Wearing mitts a warming friend

We all know what to do if we get chilly at home or at work – put on a sweater and wool socks. In these days of high heating oil prices, turning up the thermostat is not an option. Putting on another layer of clothing is. But what do you do if you work at a computer and your hands grow cold from icy drafts that seep in from nowhere – in spite of extensive retrofitting of the work place building?

The answer, my friends, is mitts.

Oh, I know – wearing mitts conjures up a poorly nourished character from a Charles Dickens novel, a thin man hunched over a desk placed far from a source of heat, including the sun, totaling up endlessly long columns of figures.

Or perhaps you think of a Victorian-era housewife going briskly about her daily chores, her hands protected from drafts by white silk mitts.

Mitts make me think of Jo March, the heroine of “Little Women” up in the attic scribbling her stories, her hands protected by black wool mitts from the icy blasts of winter as she learned to be a writer.

I suspect cold hands is a malaise affecting many people – the elderly, schoolchildren, carpenters, people who work in warehouses, post offices and supermarkets, and those of us who peck away at keyboards all day.

I, for one, have joined the 19th-century clerk and Jo March in wearing mitts, especially on those days when the wind is especially arctic and finds ways to creep into even the most well-insulated building.

My mitts cover my hands from wrist to knuckle. I knit them from dusty blue Brown Sheep yarn trimmed with clown-red mohair. They are based on a pattern by Phyllis Rodgers, of Hingham, Mass. She made mitts for her daughter, who spent hours in the cold recesses of a university library doing research.

Rodgers’ mitts were based on a crochet pattern she found in a 1915 Bear Brand booklet. Her pattern was done in a loop stitch, but I wanted something simpler, something I could knit in an evening. Thus, I created my own version of Rodgers’ mitt pattern. The directions are easy enough for beginning knitters. Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402, and I will send you a copy of my variation of Rodgers’ pattern.

If you want to crochet mitts, you’ll find a pattern at www.berroco.com.

Or jump right in there and invent a design of your own. You could practice knitted lace techniques or use up bits of yarn leftover from other projects to make a pair of mitts. Mitts don’t take a lot of yarn, so you could splurge on a skein of cashmere, silk or merino, or indulge in designer yarn from Debbie Bliss or Lily Chin.

Be careful, though. Mitt knitting – and crocheting – has the potential to become a winter binge craft, which may not be such a bad idea. That way, you’d have enough mitts to give away to cold-fingered co-workers, family, friends and strangers you meet on the street. Mitts could become THE fashion statement for Maine – right up there with Bean boots, Johnson shirts, blaze orange vests and flannel nightgowns.

Snippets

. Orono Adult Education offers a 10-week quilting class 6:30-9 p.m. beginning Tuesday, Jan. 24. Learn to make a quilt in the flying geese pattern, or bring your own projects for help, encouragement or to show off. Patricia Cody is the instructor. Register for the class by calling 866-4119.

. “Threads: Interlaced, Beaded and Loved – The Textile Collection of Sandy Sparrow” will be on exhibit Feb. 1-28 at The Art Galleries, Powers Hall, University of Maine at Machias. The opening reception will take place 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1. The textiles, owned by Sandy Sparrow of Machias, are from Africa, India, the Far East and South America, and include wedding blankets, clothing, a beaded chair and other beaded objects. The Art Galleries are open afternoons or by appointment. Call 255-1279 for information.

Ardeana Hamlin may be reached at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.