The other day while Christmas shopping in Borders, I came upon this book, Robin Hansen's Favorite Mittens: Favorite Traditional Mitten Patterns from Fox & Geese & Fences, Flying Geese and Partridge Feet. While I often peruse the shelves at Borders, I usually come across a book or two that catches my eye, and then I debate whether it is worth making the purchase. With this book, I knew right away it was joining my collection, and I haven't been disappointed.
A couple little gems...
"Time was, when a man went out in his boat in winter, he took his mittens off a nail on the boat, dipped them in the warm salt water cooking the engine, rung them out good, and put them on wet....His hands stayed warm in the wet wool mittens, even working with the wet traps dragged out of a frigid Casco Bay. When he peeled the mittens off later, his hands were so warm they steamed in the cold air."
and...
"At one time most Maine mittens were knit without ribbed cuffs, or without any cuff at all. The cuff was separtate, a wrister, and stayed on even when a man had to take off his mittens in the woods to do a fine adjustment on a bit of harness or a tool."
Robin has instructions for many patterned mittens, along with some unusual techniques such as "mittens hooked on a dowel", "thrummed mittens", and "double rolled mittens". And who can resist the "petites mitaines en fleur-de-lis" for the small ones?
The past week has been so hectic, with very few opportunities for long, relaxing knitting sessions. Instead, I have just enough energy late at night to reach for this book and read a section or two. I go to sleep, dreaming of the wintery weeks ahead, post-holidays, when hopefully I will get a chance to play around with some yarn and Robin's wonderful mittens patterns.
