The Last Tuesday of Winter

If there comes a little thaw,

Still the air is chill and raw,

Here and there a patch of snow,

Dirtier than the ground below,

Dribbles down a marshy flood;

Ankle-deep you stick in mud

In the meadows while you sing, "This is Spring."

-Christopher Pearce Cranch

Now that we're getting all excited about spring around here (and let me assure you - this week has done San Diego proud with beautiful weather), I thought Time Machine Tuesday could revist a last bit of winter. You know, for those of you freezing in snowdrifts elsewhere. Hi Mom! Hi Dad! Hi to my inlaws!

Anyway, I did live in Rhode Island for the first 4 or 5 years I knit, so I had my fair share of knitting for cold weather. And mittens were my first-ever non-scarf project. (Gosh, I love a good hyphen!) The entire first year I knit I made nothing but garter stitch scarves. Literally. They were all made of Lion Brand Homespun on US10 needles. And then I looked around, and everyone I knew had a garter stitch scarf. (This problem was exacerbated when I taught my college roommate to knit, and she did the same thing.) So I hit a make-or-break point.

Lopi Mittens, circa 2001
Pattern: Basic Mittens from Folk Mittens
Yarn: Reynolds Lopi
Needles: US 4 dpnsNotes: great first mitten pattern
Best Thing About This Project: The snowball fights.

And I picked up the book Folk Mittens from the local library. The mittens on the left are the second pair of mittens I ever made. The first pair is not still in my posession. In my infinite early-knitting wisdom, I made them out of kitchen cotton. Oh, and they are radically different sizes. Gauge issues with my first dpn experience. But it was fun. It had a shape. And a thumb. I was hooked. So I looked around and found some Lopi yarn that I had originally thought would make a good scarf (it wouldn't), and cast on. These mittens are the same size, and mine, and I've been wearing them solidly for a good 6 years. The Lopi is perfect for mittens - a nice halo, nearly waterproof, and warm.

But not always quite warm enough. So after a little contemplation and a spring break trip to PEI in the middle of a blizzard, I had my roving and I thought some thrummed mittens would be in order.

Thrummed Mittens, circa 2002
Pattern: don't quite remember, but probably a free online pattern
Yarn: a 3-ply aran weight wool and colored roving from McAusland's Woolen Mill on our PEI trip
Needles: US 6?
Notes: Thrums are fun. I can see why people are hooked. These are so bulky though that I never really wore them enough to get them all nice and matted on the inside
Best Thing About This Project: Well, we are planning a trip to Calgary next winter. I think that may be the place cold enough to really appreciate them.