Martinique Mittens

In continuing the celebration of the one year anniversary of Take Heart, I am releasing a free pattern as a small thank-you to my followers. It was this time last year when Take Heart was finally able to grace the hands of readers and knitters at Pom Pom's annual Christmas Party in London. Even though I had spent several months knitting each piece in the book, there were a few I was eager to cast on again and knit specifically for myself. I started with Martinique Beach. I was off to Sicily for the holidays and needed a project to knit along the way. So as a Christmas present to myself, I picked out four skeins of The Uncommon Thread's Lush Worsted. I went with a much more subtle colour combination that would fit with my own personal wardrobe. I settled on Tea Smoked and of course, three different shades of grey, Grit, Olive Leaf and Toast. You may recognize this project from last year,  as it has been featured in a few previous posts. 

It was shortly after finishing the cowl when I decided to make a pair of mittens inspired by the original pattern and I had plenty of leftover yarn to use. I was able to finish the mittens last January, just before my trip to Iceland. I posted one photo of the mittens on Instagram while I was away and had intended to write the pattern up when I returned. Of course, life and other priorites got in the way. However, nearly one year later, I have it for you now! In case you needed to purchase 100g of each colour to knit Martinique Beach, these mittens would be a great idea as to what to do with the left over yarn. 

You'll be able to find my Martinique Mittens as a free download through my Ravelry shop. Thank-you for the overwhelming love and support this year. Happy Holidays and I hope you enjoy the pattern! 

Caswell Bay, Ketch Harbour, Martinique Beach

Over this recent holiday break, I indulged in some long awaited personal knitting. I only just spent the summer knitting these items as samples for Take Heart. However, since I had some time, I decided on these pieces because I eagerly wanted them for my own winter wardrobe. 

This first design to be finished was the Caswell Bay Fingerless Mitts. I chose Eden Cottage's Bowland DK which is 100% Blue Faced Leicester. I recently had the opportunity to knit with other BFL blends for the book and enjoyed each one immensely. This particular colour has been staring at me from the shelves at Loop for a while now. I find Bowland knits up as a light DK, so it was a perfect substitute for Handmaiden's Lady Godiva. I may just have to pick up another skein for the hat to complete this set. 

I've always wanted to use Orkney Angora's St Magnus DK that we stock at Loop. Plus I have been craving a black shawl for awhile now and I felt this angora blend would be perfect since it is warm and very lightweight. It's been an accessory I've had a hard time removing since I started to wear it. I picked the colour, London's Dark Evening, for Ketch Harbour. London's Dark Evening is one of the seven exclusive colours only available at Loop. I want to start picking very special yarns as I'm using them to eventually remind me of my time in London once I leave. 

Last but not least, is Martinique Beach. I'll use anything as an excuse to knit with any colour grey by The Uncommon Thread. Olive Leaf, Toast and Grit are the three greys used, plus I chose Tea Smoked to partner with them. I love the difference in the look you get by using a much more subtle colour palette. For my Christmas knitting projects, I picked out these four skeins of Uncommon's Lush Worsted. They came with me to Sicily for the holidays. I was able to cast on over Christmas surrounded by some of the best food and wine I've ever had. 

I've also been enjoying my new stitch markers, sent to me by my mom at Christmas. Winter is coming! They are by Winemakerssister on Etsy. My antler necklace is by Damara Mossman from Lunenburg, NS. It was a treat I picked up from a local Halifax shop, Big Pony, when I was home visiting in the fall!

Photos by The Line Girl, Leanza May.