Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2008 is the healthiest, happiest year yet! I'm feeling great after my surgery which was done on an outpatient basis. I took a nap after getting home and was able to join in for an evening with my parents. They brought dinner over so it was perfect! Thank you for the encouraging comments, they really mean a lot to me.
I thought I'd pop in with some of my Christmas knitting. This was the super secret stuff I was working on.
First off the socks for my beloved. As you can see they weren't quite finished in time for opening. But I was able to finish them by the end of the day so I think that counts! On his lap is another one of the handmade gift bags. This is the Log Cabin Sock pattern from Handknit Holidays, knit with Rowanspun Aran. I think the pattern is quite nice and would have been a much quicker knit if I didn't have to keep it secret. Once I could work with everyone in the room it flew by! And here they are at the end of the evening.
Here are Chloe's mittens, also unfinished. These took a bit more time to finish, but were done two days later. This is the Selbu Mitten from Folk Mittens, knit with Blue Sky Alpaca sport weight. I liked these, but had a bit of trouble with getting the proper tension with the stranding. The first mitten is a bit tighter than the second, though they both fit her fine. I think I'd go with an overall pattern for a beginner rather than the snowflake pattern which has long sections of one color.
I have to thank Jan for her tips on these folk mittens. She's got some lovely ones she's knitting up right now too.
I've already showed you Ryan's mittens but here's proof he liked them!
I made a pillow for my parents. The tree is hand appliqued onto linen, then I embroidered the swirls and took some big quilt stitches around the shapes with size 12 perle cotton. You might not see it so well, but the perle cotton is hand dyed and has some nice color variation. I also did the button back so it's easy to take off for cleaning. This is my own pattern.
In our family we have a gift system where one family gives to only one other each year. This year we gave to my parents and my sister gave to us. Cheryl of course had some lovely handmade gifts for us. Chloe got this super cute kitchen set. The apron is so sweet and it's even reversible. She got some cookbooks with this as well to feed her passion for cooking.
This is the gift for Mark and me. Isn't it amazing? I love the large size and the uneven edges. This will take center stage in our dining room.
I'm getting ready take some more Santa photos before they get packed away. These next ones are soft Santas and the cross stitched Santa ornaments.