Hi! We're Cathy and Rick Newton. We love making mittens from recycled 100% wool sweaters.

Poor circulation and a pending trip to Iceland in the winter 6 years ago prompted a search for mittens that could withstand the cold and dry out overnight when wet. After a google search to identify a material that would be both warm and dry quickly, Cathy determined that wool fit the bill.

Not finding anything like this in nearby stores and not wanting to spend a great deal of money on material she ventured into the local thrift store, Listen, and purchased a second hand, 100% wool sweater and a cashmere sweater to cut up and sew into a pair of mittens, lining them with soft fleece. And, after a successfully warm handed trip to Iceland, the first pair of Vermitts was born!

Cathy began to make these mittens for her friends and family. Word got out about these incredibly warm mittens prompting more and more trips to Listen to buy second hand sweaters. Rick, her husband, would also stop by to scour the racks for 100% wool and cashmere with interesting patterns and colors. Cathy became the “mitten lady” and Rick the “mitten lady’s husband.”

Soon, the workers at Listen would set aside bags of damaged sweaters that they couldn’t sell and that were destined for the landfill, to give to Rick when he came to the store for the “mitten lady”. It then occurred to them both that while they were selling mittens to eager customers by word of mouth and creating a luxurious product that was touted as “the warmest mittens ever”, they were also helping to decrease waste and supporting the Listen store and their programs through the purchasing of second hand sweaters. A win, win, win!

Cathy and Rick recently retired from teaching (Cathy from Hartford and Rick from Norwich) and took to the road on a camping adventure before returning to the upper valley. Check our their travel blog: rickandcathyhittheroad.blogspot.com

They recently moved to Estes Park, Colorado to be closer to their two sons, daughters in law, and a new baby grandchild! They thank all of their customers, past, present and future for purchasing a pair of their mittens and contributing to a sustainable and environmentally friendly venture.

One of a Kind Mittens

Email us at cathynewton48@gmail.com to let us know which mitten number you'd like to purchase. We'll respond within 24 hours. You can pay with cash or VENMO at

Cathleen-Newton (7463)

REgular Sized- $49

All completed mittens pictured below are regual sized. These are one of a kind and cannot be made in a large size.

#200

#201

#202

#203

#204

#205

#206

#207

#208

#209

#210

#211

#212

#213

#214

#215

#216

#217

#218

Large Sized- $59

All completed mittens pictured below are large sized. These are one of a kind and cannot be made in a regular size.

#400

#401

Beautiful Patchwork!

Every once in a while I use some of the smaller pieces to craft some extra special patchwork mittens. They are one size fits all and sell for $59 a pair.

Mittens in Production and made to order

These are soon to be finished and can be made in either regular ($49) or large size ($59). You can order these by picking out a top and leave the rest up to my creative discretion!