Salt and Pepper Mittens

These mittens are from Robin Hansen's wonderful book, Favorite Mittens. They are meant to be warm and sturdy for when C's Uncle Jim works outside. To add warmth (beyond the 1x1 check pattern, which makes for an incredibly dense cloth) and to keep out drafts I went back and knitted an inner ribbed cuff of soft Cascade 220 (the gold),


and finally added outer pouches for reusable hand warmers:


The pattern is a traditional one from the Maritime Provinces (and I am sure from other parts of the knitting world, with its simple 1x1 check). Called Salt and Pepper in Nova Scotia, in Maine it is called Snowflake. Given that the recipient is a sailor who summers in Maine, I thought this was the perfect pattern for him in blue and cream.


(Before I knew I'd be adding the outer pouches, which clearly shows left from right, I intentionally made one mitten slightly larger than the other, hence the white stripe (cast-on edge) on one mitten.)

The denim and cream wool is from Yates Farm Yarn, 2-ply worsted, from Brownsville, VT, dyed and spun by Bartlett Yarns. I used size 4 dpns on the cuffs (inner and outer) and size 5 dpns on the mitten body.