Knitted Gifts

I don't know how a month has gone by since my last post. But I have been busy working on Christmas gifts, so I will share a couple. If you are Cousin Anne, stop reading now before your present is spoiled. :) I am pretty sure Cousin Anne has no interest in this blog, but just to be sure, I had to say it.

A month or so ago the Pres asked for knitted arm warmers. I was making a pair of socks and he said the arm warmers would need much smaller stitches. I was a bit surprised, since I was using a size 1 needle at the moment. But I ordered a size 00 set of circular needles and had him pick his yarn. This Opal yarn was the gift of a friend who needed to make room in her yarn stash, bless her. The Pres picked two skeins from the ones I showed him, that way I was sure I would not run out, as I am not a great judge of how much yarn is ever in a ball. I just finished the arm warmers (loosely using this pattern on knitting site Ravelry as a guide) and have laid them out to block them after soaking them. Blue is not an especially favorite color of his but I think he was pleased with how they looked as they came along. Now he's agreed to forget about them by Christmas. He's a good egg.

Here is my latest project (the large pin midway is only there temporarily, so I can measure the second glove against it as I knit to be sure I come out with an even pair). This is right side out, where you can see a lot of the knit stitches. If it is worn inside out, it is a lot loopier and fuzzier, which is lots of fun as a fashion statement. These fingerless gloves will be for Cousin Anne. She, I realized recently, is the only girl in the family for whom I have not made any gloves yet. Last Christmas I made her a scarf out of the same color yarn and just found the second skein stashed away last week. Perfect! Here is the scarf from last Christmas:

I love the variations in this Farmhouse Yarn, Trixie's Loopy Mohair. I hope to get more at Knit Wits in Virginia Beach on my next trip down.

It is such fun making presents, thinking about loved ones' hobbies and preferences. My hope in giving these things is that they will be useful as well as reminders to these loved ones throughout the year that they are loved. Jesus' love for us is a year-round love, after all.

That's all I can share of my Christmas workshop for now. What are you making this season?