Pictures of some ideas

Aran mittens for Grandpa.


Embroidered mittens for my Grandma J. Sean and I have Grandma and Grandpa for the Christmas exchange, so this will be part of my gift (along with Grandpa's, above).


Selbu mittens for my Mom, knit in either navy/cream or red/cream. I like the traditional navy/cream, but my Mom loves red. I guess we'll see!

It's getting to be that time...

Well, as the title says, it's getting to be that time. I've made a new list in the sidebar, all the presents I'm hoping to get done this year. I've started one of them so far, and they're right here:



Thing is, those are all knitting things. Some stuff may be changed around. The red socks are going to my Grandma Shorrock, and as I start the other projects you'll find out who they're for :)

Sean's Hat

A hat for Sean for Christmas. I was making mittens with the imperial symbol on them, but I just couldn't make them work right. I love to knit fair-isle, but I have a little difficulty keeping even tension, and the yarn I was using (100% acrylic) wasn't helping. This is made using Rowan Wool Cotton in a dark brown (that I thought was black) and a muted lime green called "Elf". I had to go up 3 needle sizes to get a comfortable gauge, from US 3 to US 6! But like I said I have weird tension with fair-isle that sits on the very tight side.

The red around the bottom is for the provisional cast-on, it'll have a lining knit up inside after it's done.

Angela's Shirt

This shirt is for Angela for Christmas - I hope it fits and that she likes it! It's a logo I designed from her blog, called Green Yarn. She's an Environmental Engineer, and likes to live green and vegetarian, and she knits! So I thought what better than a green ball of yarn with carrots for needles :)

OK I didn't post all the Christmas presents, but here's the finished (and unfinished) list:

Grandmas - ribbon bookmarks and knit washclothes
Grandpa - Felted Clogs
Dad - Grey Mittens
Becky - Thrummed Mittens
Mom - Sock kit with yarn and lace pattern
Tom - "Tom is my friend" t-shirt
Sean - "Don't Panic" t-shirt, and unfinished mittens
Mary - Felted kitten
Chris - a screwed up t-shirt :( and some models
Heather and Chad - unfinished quilt, movie, and popcorn
Angela - t-shirt, fabric, and wallet
Jenny - Mrs. Beetons

Phew. I just have the quilt left to finish, and Sean's mittens. I'm very glad to be able to eventually make something for MYSELF again.

Mrs. Beetons for Jenny - 1

This yarn will become Mrs. Beetons for my friend Jenny. I think the rich colours will really suit her, and she really loves Victorian style, so Mrs. Beetons will be perfect for her! They're not going to have the edging of mohair on the top bell, because I don't like the idea of one row of gold on the purple, and it won't have beads around the top either. I think the contrast of the aubergine and gold is enough. There will be the larger beads at the base of every ruffle on the bottom bell though, in gold. The wrist ribbing will be only done in the DK, because I find the combination in my own Mrs. Beetons kind of scratchy, and I'm not sure what these two would look like held together.

Thoughts?

Grey Mittens - Done

The mittens for Dad are done! I'm a little sad, because they look sort of boring and like I didn't put effort into them, although I really did! They turned out too short so I had to rip them both back and reknit the tops. It's not like I could embroider anything on them for Dad though lol. He wouldn't even wear the purple shirt we bought him :)

Angela #1

A wallet for one of my bestest friends, Angela. She sent me the most wicked package from her Europe trips, that contained my Christmas present all wrapped up! So I gotta get my act together and get hers out in time! I'm not sure what else is going in the package yet though....*contemplates*

Thrummed Mittens - Done

These mittens are finished! Woot! They're for my little sister. They're made of Lion's Brand Lamb's Pride and Kool-aid dyed fleece from Egli's Sheep Farm. I used Yarn Harlot's pattern on her website. I'm extra excited because Becky hinted that she'd really like handmade mitts for Christmas, and thes were already done!

Grey Kitty - 1

A kitty for Mary (Sean's Mom, my future MIL). It's made from the SWAT Team Kitty pattern (search for it on etsy, I'm too tired to link it), and lovely thrifted wool that she actually picked up for me at a garage sale this spring I think. It needs to be felted a lot more, but I got tired of doing it by hand so it's going in the wash at some point. It'll look a lot like her favourite of their kitties, Abby.

Grey Mittens - 1

Liner mittens for my Daddy :D They're made of Patons Classic Merino, on size 6's. I'm mostly through the thumb gusset for the second mitten, but I have to rip back the first and add a few rows, since the round-topped decrease means it's a little shorter than normal, and they're almost tight on my (admittedly) large hands. Dad's are bigger though, so a frogging I'll go!

Quilt - 1

Fabric for a quilt for Heather and Chad, mine and Sean's gift recipients for the family gift exchange. I picked the striped fabric in the centre first, then matched all the others around it. I think tis' going to be beautiful, and I'm doing it in a simple strip-piece method. It'll be for their couch, to snuggle under to watch TV or movies. We might include some certificates for renting movies, or gourmet popcorn seasoning or something. I'm also hoping to have enough left to make a pillow for myself...