At last

I'm back to the land of the living, pretty much. Thank you for your prayers and happy thoughts! This was a bad, bad cold. Avoid it if you can.

I wanted to show you these mittens. Years ago, I used this pattern to make Lizi a pair of mittens. With cold weather coming on, I wanted to make a pair for Lydia. I let her choose the yarn, and she picked Peaches 'n Cream in Salmon Royale. The pattern is from the book Knit Something Special by Polly Pyne. It is long out of print, I'm sure, but it has several good patterns and would be worth picking up if you can find a reasonably priced used copy.

I like this pattern because of the unique way it is made. The entire project can be completed on two needles. The shaping and all the stitches are very simple (and therefore quick). Simple enough for a sick, medicated mama, even. The first photo shows a finished mitten, along with a mitten lying flat before sewing. I've also shown what was left of the skein of yarn, to show that one is plenty for the medium size at least.

Lydia loves her new mittens. Could hardly wait for me to finish the second one; she wore just one mitten around while I worked. I really wanted a photo of them on her little hands to show you, but the child hates, loathes and in every other way despises posing for photographs. This is her attempt to not let me see the mittens on her hands:
Pretty effective.