Pattern Description from Interweave Knits, Holiday Gifts 2009: “Courtney Kelley names the Nuneh Mittens for the Armenian goddess of wisdom and common sense. The Armenian knitting technique incorporates elements from both stranded colorwork and intarsia: Twisting the unused color with every stitch allows for areas of allover patterning as well as large areas of solid color while creating a dense, extra-warm fabric.”

Finished Size: 8½“ hand circumference and 8” long, to fit child’s or woman’s small hand.

Yarn: The Fibre Company Canopy Fingering (50% alpaca, 30% merino, 20% bamboo; 200 yd 184 m/50 g): orchid (MC) and macaw (CC), 1 skein each. Yarn distributed by Kelbourne Woolens.

Needles: Sizes 0 (2 mm) and 1½ (2.5 mm): set of double-pointed (dpn). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Notions: Markers (m); tapestry needle; waste yarn or small stitch holder.

Gauge: 28 sts and 36 rows = 4” in Armenian knitting in St st on larger needles.

Notes: Armenian knitting eliminates long floats in colorwork by tacking the yarn not in use to the back of the work. To create this tack, insert the needle into the next stitch and wrap the nonworking yarn around the tip of the needle the wrong way (reverse of usual movement). Next, wrap the working yarn around the needle the right way. Complete the stitch while dropping the nonworking yarn by slipping the right needle tip out from under the nonworking strand while still capturing the working yarn and knitting in. Then knit the next stitch as usual with the working yarn. On this second stitch, you’ll see the nonworking strand has been captured on the wrong side - this is the “tack.” For this pattern, tack down ever other stitch in a salt-and-pepper-pattern, shifting the tacked stitches over one stitch over other row.