Knitting with handspun Alpaca

I have had a heckuva time planning a project for my Alpaca yarn. I finished spinning it up, and plying it, but it is thinner than I thought it would be.

I believe it is heavy fingering or sport now, even held double (that is 4 individual plies). First, I thought a scarf and I tried a few ideas, settling on a 3X3 rib pattern, but it was eating the yarn like there is no tomorrow. I started out with 10 oz of raw fleece, and I'll be damned if more than 3 months of washing, carding and spinning would go into a single project for someone who might never appreciate the effort that went into it. I turned to mittens, but couldn't find a pattern for the gauge I was getting, and knitting with size 9 double points was awkward at best for pattern work. I then decided to get out long size 7 needles, and use another pattern for basic construction, and now I am knitting plain mittens using the magic loop method.

The fabric created is nice and I should be able to get a few pairs out of my yarn. Since Alpaca is warmer than wool, these should be nice for family members in cold climates. I have til February to complete a couple of pairs, so I think this is doable. The second pair I may knit as fingerless mittens for more dexterity. To be continued.