Decide that Morris the fox terrier must be kept on lead through farm yard on morning walk as he has taken to dropping heavy stone onto partially frozen pond and skidding across ice to retrieve it. Note that on cold, frosty mornings fingerless mittens do not offer enough protection when holding the lead and search out proper gloves. Find two left gloves but matching right gloves are elusive. Finally discover pair of gloves at back of drawer behind assortment of woollen hats. Try gloves on but cannot get all fingers into gloves. Curse Dupuytren’s contracture. Remember pair of Marks & Spencer sheepskin mittens received as Christmas present in 1980s and hopefully look in wardrobe for them. Curse all magazine articles encouraging us to throw out unwanted clutter.
Settle down for evening in front of fire with knitting pattern for mittens and wool left over from previous projects. Discover wool is wrong thickness for pattern. Find pattern for fingerless mittens suitable for my wool. Knit mitten using combination of patterns and possibly wrong sized needles. Try on mitten. Too short. Unravel part and reknit. Laboriously weave in and cut off loose ends. Work out there is too little pink wool left to match cuffs and thumbs on second mitten. Also did not make note of alterations. Consequence: will have two mittens not a pair of mittens.
Sidetracked by pattern for Mittens for Babies. Have correct wool and needles. Start knitting and discover it possible to knit one mitten in an evening. Knit two matching pairs during week. Try them on elder grandson. Surprised that they fit and more surprised that he wears one pair when he leaves. Without complaint.
Abandon idea of knitting second mitten for me. Resolve to hold lead only in right hand and keep left hand in pocket.
LIFE IN MUD SPATTERED BOOTS 
Reading your diary of a mitten knitter really made me smile on this cold and foggy January morning because it could have been an entry in my own diary. I’m so happy that I’m not the only one who starts a project only to find some mishap along the way spoils the end result!
Things so often don’t turn out quite the way I imagined. Cold and foggy here this morning too – I kept thinking someone might be walking only yards ahead of me and I’d never know.
Oh gosh, what a tale of mittens! I think you should go with the two mittens look, not a pair of mittens, then if one of them ever goes a wandering you can just make another mitten!
Good idea Amy though I think I need to find a proper pattern to follow for mitten 2.
That did make me laugh. It is my life exactly! I am currently going through the process of thinning out clothes but this will not help! I have an idea to make drawstring bags to hang on the coat pegs to house hats, gloves and scarves. The difficulty will be to remember to put them in the right place! All are needed for dog walks at the moment!
Thinning out clothes is all very well, but it’s the extras needed for dog walking, gardening and the like that make the clutter. I can imagine drawstring bags hanging on pegs in a magazine photo and I suppose by the end of the season it might be possible to remember which goes in which bag.
That made me laugh. Are mittens hard to make? I really would like to know how to knit just enough to make mittens and socks.
Fingerless mittens and socks are basically just tubes with a little concentration needed for the thumb and heel. If I’d had the right pattern then mittens would be easy too. Go for it.
Who says mittens have to match, or socks and gloves for that matter. You are in good company with Dupuytren’s Contracture, Bill Nighy has it too as I expect you know.
If only I had his talent too!
Ha ha ha! I can relate to 95% of this post! Thanks for lifting my spirits!
The plan with the draw string bags is to sew a little hat onto the hat bag, mittens on the gloves and a scarf on the scarves! Hopefully even him indoors will be able to cope! Lots of plans in this house just need to do it!
How sensible. I could cope with that system too though I suspect I’d be tempted to just shove everything in the same bag when I was in a rush.
I’m chuckling too! Your poor cold fingers! Actually, I was intrigued by your mention of Depuytren’s because my husband has it, and I know it is an inherited problem, but thought only men suffered from it? Obviously not. He has had an operation to correct it (as he is a keyboard player) but it has returned …. and I think he has lost heart – now given up the keyboard and plays the Northumbrian pipes. Have you ever had any treatment for yours?
Inherited from both my parents! No treatment because it doesn’t seem to last, so I wasn’t sure it would be worth it. Specialist said to wait until it was unbearable and then he could amputate, which seems a bit drastic. Worried now that this might be the NHS to old people’s problems – just cut off the offending part.
Oh our poor NHS! Stephen has never been told of possible amputation. Did you know it is a Norse genetic trait…..? Perhaps they are more sympathetic up north because they recognise it as their own 🙂 They do talk of inequalities in the NHS over the country!
So sorry to hear that your husband’s Dupeytron’s has returned. My husband had both his hands fixed, and so far he is well. It’s been a few years now for the worst one. He is of Dutch ancestry, and one of his father’s sisters is badly crippled with it.
Your tale made me laugh. Your single mitten is beautiful. I have a female cousin who always wears mismatched socks and I often wear mismatched earrings; go for it. I’ve had surgery for both carpal tunnel and trigger finger but had never heard of Dupuytrens; the treatment sounds a bit excessive!
I’ve lost so many favourite earrings that I wear mismatched pairs rather than throw away a loved one. The problem with unmatched socks is finding two of roughly the same thickness otherwise it’s a bit like wearing odd shoes (only worn by mistake).
Ha ha aha – love it! But where could those sheepskin mittens be?! Surely if you look just a little harder.. c
I can visualise them on so many places but alas when I check, they aren’t there. If
they ever turn up, it will be when I’m looking for sun hats.
Glad I’m not the only one who’s a half-hearted knitter. Very funny post!
I have seen joggers with dog leads attached to a waist band, you could then keep your hands in your pockets Anne!
I think their dogs may be better behaved than mine.
Snicker 🙂
Cold hands and fingers are the worst Anne! I love the colour in your photos, stay warm! x
[J] Lovely photo. Lovely anecdote. A lovely day – how dull a day would be without anything to force us to make comparisions, judgements, innovations … !
Your mitten tale made me smile – the first one looks gorgeous – make another gorgeous but different one and the virtue of that is that you will know which one goes on which hand (assuming you are consistent about wearing them on dedicated hands, that it!) I like the asymmetry of non-matching things – somehow oddly pleasing because of being non-conformist and unpredictable! E x