Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Knitting my family history



A couple of months ago I came across a very unique pair of mittens at Wool-Thyme, my local yarn store. I asked Anne, the owner, what the pattern was called, she told me they were honeycomb mittens, AND it was the free pattern of the month. So, not only did I come home with some great new yarn, I also came home with the pattern to make my own honeycomb mittens.

Once home I wanted to know a little bit more about these mittens and did a quick google search. Low and behold I found another name for the honeycomb mitt, a.k.a the Newfie Mitt. Now it all started coming together. I HAD seen these mittens before but mostly knit in horrendous colours with very cheap yarn. Therefore, I never really considered how to make them or the warmth they would provide. Taking a second look, and seeing the great colours used at wool-thyme, instantly had my mind racing with ideas. Oh, the colour combinations and luxury yarns that I could use....let the daydreaming begin.

Here's the really fun part! My dad was visiting a couple weeks later, while I was in the midst of my second pair of Newfie Mittens (I needed to adapt the pattern to make correct sizes and get rid of the contrast bumbs showing in the purl rows), and he remembered wearing these mittens as a child. My dad being a Newfie himself and growing up with 20 brothers and sisters, he distinctly remembered the "Newfie" Mittens being warm and dry! Now I am off to find out who did the knitting and see if I can find the original pattern used by family. Maybe I will even get a few stories about my family along the way. So much fun, I LOVE knitting!

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