Colloquium knitting

I'm almost done with the mittens!  I was the CMS speaker today, but the second mitten seems to be going faster than the first one did - in colloquium I got all the way from the thumb gore to the very tip of the mitten.  Now all I need to do is tie off the top, knit the thumb, and weave in the ends. 

I'm trying to decide whether to make a string for the mittens.  I don't know how long it should be, or whether I should attach it to both mittens or let the parents do that. 

I'm almost done with the baby quilt, too--I should be ready to mail these gifts this weekend!