Woollen mittens have long been a Newfoundlander's best friend. The warmer the better. In a quirky climate of freeze, thaw, blow, and drizzle, good mittens made all tasks easier—to split birch, hammer a nail, gut a fish, draw and haul water, hang clothes on a line, shoot a seabird, or snare a rabbit. Social life, too, always required the finest mittens and gloves. This continues today.