Finished Object: Slanted Peerie Mittens

I do wonder if somewhere a meteorologist is sitting, hang dog and shame-faced about the fact that he/she keeps predicting snow will come to the Northern Colorado area, only to be proven wrong again and again. We had the barest hint at a flurry early one morning last week, and this week, despite predictions of snow Tuesday, Wednesday, and today, there has been nothing. (Although I do have to drive down to Denver this afternoon to collect my family from the airport, so undoubtedly there will be a blizzard or something along I-25.)

I would like to make an appeal to the weather gods, should they be listening. I know earlier I mentioned that I didn’t have any mittens, and so cold weather, snow, and ice were problematic only in that my hands got cold. Well, now I have mittens, so any time you feel like giving us a good dusting, I’m ready!

Elinor Brown’s Slanting Peerie Mittens, from Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2011 are my FIRST EVER pair of mittens. Well, it’s possible that maybe I had mittens when I was a wee thing and just can’t remember them, but considering that I grew up in Florida where it rarely gets cold enough for scarves, let alone mittens, it seems unlikely. And I knit them all by myself. And they are so warm! They’re warmer than my muppet-lined gloves.*

Clearly, I couldn’t just leave well enough alone and knit them as instructed. Oh no, I had to mirror the pattern. If you look at the original photos…

…you’ll see that both mittens slant the same way. And they look beautiful. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way the mittens slant.

I just like to make things more complicated than they really need to be.

BUT. This pattern repeat? Amazingly easy and memorable. Once I figured out the pattern on the first mitten, I was able to knit at least half of it without referring to the pattern at all. For the second mitt, I checked the chart for the first few rows—the chart I was reading backwards in order to get the mirrored patterns, mind—and after that I just worked from memory.

And I loved working the Latvian braid at the cuff. I’d never done that before, but I have to say, it’s incredibly easy and really adds a lovely touch to the whole affair. I used the brown and camel colors for the braid, but I left the brown duplicate stitch off the mittens in the end. I just didn’t think the brown would stand out so well against the dark blue; now I’m thinking of making a pair of brown and camel mittens. Obsessed? Me?

Nooooooo.

One more note, about the yarn: I used Harrisville Designs New England Shetland, a 2-ply fingering weight yarn. Like most Shetland yarns, it’s a really “sticky” yarn, which makes it good for Fair Isle projects (especially those with steeking). While I was working with it, I thought that it was a little scratchy, but whatever, these were going on my hands—their only requirement was that they be warm. Once I washed it though, this yarn softened up so much. I still wouldn’t wear it against more sensitive skin (I won’t be making a scarf with it, say), but it does feel really nice to wear the mittens.

Now, how ’bout that snow?

* I have a pair of gloves that have what I call “muppet lining;” it’s really some fun-fur like material, but it reminds me of muppets. They are warm, but not as warm as my mittens.