Are there anything better than alpaca mitts?

I'd been searching for the perfect project for the Blue Sky Alpaca Royal for awhile, and I knew I'd found it when I saw the Endpaper Mitts over on Eunny Jang's blog. The Royal is a 100% alpaca sportweight and feels like cashmere. It's from the alpaca's very first shearing, so it's extra soft, extra wonderful. And at 288 yards per skein, I've got plenty leftover, so I'm dreaming up my next project with it.



All I can say is that they're absolutely wonderful. A fun, quickish knit, and the softest, coziest armwarmers you can imagine. The fair isle is manageable since there aren't any long floats: no more than 3 stitches of one color at a time. I knit the first one on the train to Portland and back, and the other provided a welcome distraction from holidays. I did take out 1 1/2 repeats to account for my little arms and stumpy little fingers, but otherwise didn't change a thing. It may be my imagination, but I think they make my fingers look longer!

A quick block using a couple of glasses and they're ready for wearing. (They'd make good tumbler cozies too!)

They certainly come in handy at my job away from Hilltop where I have to sit at a computer all day, and the heating is less generous.

They're a great way to wrap your hands in a bit of luxury on cold, windy nights like tonight, while still being able to turn the pages of a book, use a computer, or dare I say it, knit another pair?