.Cloud Mittens.

Cumulus Humilis is the Latin name for the small candy floss -like clouds you see on a clear and sunny summer day, the so called "fair weather cumulus" clouds. The idea and inspiration for these mittens came to me one late July afternoon when I was relaxing in the park reading a book and looking at the sky. I wanted to create something to remember these lovely summer days when it's cold and grey outside. 

The light blue color of this yarn is the perfect shade to reflect the summer sky. I thought the light DK weight yarn with the holes from yarn-overs would be too thin to use in the winter time so I added a lining. I used a left-over skein of off-white Garnstudio Drops Baby-Alpaca Silk for the lining, and it feels lovely, smooth and soft against the skin. It also makes the mittens feel lighter and the pattern more cloud-like as you can see some white through the yo's.

The mittens should most definitely be blocked! I must admit I don't always block my mittens if they look good straight from the needles, but I must assure you, these won't. They look like a deflated balloon or the brain of a small animal: wrinkled, rumbled, shapeless, but it all can be fixed with blocking. If you don't believe me, just look at the photos below.

I wanted to show you the before and after photos, because I'm going to write down the pattern for these and put it on my Ravelry designer page for you to download and knit your own pair. I remember often feeling depressed about my knitting results as they looked nothing like the sample. That was before I learned to block my work properly. I'm going to post an entry about how I blog my mittens and sock (and how to make your own sock and mitten blockers) as soon as possible, if you are unsure how to do it.