I enjoyed making some Christmas presents this year. I started out planning to do just two, but as time went on, I kept on adding to the list!
First, there was the Pogona made from Cascade’s Heritage Silk. We had ordered some at Cozy, and it took forever to come in. I had started to think of other plans for this gift, but the yarn finally came in. The beautiful red colorway was perfect for my mom.
No waiting necessary for the poncho for Emma, though. I’ve had this yarn in my stash for a number of years, and I still actually have some left for another project. It’s Reynold’s Ole Ole. I used a Drops pattern (Drops 89-6 by Drops Design) that called for a lighter yarn, so I made one size too small to get the size I really wanted. Emma tried it on right after she opened it, and she really seems to like it.
Next was a freeform purse for my sister, Linda. She wears a lot of black, so I used my stash of fun black yarns with a few little bursts of color here and there. It came together nicely, and fairly quickly!
So quickly, in fact, that it seemed like there might be enough time to make one for my mom. She was visiting early in December, so I spilled the beans and had her pick out her purse form and choose a color scheme.
One of her color choices was red, so I was able to use some of the leftovers from her birthday Pogona in the purse.
The cutest gift this Christmas, though, was probably the stocking for John’s cousin Kate’s dog, Sweet Pea. It’s his first Christmas, and John suggested that he might need a doggie stocking. I found a cute idea on Ravelry for making a dog bone, so I made just a plain stocking and sewed the bone on later.
As Christmas got closer, the projects got smaller. Linda’s boyfriend Steve hunts occasionally, so fingerless mitts that could go under regular gloves or be used on their own seemed like a good choice. These are made from Knit Picks’ Wool of the Andes. I hardly ever order yarn on line, but this yarn was gifted to me by Steve himself. He found a large bag of yarn at a yard sale and very sweetly brought it home to give to me! It was fun to be able to use some of that yarn to make him a gift. The pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
Lastly, there’s the mini Christmas tree. Emma requested one with jingle bells.
And speaking of handmade yarny Christmas gifts, I got a really great one. John used the lathe to turn a purple heart wood handle, then cut a metal crochet hook and set it into the handle. It’s fabulous!
