mini mittens

DSCN1324.JPG
Originally uploaded by celestine_e2

The Foyles crew did another festive decoration gift exchange, and this was my offering.

Made from Easy Knits sock yarn (nothing but the best), from a pattern in last year's Interweave Holiday gifts issue.

alpaca mittens

alpaca mittens
Originally uploaded by celestine_e2

It's too cold for my delicate fingers at the moment, so I decided that I'd make the Subway Mittens from Interweave.

Did I have any suitable chunky yarn in my stash? Of course not.

The solution was to use 4 strands of lovely Drops Alpaca that Catrin bought me ages ago, and i'd been hoarding until the right project spoke to me.

The eagle-eyed among you may notice that my mitts don't have a pocket. This is because I have small hands, and an Oystercard is a lot bigger tha you think.

The only drawback? I have to take them off after 10 minutes because my hands get incredibly warm.

neckwarmer

neckwarmer
Originally uploaded by celestine_e2

When we were in Stockholm, the husband's scarf kept slipping around, leaving exposed bits of neck.

Idly pondering this in a yarn shop, I picked up a couple of skeins of Eskimo and wondered aloud whether a buttoned neckwarmer would work.

His reaction was quite enthusiastic, but we couldn't find a pattern that we liked.

In the end, I just cast on a ribbed piece, to be fastened with buttons on one side.

then he pointed out that the V of his overcoat could do with filling, so I picked up along the bottom, and made a scarf panel.

Apparently, it's very toasty.

I'd forgotten how much I love working on 8mm needles, this only took me a couple of evenings.