Fulled and Fuzzy

It's the week leading up to my brother's wedding, I'm still working, and the Mister is away, so it's super busy around these parts, but I did manage to find time to whip up a pair of mittens for Rainbow over the long weekend. You've seen the pattern before -- it's the Snow Day Mittens that use superwash for the cuff and non-superwash for the hand. I knew I was going to use a skein of Cascade Alpaca Lana D'Oro, a 50/50 wool/alpaca blend, leftover from one of my sweaters for the hands, but I let Rainbow choose the yarn for the cuffs, and she selected leftovers from one of my favorite sweaters I've ever knit her. Last night I tossed her finished mittens, along with the two pairs I'd previously knit for charity, into the dryer to felt (I soaked them first and tossed in a few dryer balls for friction).

Here are all three pairs before felting:

and here they are after:

There's still a bit of stitch definition in a few spots, so they could probably be felted even more, but I'm pretty happy with them. Rainbow's pair, which fit me perfect before, are now just the right size for her, and as she snagged the pair she's been wearing at school yesterday, the timing couldn't be more perfect. I've left all three pairs sitting on my radiator today to dry out, and with any luck, they'll be ready to be put into the regular rotation tomorrow.

Here's a closer look at Rainbow's mittens -- just look at that fuzzy halo from the alpaca!

I've resumed working on the socks for my almost-sister-in-law during my lunch breaks, but I've decided to dedicate my evening crafting time this week to my granny square blanket. As of this morning (when it was very overcast, hence the dark photo), it was this big:

For reference, that's a queen-size bed.

I started opening my Fibernymph Dye Works holiday mini skein yesterday and plan to start adding them into the blanket, but I want to work through a few more leftover bits first. The plan is then to work the minis in order, as they're intended to flow from one to the next. It'd be great to get this finished up before we leave for our trip, as I really don't want to have to drag this big of a project all the way to Florida -- it'd take up precious room in my luggage, not to mention that sitting with a lap full of wool isn't ideal for the climate!