Stripey Sock Wool Ladies mittens

What to do with those leftover bits of (expensive) patterned yarn which are too nice to get rid of after completing a pair of hand-knit socks? That was the issue I have had for quite a time now. Tired of crocheting Granny squares, I decided to work on a pattern for pretty ladies mittens (resulting in a perfect co-ordinating match for the socks!). And here is the result! I had literally 3m left of the patterned yarn after completing both the socks and the mittens, but I wasn't worried at any point, because the whole point of these mitts is that they are individual! I worked out that the fairisle bits of the patterned yarn didn't look so good on a striped background, so I dropped the stripes there and my contingency was to join in a different shade of plain yarn for the thumbs or top if I did run out. (In fact, I think I might have done that on the left thumb, where the yarn reserves were getting seriously low.) Stress-free knitting: that's what we like! And cosy fingers and toes t