Maize Mitts

Maize Mitts made for my friend Kevin are just the ticket for keeping his hands warm whilst in the workshop and gardening.  We were chatting on Facebook on Monday, and Kevin asked if I had seen Countryfile on Sunday, at there was a piece about wool.  Of course I watched it on i player, then we continued chatting about things woolly...and it ended up in my offering to knit him some finger-less mitts in pure wool, to keep his hands and wrists warm whilst he worked on this cooler winter days.

If they were purely for playing the piano they may have been fluffy and perhaps more stylised with cales and motifs, but he said he wanted them for working in, so some not so fluffy yarn was called for this straight forward sturdy pair.  I found just the yarn from my stash...some balls of Australia Sirdar Double Crepe brought by my sister Lizzie from Australia a few years ago.  Its sure to be vintage as there are no washing instructions and the weight is 1oz...remember the days?

These are amazingly simple to knit, and the pattern is free

I used the magic loop method with a long fixed circular needle, which was much easier to use compared to the short double ended needles, though I did revert to these for the thumb.  I already had the needle in my 'workbox', but lately I have been knitting socks using two shorter circular double ended needles and have found a very good supplier, where they are dispatched and in my experience arrive next day...what a service: from Woolstack.

Finished by Wednesday evening, they were popped them in the post on Thursday, and he got them today: Friday!

Whilst I was knitting them, I got my hero to try them on, so that I could gauge the size...now he wants a pair, and am on the second mitt already.  That will be nearly all that yarn used up...so am doing well on knitting through my stash.  I think I shall make some more pairs of mitts in more frivolous yarns, with dainty patterns.

Kevin is a wonderful gardener as well as being good at other things.  He writes beautifully and very knowledgeably about orchids on his blog.  He also grows his own veg, and knows a lot about succulents.  A few years ago me brought me a very little Crassula Buddha's Temple succulent plant, and I have since propagated them, and here are three of the latest posing with his gloves.