my first mitten

I finished my first pair of mittens the other day, and it's made me mitten-crazy. [BTW, happy birthday, Grandma, you are the lucky recipient of this first pair!] Recognize the yarn? Yup, it's an extra skein from the surf 'n turf cardigan (which is slowly creeping along, thanks to my crafting ADD). I had forgotten how soft the yarn was, and it's re-energized my drive to get knitting on the cardigan! The pattern, "so simple mittens" came from Better Homes and Gardens' "Hip Knits" book, and used almost one skein of Moda Dea Tweedle Dee yarn (80% acrylic, 20% wool). It really was simple, and I recommend this pattern to anyone else attempting their first pair. They're knit from the cuff up on two needles, so you do have one side seam at the end, and really easy increases create the thumb (eventually you put the thumb stitches on scrap yarn/stitch holder while you finish the rest of the body of the mitten).

Here's a shot of one mitten, in progress. Sorry, no shots of these guys all seamed up. I had bad winter evening light by the time they wrapped up.



So now I'm itching to make a pair for me, now that I realize how easy they are ... I have two skeins of Ultra Alpaca (one light purple/lilac, the other dark purple) that would be perfect. I'm also tempted to try some colorwork for the first time too... here are some patterns I've been drooling over as I contemplate my options:

Kerry Palm's Matrix, Knitty Winter 2007.

Elliphantom Knits' Herringbone Mittens.

And the ultimate, Sari's Tiffany, Knitty Winter 2006.