basic mittens
January 18, 2007
basic mittens, originally uploaded by cosymakes.
The Classic Mitten
by Marcia Lewandowski from Folk Mittens
ingredients:
thrifted bright green wool
size: children’s medium (4-6 yrs old)
these babies scream for embroidery, but i’ll wait until the thesis is over for that. the thesis is not necessarily for embellishing. i think it may distract from the interaction in between my pieces and the historical pattern pieces-causing observers who know nothing about knitting to see them as further apart than they are. that said, i choose to believe that there have always been creative knitters. however, that person was not necessarily everybody’s grandma and practicality so often had to come before creativity. i guess creativity probably just manifested itself in little ways-like color choice and altering patterns.
anyhow, things i liked about this pattern: the three point decrease on top. i like that one of the three points kind of lines up with the thumb. the thumb gusset was also slightly different than other ones i’ve done. on the other side, i think i prefer k1,p1 ribbing. i decided to add little loops for hanging instead of the cord to run through the jacket.
while knitting these, i started imagining my thesis as a bit more educational for the people who come to see it. this may just be another angle that i cover naturally (teaching is part of my nature for sure, i got it from my mom). for instance, why are the lapland mittens knit so tight? what is the benefit of that? how do they compare to these children’s mitts and the other colorwork mitts? i think i’ll strive for variety in my knits to this end and then maybe little explanatory booklets or posted informational sheets on the walls. the thesis does not all have to be amazing and acrobatic knitting, instead it could also be appreciation of plain simple knits. how appealing (and stress relieving!).
Those are sweet!!!
Where can I find the pattern? I think I could knit those and not be afraid. ;-)
Um, never mind. I see where you referenced the pattern. Sorry!
it’s okay! i’m glad you’re excited :).
Great color! Also like the use of the bannana hook/mitten display device :)
I think it would be awesome if you had explanatory booklets or informational wall-sheets. It would be cool, for instance, to have a captioned photo emphasizing the 3-point decrease on these mittens and contrast it with the pointy decrease on the colorwork mittens–to help people appreciate the subtle design differences.
have you seen the book “Swedish Sweaters?” published by Taunton, I believe, awhile ago.
Interesting discussion there about innovation in knitting by anonymous or forgotten knitters in the 19th century. Although it’s been awhile since I looked at it. I have it if you want me to lend it you.
He-he…Green Banana Mittens…they’re very sweet. :)
thanks everyone!
oh sarah, i don’t know if i’ll get that in depth. we’ll see.
shannon – i got that book for christmas! haven’t looked at it yet though. maybe i’ll give it a peek. on another interesting historical note, the folk mitten book said that women, if they wrote patterns down at all, charted patterns. i wonder if that’s true. and if so, did they chart like we chart today?
[...] and now up in the shop. just thought they went well with the previous green theme. originally seen here as part of the thesis. it appears that i’m having some camera issues. maybe i need new [...]