The ruminations of an artist on art & life...art quilts, beading, knitting, drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking are all my passions, I love to explore creating....

Friday, December 19, 2008

Knitting it Forward: Itty Bitty Baby Mittens


In the process of knitting these itty bitty thumbless baby mittens for my 3 month old Grandson, I remembered the mittens my own grandmother used to make. Every fall---(we lived in Alaska, so a good pair of mittens for the winter was a "must have" item) my Grandmother would present everyone of her 7 grandchildren (4 in my family---3 in my cousin's family) with a newly knit pair of wool mittens---sized to fit you just that year.

I think she must have started knitting on those mittens in June or July to have them all ready by September....granted they were child sized--but that is 14 mittens! Each pair was a different color--so we would never mix them up; and woe to you if you lost one--not that Grandma would be mad, she would just knit you a replacement without commenting--but my Mom would be very upset. Fortunately the mitttens were always connected by a knit cord that went through your jacket sleeves, which helped to prevent losing them.

I was quite young--6 or 7---when my grandmother (I called her Gram) sat me down and taught me to knit--I remember the day clearly--- so I was surprised to recently come across this photo of my Mother helping me to knit---with my Great Aunt Esther ( my grandmother's sister) watching. I don't remember my Mom ever knitting, but I suspect I was a very new knitter here and she is helping me---once I came home from Grandma's still needing some help.



So now -- as I sat knitting on these first of many pairs of mittens I will knit for my own grandbaby, Jasper---I think of my Grandma, Aunt Esther, and my Mom and the knitting legacy they passed down to me...with gratitude and hope. Happy Holidays to everyone and to all good cheer!

7 comments:

Genie Sea said...

How adorable and touching! Thank you for sharing these precious memories :)

Katknit said...

What a terrific story! My mom and grandma taught me to knit as well.
The little mittens are so cute. Good work!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Cool--I have a picture of me like this somewhere. I used to knit mittens, but I've forgotten how.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Yes, very cute!

Linda said...

I found your blog from the gathering wool list. I have knit thumbless mittens for my grandson too. I did them last year and have done 2 pairs for this year.

Linda, aka Crafty Gardener

LizzieK8 said...

Nice story. I'm working with my eight year old granddaughter and her knitting. She's really pretty good if she'd just sit still and allow the peacefulness envelope her.

Anonymous said...

Ah, look at you! Very cute! I love those itty bitty baby mittens. I'll have to knit my grandbaby some of those for next winter. Hard to believe I'll have an 8 month old grandkid by then!