More Christmas gift knitting

So, went on to make a winter scarf for my sister - same type of yarn as the shawl for her daughter, different color:



And, the more I thought about it, the more I hated the shawl I had done. So I ripped it out with the intention of re-knitting it into a "lazy lace" rectangular shawl. Lazy lace is knitting with over-sized needles to make it look like lace; when it isn't. But, it is fast - so I would have time to finish it before Wednesday (when my sister drives to see her daughter for the holidays -- and I call that, free shipping).

But, I still hated it. Even more... so I pulled out some other yarn from my stash & lazy-lace knit this one instead.



It's a little hard to see the colors - but they are a 'heather-ish" rainbow boucle... I think she'll like it a lot.

Chloe's mommy's gift

Struggled... what to make for new mom in warm weather... when I have existing yarn, needles, time & no money?

Per her mom's suggestion, I settled on a shawl to keep her shoulders warm while she's nursing the new baby. I was going to make a standard triangle shawl without any lace "detailing" (for speed). I loved the way the purple & white self-striping turned out for the scarf, hat & mittens I made; and I had other colors... so settled on orange & white. I do like how it turned out (sort-of). But have to admit, orange is not my color of choice... the yarn was on discount, and it's super soft... so if orange-y sherbet-y color is something you like (?)... it turned out ok.

I didn't stick with the triangle shape in the end... as I double-stranded it to make it nice & warm... and it got too big for my knitting needles. I started at the back point & just kept increasing stitches. When I reached the point of too many stitches, I altered the pattern. I ended up doing short-rows & worked one side at a time... and then (don't ask me why, it was close to midnight & I was doing weird stuff)... I ended up (after increasing for another ten rows) - started decreasing, to a triangle point on each end. So, the shape? Well, hard to describe really. Photos are a must. Notice that the stripes change direction by the time you drape over your shoulders. So, only pictures on a person will work to show it off.

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See? Started from the bottom up in the back - here it still looks like a triangle.




Front? Not looking like a triangle any more.... ?

Charity Knitting

We found a young mother via the Angel tree opportunities at a nearby hospital. Her wish was for a winter hat & gloves. I've made a matching set with winter scarf... they are nice & warm... not terribly sure how long-enduring they are... (eek); nor if they will fit. The mittens fit me, so it's a guess if they'll fit her as well... they do have some stretch, so I'm hoping.



The mittens are "convertable" - either gloves or mittens... I was just curious if I could do them. So, had to try. I had a few bad starts on the mittens, but I think they turned out just fine. I adapted the two-at-a-time sock method up until I hit the fingers. It worked out great. I did the fingers & the thumbs with double-points. And then I needed to do the "cup" that covers the fingers when you're in mitten mode... and although I should have been able to go back to the two-at-a-time method to join them back together & finish them, I struggled with figuring it out; caved and just finished them with the double-points.

Little Chloe's Christmas Gift

Little Chloe was born three weeks ago and is living with her parents, a brother, and a sister in Texas. Didn't want to make uber-warm items for her (like stocking hat & mittens; although those might come in handy someday). Nor did I think she would appreciate the hooded towels I'm making for her brother & sister. So, instead I whipped up a baby blanket. This one turned out much better than my first trial. First, I knitted everything except the border (I knit better than I crochet). So, it's at least a rectangle (lol)! And then I crocheted on some trim, to "pretty it up". I also found some perfect white that is super-uber-duber soft; which matches the extremely soft color yarn. It's machine washable & dryable; and so soft, it's almost silky.

Christmas Charity Knitting

Using up more of my almost-free yarn (bought for about 25 cents a skein)....

I knitted up a Scarf & Winter hat in green for some young woman. I love this minty-green color. The scarf curls up a little, which is kind of a bummer, as I specifically stitched the edges to try to prevent curling.



and a Winter hat & mittens for some young child (guess it could be boy or girl). Sorry for the awful quality of picture, but alas, I'm still taking all my pictures with my camera phone (which isn't the best quality). And it took me almost ten minutes just to get these pictures taken... between "a" climbing up & piling on with Kyra & trying to get in the way... I gave up & figured this was close-enough ... lol. (Notice the cord for the mittens? to run through the coat so you don't lose the mittens? That's EXACTLY what all of my mittens had until I was probably seven or eight. My aunt made mittens for over 30 kinds every year & all the young ones got cords so we couldn't lose them!!!).

Another one done

OK - so I promised myself to "finish" some not-quite-done projects before starting another (I sort-of cheated)... I finished my scarf I knitted for WWII veterans last night by adding the fringe...

again - apologies for the blurred image - need to put new camera on my list for Xmas.

Finally a finished object!

I've been knitting a lot - have four projects 'almost' done... and one not nearly close to being done... (and wanting to start another project - LOL)... so before starting another project, I swore to myself I'd finish up the last steps of a few things.

Last night I finished Kyra's sweater... doesn't she look sweet?



She doesn't "LOVE" it, but then again, she doesn't love being cold either - so while she doesn't understand why I'm putting a sweater on her - I figure she's getting a good deal out of it anyway.

Next, figure out how to "crop" out the disaster zone of the house that's developed while I'm not feeling well and knitting instead of cleaning.