on the needles: mittens with chinese bats

I love knitting mittens, and I'm over the moon to be working on a quick project that only moves one direction: forward unto completion. I feel like I deserve it after the multiple rounds of knitting and ripping on Log Cabin II.

These mittens are a new design slated for release mid-December as part of the Around the World in 80 Skeins project. I'm representing China, and wanted to design something with Chinese motifs and a nod to China's past and future (more on that when I show you the front of the mittens).

If you're looking at this design and  thinking "Halloween was a while ago - what's with the bats?", bats are seen as lucky rather than spooky here.

The sound for the word for bat (fu) is the same sound as the word for good fortune (also fu), so bats are associated with happiness and blessings. Five bats together (wufu) is the same sound as the five good fortunes - health, wealth, virtue, long life, and a peaceful death, so you'll often see five bats together in art.

What's on your needles this week?