...but it's been cold enough to be. So I whipped up some Maine Morning Mitts with some random chenille that has been in my stash for forever and a day:

Yeah, it's chenille, don't be a hater. Free is free after all (and ancient stash may as well be free). I made the arms extra long, though in retrospect I probably should have made them an inch or two longer. They are a super easy knit, and probably could have been finished in a weekend had I not been distracted in the middle and then forgetting how long I made the first one.

I also knit 30 extra rows on the arm part that I had to go back and fix. I know, what happened? I wasn't paying attention, that's what. Nevertheless I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm thinking of giving them to my sister for Christmas since her house is even colder than mine.

Project Specs:
Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts by Clara Parkes from The Knitter's Book of Yarn (Ravelry link)
Yarn: stash chenille, worsted-ish weight, in maroon
Needles: KnitPicks metal dpns US size 7 (4.5mm)
Size: One size fits all
Started: October 2008
Finished: November 2008
Pattern mods: Lengthened the arms and used worsted-ish weight yarn instead of aran weight; 90 rows total.

These were my second ever knitted mitts - the first ones were made years ago and ended up being different lengths because I didn't think to count the rows as I went along. They were also, as I recall, made from grey alpaca, which I seem to be allergic to, and I'm not even sure if I have them any more. I would love to add some mitts to my own wardrobe, they're great for frigid interior environments!

There's a new project on the needles as well:

I just can't help myself. It's actually progressing really quickly; my only problem with it is the color. This photo doesn't do it "justice" - it's the same radioactive yarn I've blogged about in the past. I really do hate this color - does anyone have any experience overdying finished products with some easily available (and cheap) dye like RIT? I know it isn't optimal, but I'm not out to spend a lot of money. The yarn is Cascade 220 superwash (color 802, if you want to know).

Happy Turkey Day everyone! Enjoy your soup!