I know, I know.
It is summer, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere, and it seems to be an odd time to be knitting mittens. But if you think about it, it is really the perfect time: They are great take-along projects, small and compact. They can be made simple or elaborate and be a wonderful palette for learning new techniques. And there is no need to rush rush rush to finish; hands will be warm for a while yet.
Here are a great pair by Ysolda Teague called Cotton Reel Mittens and they are fun and colorful!
Written so they can be made either fingerless or with closed tops, they combine traditional stranded colorwork techniques and shaping with a simple and modern geometric pattern.
There are some great details -- the cuffs begin with an i-cord edging that even allows for little loops to add an optional string (because, as Ysolda writes "even grown-ups can lose their mittens").
These are made with fingering weight yarn -- you will want to have about 130 yards (118m) of two colors of yarn for the full mitten version and 100 yards (92m) each for the fingerless.
These are really lovely.
