Mittens Update!

Remember the mittens I threw away? (See Mittens in Oktober) Well I randomly found their Fall 2008 counterpart at Moda3 while partaking in Gallery Night in the Third Ward on Friday. www.moda3.com

I love them so much! They are the UK Mitten by Coal. Coal makes really high quality, cute head/hand cold weather gear. www.coalheadwear.com

Mittens in Oktober

It was a perfectly pretty fall morning today - sunny, cold, clean. This is my favorite kind of day. It was cold enough that I let my car get adjusted to the newly brisk weather, I even turned on the heater. As I sat there I realized, I’m sitting on my hands. Like any adult, I should’ve reached for gloves but lets keep in mind that it is mid-October, not
January…and I threw my mittens away (lovely, warm, pea-green mitts that never left my side last winter) in a fit of “I need to throw everything away.”

As I sat on my poor fingers, I thought of the practicality of being able to knit. Knitting, I will say, is currently very trendy but I mean that in a good way. If something deserves to be trendy, knitting is it. It is a tradition, an incredible skill and a true test of patience. I attempted to take a knitting class two falls ago at a cute shop named “Loop.” They have since moved into a new location in Riverwest, but at the time, the shop was on a quiet corner in residential Bayview. The store is owned and operated by a lovely mom and daughter team, a friendly duo with amazing knitting, crocheting, creating abilities. The class was a great beginners lesson, but the aesthetic alone justified my visit. I could’ve spent hours admiring the beautifully saturated colors of the yarn filled shop.

I am embarrassed and disappointed to admit that knitting wasn’t a perfect fit for me. I wanted to love it so badly, but I am not known for my unending patience; I am known for not liking things that I’m not good at. I didn’t completely give up because I wanted to be good at it. I took home the book they required for class (Stitch ‘n Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook by Debbie Stoller) and sort of, kind of made a scarfy type thing. The problem was that I never really learned how to stop, so if I hadn’t put the needles down on my own, I would be knitting the same “scarf” as we speak.

Now that I’m a whole two years older and two years more patient, I’ve been toying with the idea of returning for another session of Knit 101. I have a vision of my future-self as a little grandma in a rocking chair next to the fireplace, a loyal dog at my feet and a huge family that needs lots and lots of mittens for the cold winter mornings when the car needs to get it together. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m keeping the dream alive.

Loop offers a variety of monthly classes for varying skill levels. Please visit their site or their store (2963 N. Humboldt, Milwaukee, WI) to check the schedule. www.loopyarnshop.com