colours, and textures, the bag, the mittens (both layers) and that gorgeous touch of lace. Such a visual treat. You are one stylin' woman.

[Teresa C]

Great mittens!

It's the slow down in the gardening, that's why you are knitting and documenting so much. Never bored is Norma.

[Jakki Mitch]

Luv the mitts! I'm thinking I need some of these!!

[Jean]

They *are* like Mary Jane's for mittens! Absolutely gorgeous, Norma. Great photos too. God, I love Autumn.

[DK]

I'm casting on for these today! The pattern is so cute and yes the title of "Mary Jane's for mittens" is very fitting. These are going to be a gift for my daughter who is study abroad in Germany this semester. She will look so classy wearing them.

[Jenny]

Ooohhh...I just LOVE these mittens! Very cool!

[lisa]

I can't help myself, whenever I hear about frost and pumpkins, this old saying screams in my brain (which is something said to me every fall by a guy I was with for about 8 years)... "when the frost is on the punkin', it's time for dinky dunkin'" Leave it to a guy, eh? OK, had to go google this, and it seems it is part of a four season theme...always time for doing the deed...
When the weather's hot and sticky,
That's the time for dunkin' dicky.
When the frost is on the pumpkin,
That's the time for dicky dunkin'
When the snow is white and twinkly
That's the time to watch the winky
As the buds turn into blossoms,
That's the time for plowin' bottoms.

[--Deb]

That mitten cozy is adorable--and it would work over gloves, too!

[marie in florida]

fall color; here in Florida we get that in spring.

[Roxie]

You could always sew a patch of shammy (chamois) to the palm of your mitten for extra grip. Get the stuff at the car-care store. You are gonna turn heads with that impeccable accessorizing. You look like a high-class magazine cover!

[sandy]

SIGH. (that's a contented sigh, not one of the big dramatic varieties)
So much that I love about this post. Mittens and fall color and pumpkins.
Sigh.
xo

[Kay]

I love the Mary Janes for your hands idea.

But I am not knitting 4 mittens per gift.

Therefore, I am buying those little stretchy cheap-o gloves on the street (the kind worn by runners and small children), and knitting Mary Janes for them.

DAMN CLEVER AIN'T I?

[Cookie]

You have become one of those people!

Love the mittens. Love the bag and the shawl and the go-togetherness of it all. Love!

[Susan]

Oh I love those! Now, if I could only knit mittens without having a hole by the thumb ...tsk tsk. Another goal.

[Sara]

These mittens are so freaking cool! ::goes to add to Rav queue::

[Stephanie]

You may have frost on the pumpkins, but it snowed here today in Minnesota. I'm just glad it isn't cold enough to stick -- it was actually a weird combination of snow and rain. And, well, I don't like the cold part. I need me some Dimorphous Mittens. My fingers were far too cold outside today.

[Sheila]

Oh yes, such lovely mittens! And such wonderful photo styling, too. I've got to get me some of that Manos silk blend yarn. By the way, just what I needed, one more must-do project. But woman, you go right ahead and love those mittens, they look mahvelous!

[Alarming Female]

Brilliant is right! Why DID that girl ever change her name?

I had a sneak peek at that mitten a couple of weeks ago when I taught a class at Blazing Needles. Tres bon!

[Lucia]

If I donated ages ago, am I still entered? I forget.

Because what I really need right after a slight, shall we say, lapse of virtue at Rhinebeck is more yarn.

[Debi]

I can hardly imagine being cold enough to wear TWO mittens but these are gorgeous Norma - really adorable and a wonderful collaboration between you and Miriam.

It's wonderful to see you knitting again, too :)

PS - I WANT that bag in that color SO.BAD.