Slytherin Mittens

When I went to catch the bus on Monday it was so cold in the early morning that it was clear that I needed to get a move on finishing my mittens. Many thanks to starryjuliet for swapping yarn with me so that I could make these.

Yarn: Valley Yarns Northampton in Light Grey and Pine
Needles: US Size 8/5.0 mm
Pattern: House Mittens by Alison Hansel from Charmed Knits

This was a good pattern, but you certainly don't need to purchase the book to make these. Just about any basic mitten pattern would do. I made these in the smallest size but slightly longer than suggested and with slightly different shaping because that is the way my hands are.

Also this pattern suggests that you knit these mittens fairly tightly. I was just reading
The Knitter's Almanac where EZ was talking about the fact that mittens really don't need to be knitted at a finer gauge than 5sts/inch for a worsted weight yarn. They air trapped in the slightly looser fabric is good for insulation. So this added to my need to work with the smaller number of stitches.

Yay for finishing stuff!