Fleecy Gear for Frosty Times

How do? It's been awhile, and I'm still between projects. This is one that I finished a little while ago, but I hadn't gotten around to posting it until now (what with weddings and whatnot going on).

As you may recall, I mentioned that my partner-in-crime used McCall's pattern M4681 as a guide for his mittens and "glittens". I originally bought the pattern because I really like the striped hat/scarf/glittens set (the picture on the pattern cover shows it in black and white; it's style "A"). The pattern shows how to make six different styles of glittens/scarves/hat. I found some pink and gray (or "grey" for the British out there) fleece for a good price (50% off!) at Hancock Fabrics. I have a black winter coat (as seen in the pictures), so I thought gray and pink would work well if I wanted to go with the stripe pattern.

As seen in the pictures, I did not make a hat. Perhaps I will at some point, but I haven't had a winter hat in maybe 20 years. I'm an earmuff kind of girl. :o) Plus, the hat to go with the striped set looked a little goofy. If I went with a hat from the pattern, I would probably choose style "F" which has a pom-pom on the top (even though I'm no longer 6). I also did not make the glittens yet, but my partner-in-crime whipped up some gloves. He's actually getting pretty good at crafting gloves, as he's experimented with his some. The gloves sort of followed the basic pattern, though; he just made the fingers complete and skipped the mitten top. To smooth the many fleece seams (because of the stripes) and to add some extra insulation, he added a single layer of printed plaid flannel.

The scarf was pretty easy to make; it's definitely an evening project! That's how long it took me to cut the strips of color (or colour for the the British out there) and stitch them together. The scarf itself is super toasty (then, again, most any extra layer would make me super toasty after working in the Sweat Shop). No, seriously, the scarf is really warm, as it is two layers--and the width of this thing! It's pretty ample! I have it doubled over in the top picture, so it's four layer of fleece around my neck. Not really seen in the pictures are the tassels on the end. The stripes are not stitched all the way to the bottom, so there are fat tassels. I'm kind of thinking about taking my pinking shears to them, but I haven't decided if I would like the pinked look or not. Let me know what you think!!

All in all, I think I'm ready for those harsh, bitter, cruel winters that we don't get out here on the Shore. But when I come home for Christmas, I will be ready for the harsh, bitter, cruel winters that we do get on the homestead in Ohio.