Winter Ain't Got Sh*t on ME!

Every year it starts getting cold and I realize I need a new pair of mittens. Because I realize I need mittens when it is already cold (and I'm talking 30 degrees) I go two weeks with freezing cold hands. Not this year! It's July and I have a pair of seriously warm mittens. I knit them with double-stranded worsted weight wool. And I'm not stopping there. I'm knitting another pair of thermal mittens to wear underneath. I laugh in the face of winter!

I knit these mittens from inspiration I found in two different places. They are based on Cosy’s subtle stripes spinning kits and an article about using color I read in Spin-Off Magazine. The article is called, “Blending Colors at the Wheel”. Instead of blending the colors at the wheel, I blended the colors at the needles.

I knit with one color all throughout. To make the stripes I changed the 2nd strand of yarn after knitting 8 rows of color. By keeping one color constant it makes the stripes more "subtle". Incidentally, the greenish stripe is make with some handspun yarn that I didn't really like. So, I found a way to use that yarn! Stranding a color you don't love with another color can make it pop, or calm it down, or bring out certain tones. Give it a try!