Mohave Mittens

We are full throttle gypsies...no doubt about it. This summer my family and I moved from the beautiful high desert of Taos, New Mexico to the wonderful wetness of north western Washington. We have had an adventurers summer this year...and the fall is only getting better. We visited many beautiful places such as the San Juan islands and the Gorge in George, Washington. We hiked the mountain trails of Mt Baker picking berries and identifying herbs and wild native plants and trees. We fished for rainbow trout in lakes and saw so many waterfalls that it became expected eventually our trail would lead to some source of water either rushing, babbling, falling or still. I took my son rowing on Silver Lake where we spent hours identifying lily pads, aquatic plants and animals. One of our favorite adventures was finding thousands of tiny tadpoles that had grown into tiny tree frogs. I spent many wonderful nights by the campfire listening to Shawn, my husband, playing his guitar and singing his songs. Sawyer our son would occasionally join in on his little drum and offer up his own little spin on his daddy's song.

Through out the summer season I knitted. I beaded. I knitted mittens during the heat of the day. I wanted to invoke the essence of the hot summer sun into my mittens. I felt it would really keep the wearers hands toasty warm. The idea came to me to knit mittens in the summer on my way to to the west coast. We traveled through the hot Mohave desert in May as I sat knitting my first pair of mittens that instantly became my "Mohave Mittens." It really struck me as such a wonderful thing to knit in the summer. Why wouldn't you want your mittens to be filled with the warming essence of the sunshine and the desert air. The hotter it got the faster I knit. It was like I was running on solar power, literally. I remember my goal was to knit full throttle so that I would complete an entire mitten while we were driving across the desert. I did. And so my Mohave Mittens were born. I knit seven complete pairs of mittens this summer. Not too shabby for a gal who only just taught herself how to knit in the round and read a knitting pattern the winter before in Taos. I will be putting my Mojave mittens on my etsy site, http://www.fullthrottlegypsy.etsy.com/ ready to keep your hands or someone you love hands toasty warm this winter. They are knit with 100% wool and then felted to form a solid super soft "fabric" I then hand sew a knitted cuff below the thumb for extra snugness and warmth around your wrists. The cuffs don't allow snow to get inside the mitten, and they too also are knit with 100% wool or a blend of wool and mohair. The best thing about the wool yarn is that your hands will still stay warm even when the mittens get wet. That and the fact that the suns essence is absorbed in every pair I knit will assure you toasty warm hands even during the wettest of snowball fights!

And speaking of mittens...

My three and a half year old son, Sawyer, has inspired me to make mitten cords. Mitten cords are long knitted and felted cords with button holes on each end. They slip onto a small button sewn snugly to the child's mitten. The cord runs through the arms of coat. Pretty much insuring that your little kitten won't loose his mittens! They are still a work in progress I should have his mitten cord done in the very near future. I'll post a pic when it's finished. I'll probably put a few on my etsy site too!

Check back here for new news on the etsy shop and stories about my band of gypsies.

Love and Gratitude.