They have started to appear again. Rescued, they are hung on a branch, slipped into a fence post opening, or draped on a park bench. Sometimes a scarf, but more often than not, it's mitten. Usually child sized. Tossed from a stroller, dropped from a back pack; there are many ways to lose one.
Children's book writers and illustrators like to imagine what happens when woodland animals find a wooly curiosity. In The Mitten, Jan Brett's re-telling of a Ukrainian folktale, Nikki's new white mitten lands on the snowy ground. In Pobble's Way, a book by Simon Van Booy and illustrated by Wendy Edelson, Pobble's fuzzy pink "cloud" mitten, slips out of her pocket. In both books, knitters will delight to see how their hand work is pondered by woodland creatures.
Knitters will also delight to know that after reading the mitten books, there's more fun to be found.
Jan Brett offers many great downloads, on her website.
Flashlight Press is celebrating Pobble's Way with a mitten pattern and a contest. Written by Bev Qualheim of Bev's Country Cottage, the two needle mitten pattern is an easy one to master. Give it a try. And when your mitten is finished, send a photo of it to the friendly folks at Flashlight. You could win your very own copy of Pobble's Way.
Updates: Red Scarf almost done. A few more rows, and then, blocking.
My new essay, Fledgings, in this week's Lion Brand Newsletter. Happy Reading!