The Christmas Season

It's been a tough - and very weird - autumn. My sister was dangerously ill in October (thankfully, she's much better now), and ever since then I've been under the weather myself, hit by a variety of ailments, the latest being a nasty stomach flu that I fell prey to on the very day I was scheduled to fly to Tucson for the holidays. Needless to say, the flight was a horror. But that's all over now, and all I'm contending with today is a chest cold.

Christmas has come and gone, and with it, a plethora of knitted gifts. As always, some were appreciated more than others. That's why I find myself knitting fewer gifts each year - if they don't get it, they don't get it! Get it?

Here are a few of the things I knitted:

Ornaments

I downloaded a pattern for Christmas ornaments knitted with sock yarn. Dug out scraps of sock yarn - mostly Koigu - and found some sparkly silver novelty yarn for the "sockets". These came out pretty well, and I gave them to friends.

 

The trick is stuffing them evenly so they don't look all lumpy.

The biggest Christmas project was a tree skirt that I designed myself. I had intended to surprise Zig with it, but it was too big a project to work on only when he wasn't home. I hoped that he would be his usual unobservant self, but one evening he asked me what I was working on, so I told him. He was really pleased, and loved what I'd done thus far. I finished it with time to spare, and it looks fantastic under the tree, even if I do say so myself!

 

 

Fair Isle Christmas Tree Skirt - not a great photo, but our old laptop (the one with all the good pics of the skirt) - was stolen.

Jess and her stocking along with a horrible pic of Stu - nice shorts, son.

I knitted Stu's girlfriend Jess a stocking this year. She was really happy about it. I also gave her a pair of self-striping socks, and the "Lena" scarf knit from yarn purchased at Stitches East this year from Kitchen Sink Dyeworks.

Jess and Penelope with the Lena scarf!

Johanna's Coffee Press Cozy

I gave both of my dear friends Pam and Johanna  a French coffee press with a "snuggly" or cozy:

Pam's Coffee Press Cozy

 

 

 

 

Pam's was knitted from String Theory sock yarn; Johanna's from Lollipop Cabin sock yarn (both with doubled strands).

 

 

 

 

There was other stuff, too - I used Mason-Dixon's pattern for felted Christmas trees and knitted a small forest to surround my cottage tea cozy - but again, the pics were on the stolen laptop. I do have them on CD, I think, but that's back in Connecticut.

"Snotlings" Stitch Markers. The name belies their incredible cuteness.

Last but not least, my son Abe presented me with the world's coolest and most unique (uniquest???) stitch markers!