So far I've done four of the Nordic Fiber Arts mitten kits. Here are the Frostrosen mittens done in Rauma Finullgarn. I've also done Rosebord, Solhav, and Nordasno. I love the designs but the fit of these mittens is odd with excess mitten at the fingertips. I tried to change the design to make the mittens the right length with less-than-wonderful results on the Nordasno mittens as seen here.
Recently I found out that this extra length is apparently traditional. From Carol Rasmussen Noble's Knitting Fair Isle Mittens and Gloves,
" It was during World War II that women's mittens were introduced into Shetland with the influx of Norwegian refugees. Norwegian people usually wear mittens with stars on them; gloves are less popular. Suddenly in Shetland, mitts became popular and have remained so.
Rather than making a mitten that really fits the hand well, Shetland knitters make them very long to accommodate their design preferences - they need more room on the mitts to include the double motif they're so fond of...
To wear the mitts properly, you pull them down a ways on your arm, and they tend to flop a bit at the fingertips."
Well there you go. It seems Shetland (and I'm assuming Norwegian) mittens are supposed to be too long in the hand. Who would have guessed?
I really like Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves and am thinking of making the Tartan fingerless gloves next. They are the perfect project for knitting while watching my favorite tv show set in the gorgeous highlands of Scotland, Monarch of the Glen on BBC America.