Mittens Sneak Peek

The mittens I've been working on in recent weeks are almost ready to publish. Since we got over a foot of snow yesterday and more is on the way, please keep your fingers crossed the weather doesn't wreck this weekend's photo shoot plans!

I designed these mittens for an Instagram knitalong run by my friend Leigh (@leighsideknits). The challenge? Make a pair of mittens inspired by a favorite artist or an art movement. (See all the mittens from the KAL here.)

I chose the painter Agnes Martin, whose quiet, minimal abstractions and thoughtful writings about art have long inspired me. As soon as Leigh announced the KAL, I checked my fingering weight stash to see what might work and discovered a bag of three colors of Cascade 220 fingering that were perfect.  In fact, it was a little uncanny how perfect they were.

Then I got out my various books by and about Martin and immersed myself in images (and in my memories of experiencing her subtle work, which really can't be fully appreciated in reproductions).

As I work out a new design, I usually have to swatch with several yarns, play with different stitch patterns, sketch, etc. This time was different. I pretty quickly saw the whole mitten in its entirety in my mind. Of course, there were some rip backs and revisions as I worked out details like the length of the cuff or the shape of the top. But, in the end the finished mittens are exactly what I first pictured in my mind's eye.

I plan to release the pattern soon—watch for it next week.

Have a great weekend!